Central Bank Act, 1998

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 2/1998
• Year: 1998

Number 2 of 1998
CENTRAL BANK ACT, 1998
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title, construction and commencement. 2. Interpretation.
PART II
European System of Central Banks and European Central Bank
3. Amendment of section 5 of Act of 1942. 4. General powers of Bank. 5. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1942. 6. Amendment of section 7 of Act of 1942. 7. Removal of Governor. 8. Furnishing of information to Bank. 9. Minimum reserves. 10. Disclosure of information to European Central Bank. 11. Auditing of accounts of Bank. 12. General fund. 13. Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1989. 14. Amendment of section 5 of Decimal Currency Act, 1969.
PART III
Miscellaneous
15. Amendment of section 44 of Act of 1971. 16. Amendment of section 118 of Act of 1989. 17. Functions and duties of Governor. 18. Amendment of section 26 of Act of 1997. 19. Amendment of section 134 of Act of 1989. 20. Amendment of section 15 of Act of 1989.
Acts Referred to Central Bank Act, 1942 1942, No. 22 Central Bank Act, 1971 1971, No. 24 Central Bank Act, 1989 1989, No. 16 Central Bank Act, 1997 1997, No. 8 Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997 Currency Act, 1927 1927, No. 32 Decimal Currency Act, 1969 1969, No. 23 Insurance Act, 1989 1989, No. 3 Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 1995, No. 11 Stock Exchange Act, 1995 1995, No. 9 European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations, 1992 S.I. No. 395 of 1992 Central Bank of Ireland (Surplus Income) Regulations, 1943 S.I. No. 93 of 1943
Number 2 of 1998
CENTRAL BANK ACT, 1998
AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE CENTRAL BANK IN THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM OF CENTRAL BANKS AND TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE CENTRAL BANK ACTS, 1942 TO 1997, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [18th March, 1998]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I Preliminary and General
	Short title, construction and commencement.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Central Bank Act, 1998.
	(2) This Act and the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997, shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1998.
	(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions of this Act.
	Interpretation.	2.—In this Act—
	“Act of 1942” means the Central Bank Act, 1942 ;
	“Act of 1971” means the Central Bank Act, 1971 ;
	“Act of 1989” means the Central Bank Act, 1989 ;
	“Act of 1997” means the Central Bank Act, 1997 ;
	“Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;
	“Minister” means the Minister for Finance;
	“Statute” means the Statute on the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank as set out in Protocol (No. 3) (annexed by the Treaty on European Union done at Maastricht on the 7th day of February, 1992) to the Treaty establishing the European Community done at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957.
PART II European System of Central Banks and European Central Bank
	Amendment of section 5 of Act of 1942.	3.—Section 5> of the Act of 1942 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):
	“(4) Subject to the provisions of section 5A (as inserted by the Central Bank Act, 1998) of this Act, the functions, powers and duties of the Bank shall be exercised and performed by the Board of Directors for and in the name of the Bank.”.
	General powers of Bank.	4.—The Act of 1942 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 5:
	“Performance by Bank of European System of Central Banks' functions.
	5A.—(1) The Bank shall perform any function or duty or exercise any power required by or under the provisions of the Treaty or the Statute.
	(2) With effect from the date of the establishment of the European System of Central Banks, sole authority and responsibility for the performance of any function or duty or the exercise of any power conferred or imposed upon the Bank by or under the Treaty or the Statute shall be vested in the Governor.
	(3) Subject to the requirements of the Treaty and the Statute, the Governor shall keep the Board informed of, and may discuss with the Board, the discharge by the Governor of the functions, duties and powers vested in the Governor under this section.
	(4) Whenever the Governor is unable, by reason of absence, ill-health or any other cause to discharge the functions, duties and powers referred to in this section, or in the case of the office of the Governor becoming vacant, the authority and responsibility vested in the Governor under subsection (2) of this section shall, during such inability or vacancy, be vested in the Director General of the Bank, who shall, for the period of such inability or vacancy, exercise and perform the functions, duties and powers vested in the Governor under this section.
	(5) In this Act—
	‘the Treaty’ means the Treaty establishing the European Community done at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957 (as amended by the Treaty on European Union done at Maastricht on the 7th day of February, 1992);
	‘the Statute’ means the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank as set out in Protocol (No. 3) (annexed by the Treaty on European Union done at Maastricht on the 7th day of February, 1992) to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community done at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957.”.
	Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1942.	5.—The Act of 1942 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 6:
	“6.—(1) In discharging its functions as part of the European System of Central Banks, the primary objective of the Bank shall be to maintain price stability, and without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, the Bank may perform such functions and exercise such powers and carry out such duties as are conferred or imposed on it by the Treaty, the Statute or any Act of the Oireachtas or instrument made thereunder.
	(2) In addition to the objective referred to in subsection (1) of this section, the objectives of the Bank shall include contributing to the stability of the financial system, promoting the efficient and effective operation of payment and settlement systems and discharging such other functions, duties and powers as are conferred or imposed on it by the Treaty, the Statute or any Act of the Oireachtas or instrument made thereunder.
	(3) Without prejudice to the functions, powers and duties vested in the Bank immediately before the appointed day, the Bank shall have the general function and duty of taking (within the limit of the powers for the time being vested in it and, where appropriate, having regard to the provisions of the Treaty and the Statute) such steps as the Board may from time to time deem appropriate and advisable towards the discharge of any functions, powers and duties vested by law in the Board.
	(4) The Minister may, on such occasions as he thinks proper, request the Governor on behalf of the Board or the Board to consult with the Minister in regard to the execution and performance by the Bank of any function and duty imposed on the Bank, other than those imposed by the Treaty or the Statute, and the Board shall comply with every such request.
	(5) Subject to the requirements of the Treaty, the Statute, the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997, and any other enactment, the Minister may, on such occasions as he shall think proper, request the Governor on behalf of the Board or the Board to inform the Minister in regard to the pursuit of the primary objective imposed on the Bank by subsection (1) of this section, and the Board shall comply with every such request.
	(6) Without prejudice to the objective of maintaining price stability, the Bank shall support the general economic policies in the Community with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Community as laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty.”.
	Amendment of section 7 of Act of 1942.	6.—Section 7 (as substituted by section 21 of the Act of 1997) of the Act of 1942 is hereby amended—
	(a) by the repeal of paragraph (g), and
	(b) by the insertion after paragraph (m) of the following paragraphs:
	“(mm) transfer assets, income or liabilities to the European Central Bank where required to under the Statute;
	(mmm) exercise any power or perform any task or duty conferred on the Bank by or under the Treaty or the Statute;”.
	Removal of Governor.	7.—Section 21 of the Act of 1942 is hereby amended—
	(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):
	“(2) If the Board, by unanimous vote of all the Directors, requests the President to remove the Governor from office on stated grounds of serious misconduct, it shall be lawful for the President on the advice of the Government to remove the Governor from office for such stated grounds and the removal shall take immediate effect from the date of the publication of the decision to remove the Governor from office or of the notification of that decision to the Governor.”,
	(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):
	“(3) Any decision, taken in accordance with this section, to remove a Governor may be subject to referral to the European Court of Justice in such a manner and for such reasons as are consistent with Article 14.2 of the...