Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 231:

In page 28, after line 33, to insert the following:

“Amendment of Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954

21. Section 4 of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954 is amended— (a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to subsection (5), the Board or an Irish subsidiary may, with the consent of the Minister, given with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Finance, and subject to any conditions imposed by the Minister, borrow money (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State), whether by means of the issue of debentures (or other debt security) or otherwise, from any person.”,

(b) by the deletion of subsection (2),

(c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) The aggregate amount at any one time of moneys borrowed by the Board and the subsidiaries, and of any advances under section 5, which have not been repaid shall not exceed €12,000,000,000 and for the purposes of this subsection moneys borrowed in a currency other than the currency of the State shall be deemed to be the equivalent in the currency of the State of the actual moneys borrowed, such equivalent being calculated according to the rate of exchange at the time of the borrowing for that currency and the currency of the State.”,

and

(d) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4):

“(5) The consent of the Minister shall not be required under subsection (1) in respect of moneys borrowed by—

(a) the Board from a subsidiary,

(b) an Irish subsidiary from the Board, or

(c) an Irish subsidiary from a subsidiary.

(6) The limit specified in subsection (4) shall not apply to moneys borrowed by—

(a) the Board from a subsidiary,

(b) a subsidiary from the Board, or

(c) a subsidiary from a subsidiary.

(7) In this section—‘Irish subsidiary’ means a subsidiary that is incorporated in the State; ‘subsidiary’ means a subsidiary (within the meaning of section 7 of the Companies Act 2014) of the Board.”.