Gas (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2024
• Citation: IR No. 11/2024

Gas (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024

2024 11

An Act to provide for the dissolution of Ervia and the transfer of functions, assets, liabilities, records and staff to Gas Networks Ireland and for those and other purposes to amend and extend the Gas Act 1976 and the Gas Regulation Act 2013; to amend the Freedom of Information Act 2014; to provide for the transfer of functions of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage by or under the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications; to amend the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 to provide for certain arrangements relating to the making of the marine planning policy statement and designated maritime area plans under that Act; and to provide for related matters.

[1 May 2024]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

1 Short title, commencement, collective citation and construction

(1) This Act may be cited as the Gas (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(3) The Maritime Area Planning Acts 2021 to 2023 and Part 4 may be cited together as the Maritime Area Planning Acts 2021 to 2024 and shall be construed together as one.

2 Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1976” means the Gas Act 1976;

“Act of 2013” means the Gas Regulation Act 2013;

“Act of 2014” means the Companies Act 2014;

“dissolved body” shall be construed in accordance withsection 6;

“enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005;

“Gas Networks Ireland” means the designated activity company limited by shares (registered number 555744) formed and registered under Part 16 of the Act of 2014;

“majority-shareholding Minister” has the meaning given to it bysection 9;

“Minister” means Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications;

“transfer day” means the day appointed by order undersection 6 to be the transfer day for the purposes of this Act.

3 Repeals

(1) The following provisions of the Act of 1976 are repealed:

(a)

sections 7A to 7G;

(b)

subsections (4) and (5) of section 8;

(c)

sections 13, 19 and 20;

(d)

subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6) of section 21;

(e)

the First Schedule.

(2) Section 17 of the Gas (Amendment) Act 2000 is repealed.

(3) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 21B (inserted by section 19 of the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006) of the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 is repealed.

(4) The following provisions of the Act of 2013 are repealed:

(a)

subsections (3) and (4) of section 5;

(b)

section 7;

(c)

subsection (5) of section 10;

(d)

section 20;

(e)

sections 41 and 42.

4 Saver for certain business activity

4. Notwithstanding the repeal of section 17 of the Gas (Amendment) Act 2000 by subsection (2) of section 3, Gas Networks Ireland may engage in a business activity in accordance with any approval given under the said section 17 in effect immediately before the commencement of subsection (2) of section 3 insofar as the activity relates to telecommunications.

5 Expenses

5. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

6 Transfer day

(1) The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the transfer day for the purposes of this Act.

(2) On and from the transfer day Ervia (in this Act referred to as the “dissolved body”) shall stand dissolved.

7 Cancellation of shareholding

(1) Notwithstanding any enactment or rule of law or any provision contained in the constitution (within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 2014) of Gas Networks Ireland, on the transfer day the shares issued to the dissolved body by Gas Networks Ireland shall be cancelled.

(2) No consideration shall be payable to the dissolved body in respect of the shares cancelled under subsection (1).

8 Power to issue shares

(1) On the transfer day Gas Networks Ireland shall issue 100 shares in the following proportions:

(a)

5 per cent of the shares to the Minister;

(b)

5 per cent of the shares to the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform;

(c)

90 per cent of the shares to the majority-shareholding Minister.

(2) No consideration shall be payable by the Minister, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform or the majority shareholding Minister in respect of the shares issued under subsection (1).

(3) Gas Networks Ireland may, from time to time, with the prior consent of the majority shareholding Minister, issue to the Minister, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the majority shareholding Minister, in the same proportion, respectively, referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1), such number of shares as may be agreed upon, and are subscribed for, by each such Minister.

(4) The whole of the issued share capital of Gas Networks Ireland shall be held by the Minister, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the majority-shareholding Minister.

9 Appointment of majority-shareholding Minister

(1) A Minister of the Government (other than the Minister or the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform) shall, for the purpose of implementing Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 ¹1, hold 90 per cent of the shares in Gas Networks Ireland (in this Act referred to as the “majority-shareholding Minister”) being—

(a)

for the time being, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, or

(b)

such Minister of the Government as may stand appointed by order of the Government undersubsection (2).

(2) The Government may by order appoint a Minister of the Government (other than the Minister, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage or the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform) to be the majority-shareholding Minister.

(3) (a) The first order made under subsection (2) shall transfer the shareholding of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage as majority-shareholding Minister in Gas Networks Ireland to the Minister of the Government appointed as majority-shareholding Minister under that order.

(b)

A second or subsequent order made undersubsection (2) shall transfer the shareholding of the majority-shareholding Minister in Gas Networks Ireland to the majority-shareholding Minister appointed under such order on and from the date of his or her appointment.

(4) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it.

¹ OJ No. L211, 14.8.2009, p. 94

10 Exercise of powers by Ministers of the Government in respect of shares

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the majority-shareholding Minister, the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform may, in respect of the shares in Gas Networks Ireland for the time being held by each of them, exercise all or any of the rights and powers from time to time exercisable by the holder of such shares.

(2) The majority-shareholding Minister, the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform shall not sell, exchange, transfer, surrender, alienate or otherwise dispose of all or any of the shares held by each such Minister without the prior consent of the Government.

(3) The Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, in respect of the shares held by each of them, shall not directly or indirectly exercise control over Gas Networks Ireland in carrying out its functions and in particular shall not be entitled to appoint a member of the board of directors of Gas Networks Ireland or to exercise voting rights in respect of Gas Networks Ireland.

11 Transfer of functions

(1) On the transfer day, all functions that, immediately before the transfer day, were vested in the dissolved body shall stand vested in Gas Networks Ireland.

(2) References in any enactment (other than this Act) or other document to the dissolved body, to the extent that such references relate to functions, assets, rights or liabilities that are vested in, or transferred to, Gas Networks Ireland by this Act shall, on and from the transfer day, be construed as references to Gas Networks Ireland.

(3) The administration and business in connection with the performance of the functions vested in Gas Networks Ireland by virtue of subsection (1) are on the transfer day transferred to Gas Networks Ireland.

(4) References in any enactment (other than this Act) to the dissolved body, to the extent that such references relate to the administration and business transferred by subsection (3) shall, on and from the transfer day, be construed as references to Gas Networks Ireland.

12 Transfer of land and other property

(1) All lands that, immediately...