asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the value of the assets of the Industrial Trust Company of Ireland as ascertained by the auditors for each of the years from the formation of the company up to the decision to wind up the company; at what period it became apparent to the Minister for Finance that the company was likely to be involved in financial difficulties; whether any proposals were made by the representatives of the Minister for Finance on the Board of Directors as to the steps which, in their opinion, should be taken to avoid financial losses, and if so, whether he will state the nature of the proposals so made, and indicate in detail to what extent, if any, they were acted upon, and what other steps were taken to safeguard the State's interest in the company.
Ceisteanna.—Questions. Oral Answers. - Industrial Trust Company of Ireland.
I presume that what the Deputy wishes to know is not the value of the aggregate balance sheet assets of the Industrial Trust Company of Ireland, Ltd., but the market value of the investments of the company other than investments in loans guaranteed under the Trade Loan (Guarantee) Acts. I am unable to state what the market values of these investments were for the years to the 31st December, 1926, and the 31st December, 1927, but the values at which they were returned in the balance sheets were £173,440 and £250,345 respectively for these periods; and as the auditors passed the accounts, I presume the market values exceeded these figures. For the four succeeding accounting periods ending on 31st March, 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932, respectively, the market values were £233,189, £199,000, £195,039 and £148,679. At the end of the next succeeding accounting period to the 30th June, 1933, the bulk of the investments had been realised, and the position is not comparable.
It first became apparent that the company was likely to be involved in financial difficulties when the accounts for the 15 months to the 31st March, 1929, were published in May, 1929. From that date the affairs of the company were the subject of frequent discussions between the Board and the Minister for Finance. The Minister's representatives on the Board do not appear to have put forward any proposals for dealing with the situation, but on behalf of the State it was suggested that the company should (1) defer payment of dividends and Directors' fees; (2) apply its reserves and carry forward and all profits on income account to writing down the book value of the investments; (2) realise as rapidly as possible all investments that did not show good prospects of early recovery; (4) invest all future income and all sums realised from the sale of investments in fixed interest bearing stocks of a gilt-edged trustee or high class investment character; (5) close down the offices of the company and conduct the administration through a bank or a firm of auditors and accountants.
With the exception of the last suggestion the Directors of the company agreed generally with the proposals made by the Minister for Finance, but in interpreting and applying the agreed policy, the Directors naturally used their own discretion, and their views did not always coincide with those held by the Minister for Finance. In particular they took a more optimistic view as to the number of their investments which could be regarded as having prospects of recovery, and as to the period within which such recovery might be anticipated.
For further information as to the history of the company, I would refer the Deputy to the liquidator's report, a copy of which I have caused to be put in the Library.