This is a new section. Its purpose is to ensure that up-to-date information will be available in the office of the Registrar.
SECTION 357.
Question proposed: " That Section 357 stand part of the Bill."
Suppose a foreign company—this is a hypothetical question—just disappears and does nothing further about it, beyond the sanction that it cannot come in here again, there is nothing we can do about it, is there?
No.
If in fact the company has ceased to have a place of business in the State and has given this notice, is it proper to have the provision with regard to service which we are having in Section 356?
It does seem there is a difference in the situation where a company had a place of business here and ceased to have one and where it has a place of business here. It is reasonable that you would be entitled to serve in the manner laid down in the previous section where it has a place of business here, but if they have not a place of business—
It is the company that must serve notice then. The obligation is on the company to give notice.
Yes, but having given the notice—am I right in my understanding of this—
The only thing that troubles me is that one interpretation of these two sections could be that once a company has complied with Section 357 and given notice that it is leaving, it still might be open to somebody to serve a document under Section 356 because Section 356 provides that a document may be served by leaving it or sending it by post to any place of business established in the State. A person serving a document in the State might say the company did establish this place of business and the fact that it has left now does not matter. That would obviously be unjust.
It would be a question then of taking out " established."
I think it would be a question of providing that where notice has been given under Section 357, the document may not be served. The minister might have a look at it and see if that danger is there.
I shall look into it.
The place of business would be a registered place of business?
No.
If it is " any place " of business, it is rather wide. Suppose you have a company incorporated outside the State, who have what is equivalent to a registered place of business in the city of Dublin. They may have a number of depots or agencies throughout the country. It is hardly fair to the company that any service, say, on a foreman in a shed, who is superintending some work and who omits to transmit that document should be taken into account or that you would put that liability on the company. A foreign company should not be any worse off than an Irish company if it has a properly recognised place of business as provided for in one of the earlier sections. In other words it should be on a par with an Irish company, if it means going so far. Would the Minister consider that point?
I shall.
In other words, you must have a registered place of business but to have " any place " of business might be going too far.
A difficulty might arise, if the Deputy's suggestion were accepted, as people might not find it easy to say which was the principal place of business of such a company.
If there is any such difficulty, the solicitor or some such person will go to the Registrar of Companies to see what the address is.
What he would look up would be the names of the people on whom he could serve notice. That is the really important thing.
Yes, but we are talking about home companies. Suppose there is a mining company with a recognised place of business but having, say, a prospector and a couple of workmen in a hut down in some mountain area and a person chooses to serve on them, perhaps the foreman or whoever is there takes the document and forgets about it.
I shall consider that.
Strictly speaking, this discussion should have taken place on Section 356. We are on Section 357.
Question put and agreed to.