Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2012
313. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list detailing the property vested in the State since 8 March 2011 pursuant to the State Property Act 1954, showing the source and a brief description of the property. [49496/12]
View answer314. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list of properties which would have been vested in the State since March 2011 but whose vestment was waived by him pursuant to the State Property Act 1954, showing the source and a brief description of the property. [49497/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 314 together.
Under Section 28(2) of the State Property Act, 1954, as amended by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2011 and S.I. No. 418/2011 - Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011, personal property and land vested in or held in trust by a body corporate immediately prior to its dissolution (other than personal property or land held by such body upon trust for another person) becomes property of the State in the person of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform until such time as the company is restored to the Register or the Minister waives (under Section 31 of the Act) the interest vested in him. This mechanism acts as a fail-safe so that property is never ownerless.
The interest acquired by the Minister is described as a defeasible interest as it may be defeated by restoration of the company. Neither company nor property law require comprehensive and fully up-to-date asset records to be lodged with the Company Registration Office and the Property Registration Authority. Consequently, the only persons with a complete view of the assets held by a company at the time of its dissolution are the directors and officers of the company. As a result, the Minister only becomes aware that assets have vested in him by virtue of the State Property Act once he has been notified by an interested party. Administration of matters relating to real estate is delegated to the Office of Public Works.
The outcome of the situation described above is that the Minister/OPW can only become aware of properties that vest in the Minister when applicants write seeking a waiver in relation to a particular property and provide evidence of the properties vesting in the Minister. Even in such situations, information may only be made available on a particular property which may have vested in the Minister and information on further properties may not be made available. Furthermore, even though a company may be dissolved, the properties held by the company may not necessarily vest in the Minister, for example, they could be held on trust. Where no applications for waivers are received in relation to particular companies dissolving, no information is available on properties which could vest in the Minister.
Section 31 of the State Property Act, 1954 permits the Minister to divest himself of property which devolved to the State under Section 28(2). Upon receipt of an application, the Minister may waive the right of the State to such property as he thinks proper having regard to all the circumstances of the case. In general, the Minister will waive his interest in any such property where it is established that the applicant has a moral or quasi-moral right to the property in question. Where common interests apply, for example in the case of roads in housing estates, the Minister generally waives in favour of the relevant local authority. Notwithstanding the power to waive, it must be remembered that the primary mechanism available to the directors and beneficial owners of a company to regain control of their property is to restore the company to the register. In support of the legal policy underpinning the Companies Acts, the policy in relation to waivers is that the Minister does not waive in favour of the former directors of the dissolved company.
Bearing all these matters in mind, a list setting out details on the lines requested by the Deputy is currently in preparation and will be forwarded to him by the Office of Public Works as soon as possible.
