The object of this Bill is to release £50,000 of the funds of suitors vested in the Accountant of the Courts of Justice and to use it to help finance the rebuilding of the Opera House, Cork, which was destroyed by fire towards the end of 1955.
The loss of Cork Opera House was keenly felt by the people of the city and the county. A number of public-spirted persons formed a new Cork Opera House Company in 1958 and immediately set about the formidable task of raising the necessary funds for a new building. The company is a public one with an authorised share capital of £125,000 in ordinary shares of £1 each and its directors are six prominent Cork citizens.
It was estimated at the time that the overall cost of rebuilding would be approximately £150,000. In 1959 the company approached the Government, through the Minister for Industry and Commerce, for assistance in reaching this amount as it was clear from an early date that no more than £75,000 could be raised by subscriptions from the public and by local fund-raising activities. They were informed that the Government would be prepared to seek approval for a State Guarantee of a loan of £50,000 to be provided by a commercial bank. The necessary steps are now being taken by the Minister for Finance for the issue of this guarantee under the State Guarantees Act, 1954. In addition, the Cork Corporation are providing an interest free loan of £25,000.
The negotiations involved in the raising of these funds were complicated and prolonged. The company, therefore, were not in a position to put the work out to tender until late in 1961. When tenders were received, it became clear that the estimate of £150,000 was by now unrealistic because of increased building costs and the necessity for compliance with stringent municipal standards of public health and safety, and that the cost of the new building would be about £200,000. The Opera House Company thus found themselves facing the unpleasant alternatives either of having to seek another £50,000 or of abandoning a project for which three-quarters of the outlay had already been assured.
The company had by this time canvassed all local business concerns and many national ones as well, and it was evident that no further financial assistance from these sources was to be expected. A large amount had also been subscribed in small sums by many thousands of local people, who could hardly be asked to provide any more. A total of £75,000 has now been subscribed from private sources and the company has pointed out that the raising of such a large sum of money is evidence of the widespread desire that the Opera House should be rebuilt. Accordingly, they asked the Government, through the Minister for Industry and Commerce, to review the problem in a generous light so as to make it possible, by the provision of the additional funds now required, for the company to carry its plans to completion.
It was clear at this juncture that, without substantial Government aid, the project would have to be abandoned. The extent of the commitments already undertaken by the company made it impossible for them to assume any further financial burdens so that aid in the shape of a further guaranteed loan or even an interest-free loan, would not solve the company's difficulties. We have decided, therefore, that, subject to the approval of the Oireachtas, a grant of £50,000 should be provided from the funds of suitors for the project.
The loss of the Cork Opera House was a severe blow to the cultural life of the south of Ireland. Enthusiasm for its rebuilding is great and I am sure that Senators will agree that the grant of £50,000, which is provided for in the Bill, will be money well spent.
It is proposed that the grant of £50,000 to be made available to the company from the funds of suitors will be given on the basis that—
(1) the grant will not be made available until all the other funds, private contributions, Cork Corporation loan and State-guaranteed loan, have been certified as expended on the building operations, and
(2) if within 30 years the Opera House ceases to be used for drama and opera, the grant must be refunded, an allowance of one-thirtieth being made for each year for which the premises have been so used.
It is proposed that the fulfilment of the latter condition will be secured by an indenture to be entered into between the company and the Minister for Finance and it will be arranged that the amount of any refund would be a charge on the premises.
The funds of suitors are the cash and securities belonging to suitors which have been transferred or paid into or deposited in the High Court. In the normal course, they may be used only for the benefit of suitors entitled. Part of the funds consist of unclaimed dividends and balances which have been accumulating over more than 200 years. These are known as the dormant funds and they may be defined more precisely as balances in accounts which have not been dealt with for 15 years or longer.
The total liability in respect of the funds of suitors on the 31st October, 1963, was £10,323,000 of which the dormant funds amounted to about £947,000 consisting of cash to the value of £390,000 and securities to the nominal value of £557,000. The actual funds, however, whether cash, money on deposit or investments standing in the name of the Accountant of the Courts of Justice do not amount to the totals which I have just mentioned. This is because cash and securities amounting to £648,150 and £130,000 respectively have been withdrawn from the funds of suitors under the authority of various Acts of the Parliament of Ireland, the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Oireachtas. The purposes to which these withdrawn funds were applied included the building and improving of the Courts of Justice and the enlarging of the Law Library in Dublin.
The last statutory authorisation for withdrawal from these funds was contained in the Funds of Suitors Act, 1959. This Act enabled a total of £323,000 to be utilised for a number of specific purposes, namely, to provide financial assistance towards the rebuilding of the Abbey Theatre, to finance the repair and renovation of the buildings of the Society of King's Inns and to provide for the creation of a fund for the maintenance of the Society's Library. All these Acts indemnified suitors for any loss which they might sustain by reason of the withdrawals. This indemnity is backed by the Central Fund.
It will be apparent from what I have said that a portion of the funds of suitors amounting in the aggregate to £778,150 is represented not by cash or securities but simply by the liability of the Central Fund to indemnify suitors against any loss. The present Bill proposes the withdrawal of a further sum of £50,000 and provides for the usual indemnity backed by the Central Fund. The withdrawal of this amount will almost exhaust the so-called dormant funds. As I have said, the dormant funds amount in all to £947,000. When account is taken, however, of the fall in the value of the dormant securities, the net value of the funds is £866,000. The total withdrawals which have been authorised by the various statutes in the past, plus the amount of the proposed withdrawal under the Bill, amount to £828,000, leaving only £38,000 untouched. As time goes on there will, of course, be a further accumulation of dormant funds.
When the Abbey Theatre was destroyed, the Government were approached for help in rebuilding the Theatre. This appeal was met by a grant of £250,000 from the funds of suitors which was provided under the Funds of Suitors Act, 1959. The rebuilding of Cork Opera House is also an enterprise of national concern and unless the State assists financially, the work may never be completed.
The granting of the £50,000 which is proposed in the Bill will enable Cork to have its Opera House. As a cultural amenity, its value cannot be expressed in terms of money but its existence will certainly improve the facilities which Cork has to offer from the point of view of the tourist. The business community and the public have shown their real interest in the project by raising the very substantial sum of £75,000 in the form of shares and interest-free debentures. Building work has commenced and payments to the contractors and architects are being made out of the £75,000 which has been raised from these private sources. I believe that it is only right for the State to help to bring this very worthwhile task to completion.