I move:
That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft:
Trustee (Authorised Investments) Order, 1979,
a copy of which Order in draft was laid before the House on 24 May, 1979.
Private Business. - Trustee (Authorised Investments) Order, 1979: Motion.
The Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act, 1958, defines the investments in which trustees may invest trust funds unless expressly forbidden by the instrument, if any, creating the trust. Equally, the trust deed may confer wider powers of investment but many trusts and analogous funds are restricted to the investments authorised under the Act. The Minister for Finance may vary the authorised investments by order.
When introducing the Trustee (Authorised Investments) Order (No. 2), 1977, in the House, the intention was expressed of keeping the list of authorised trustee investments under active review and of proposing further changes as the need arose. As part of this process, the draft order which I am now laying before the House would add three non-Associated Banks and one building society to the list of trustee authorised investments.
Following consultation between my Department and the Central Bank I have accepted the banks' recommendation that the three non-Associated Banks named in the draft order, be included in the list of authorised trustee investments. The addition of these banks will result in the trustee list including a total of 28 licensed banks comprising all the major domestic and foreign banks in the State. This increase will improve the range of investment opportunities open to trustees.
Building societies were added for the first time to the list of authorised trustee investments in the 1977 order. I have decided on this occasion to add one further building society to that list. I am satisfied that this building society meets the criteria to be observed by building societies in qualifying for trustee status and that it is suitable for inclusion in the trustee list. This society joins the five buildings societies already with trustee status, which represent the vast bulk of the resources of the building society movement and which have a sound record. The inclusion of building societies as trustee authorised investments also emphasises the important function played by these institutions in helping finance the community's housing needs.
The Minister for Finance is obliged under the Trustee (Authorised Investments) Act, 1958, to consult with the following persons in regard to the terms of any order he proposes to make to vary the list of investments: a judge of the High Court nominated by the Chief Justice, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Public Trustee, the Chairman of the Irish Banks' Standing Committee, the President of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland and the President of the Stock Exchange—Irish Unit. All the statutory requirements in this regard have been complied with.
I am satisfied that the additions now proposed to the trustee list are secure and suitable for the investment of trust funds. I, therefore, commend the motion for approval of the House.
We have no objection to this order being made. Indeed we would be very brave people to contest the judgment of the very eminent people just named by the Minister of State. I have no doubt that the care that goes into expanding the list of authorised trust investments is of an extremely high standard and that any such body recommended for such investment is well suited to be used by an investor. I am sure, too, that it follows from that, that the monitoring of the status of these bodies that are recipients of investments by trustees after they come on the list is also done in the same careful way as the investigation before they come on the list. I am sure the Minister of State can assure us on that.
I can assure the Senator about the monitoring.
Question put and agreed to.