I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. This Bill has been introduced at the request of the trustee savings banks. There are five of these institutions in the State—in Dublin. Cork, Waterford, Monaghan and Limerick and they have a long history behind them. They were all established between 1816 and 1820, which makes them a good deal older than the Post Office Savings Bank which was not set up until 1861. They are the oldest institutions in the country catering for the small saver.
In their long history they have rendered invaluable service in encouraging thrift and the steady increase in deposits over the past decade is an encouraging sign that, despite their age, they have in no way diminished in vigour. Their deposits now exceed £12,000,000—more than double what they were ten years ago. Though they are private bodies and not part of the machinery of the State, they have always been subject to State supervision and the manner in which they should conduct their business is regulated by statute. The Acts which govern them were for the most part passed during the early nineteenth century and were consolidated by the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1863. This, with certain amending Acts, is still the governing statute.
Under the Acts, these banks were under the general control of the British National Debt Commissioners, with whom they were required to invest their deposits. As the functions of the commissioners were not specifically allotted to any Irish authority at the setting up of the State, this position continued until the 1940 Finance Act provided that the Irish trustee savings banks should lodge all future deposits with the Minister for Finance; these deposits are invested in the same manner as deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank.
Apart from the 1940 provision about the lodgment of deposits, there has been no amendment here of the law governing trustee savings banks since 1920 with the result that the code of legislation under which the banks operate is now out of date in certain respects. In Britain steps have already been taken to bring savings bank legislation into line with modern needs and, between 1920 and 1949, four amending Acts were passed followed, in 1954, by a consolidating measure.
We too have in hands a comprehensive review of trustee savings bank legislation with a view to amendment and consolidation but, as the matter is very technical and complicated, examination will take some time. The trustee savings banks have, however, drawn special attention to certain statutory restrictions which are unnecessary in present-day conditions and which, they find, prevent them from cooperating fully in the savings drive. It is with a view to freeing the banks as soon as possible from these operational difficulties that the present short preliminary Bill has been prepared. As well as removing these restrictions, the Bill makes certain provisions in relation to the superannuation of the banks' staffs designed to bring the pension terms to be given to these staffs as nearly as possible into line with those available to civil servants under the Superannuation Acts.
I should like to add, before passing to a brief summary of the provisions of the Bill, that it is the intention to press ahead, in consultation with the banks, with the major job of revision and consolidation. If it transpires that the number of amendments necessary in the law is considerable, the Oireachtas may find it more convenient to have them in the form of a second preliminary Bill so as to simplify their study of the final measure which would then be a purely consolidating one.
Section 1 of the Bill is the interpretation clause.
Section 2 provides that deposits may be received and repaid by cheque or other negotiable instrument; that transactions of deposit and withdrawal may be carried out either during or outside normal banking hours and by post; and that where a group savings scheme is in operation, deposits may be collected by the bank at the place where the scheme is in operation either during or outside normal banking hours and by one officer of the bank only.
Section 3 enables the trustees of trustee savings banks to make and carry out pension schemes for their permanent wholetime staffs with terms which are, as far as possible, equivalent to those applicable to civil servants under the Superannuation Acts. At present superannuation benefits are limited to those provided for civil servants under the Superannuation Act of 1859.
Section 4 relieves a bank from the obligation of printing its rules in every deposit book issued by it. Instead, a copy of the rules must be made available to any depositor who asks for them.
Section 5 removes the restrictions which now prevent a depositor from having more than one account in a trustee savings bank or in the Post Office Savings Bank, and from holding accounts in both a trustee savings bank. and the Post Office Savings Bank. Power is also taken to amend the declarations required from intending depositors in both types of bank as these declarations at present contain a statement that the depositor has not an account in any other savings bank. It has been found that the prohibition on double accounts hampers group savings schemes since only persons who have no account already in another savings bank can participate in such schemes.
Section 6 is the customary section dealing with the short title and citation of the Act.
