Currency Act, 1927

Responsibility of Shareholding Banks for payment of consolidated bank notes.

58.—(1) Every consolidated bank note shall have printed thereon the name of the Shareholding Bank to which such note is issued by the Commission and in this section the expression “responsible Bank” means the Shareholding Bank whose name is so printed on the consolidated bank note in relation to which the expression is used.

(2) Save as authorised by the Commission under this section no Shareholding Bank shall pay out to any person (other than the responsible Bank) any consolidated bank note in respect of which it is not itself the responsible Bank.

(3) The Commission by general regulation or particular direction may, if special circumstances appear to the Commission to render such course expedient, by unanimous vote authorise a Shareholding Bank to pay out consolidated bank notes in respect of which it is not itself the responsible bank during such period, to such extent and subject to such conditions as the Commission thinks fit.

(4) The amount of every consolidated bank note shall be payable by the responsible Bank on presentation at its principal office in Dublin on any day which is not a Sunday or a Bank holiday and during the time for which such Bank is ordinarily open for business on such day, and such amount shall be so payable in coins or notes (at the option of such Bank) which are at the time of such presentation legal tender in Saorstát Eireann for such amount.

(5) Whenever the responsible Bank fails to pay in accordance with the foregoing sub-section a consolidated bank note duly presented to it in accordance with that sub-section, the holder of such note may either—

(a) recover the amount of such note from the responsible Bank by action in any Court of competent jurisdiction or, in the event of such Bank going into liquida- tion, prove in such liquidation for the amount of such note, or

(b) present such note to the Commission at its principal office in Dublin together with such evidence as the Commission may require of the due presentation of such note to the responsible Bank and the failure of such Bank to pay the amount thereof.

(6) Whenever a consolidated bank note is presented under this section to the Commission, the Commission shall receive such note and shall recover the amount thereof from the responsible Bank by action, claim, or proof on such note (for which purpose the Commission shall be deemed to be the holder of the note) or by resort to and enforcement of the security held by it from the responsible Bank.

(7) Whenever a consolidated bank note is duly presented to the Commission under the foregoing sub-section the Commission shall, as its own option, either—

(a) pay to the person who presented such note or his legal representative all moneys recovered from the responsible Bank by the Commission on foot of such note and, if such moneys are less than the amount of such note, pay the deficiency to such person or his legal representative out of the note reserve fund, or

(b) as soon as may be convenient after the presentation of such note, pay to such person or his legal representative the amount of such note out of the note reserve fund and pay all moneys recovered from the responsible Bank on foot of such note into the note reserve fund.

All moneys paid out of the note reserve fund under this sub-section by the Commission to a person or the legal representative of a person who presented a consolidated bank note shall bear interest payable by the responsible Bank to the Commission at such rate as the Commission shall appoint and recoverable by the Commission from such Bank as a civil debt.

(8) Every Shareholding Bank shall be liable and responsible to the holder of a consolidated bank note in respect of which such Bank is the responsible Bank for the amount of such note and such amount may be recovered by such holder from such Bank by process of law.

(9) For the purposes of section 6 of the Bank of Ireland Act 1821 , section 2 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act 1825, and section 1 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act, 1845 , every consolidated bank note shall be the note of and be deemed to have been issued by the Shareholding Bank (unless such Bank is the Bank of Ireland) which is under this section the responsible Bank in respect of such note and accordingly every shareholder and stockholder of such Bank shall be liable and responsible for the due payment of such note, but this sub-section shall not apply to the Bank of Ireland.

(10) For the purposes of section 20 of the Act of the Irish Parliament entitled “An Act for establishing a bank by the name of the Governors and Company of the Bank of Ireland” and passed in the year 1781-82, the amount of every consolidated bank note in respect of which the Bank of Ireland is the responsible Bank shall be a debt due by the said Bank to the holder of such note, and the said section shall apply accordingly.

(11) For the purposes of section 251 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 every Shareholding Bank shall be a “bank of issue” and every consolidated bank note in respect of which such Bank is the responsible Bank shall be a note of such Bank, and the said section shall apply accordingly.

(12) In this section the expression “Shareholding Bank” includes a bank which has ceased to be a Shareholding Bank but with which consolidated bank notes remain outstanding and not covered by a deposit of Saorstát gold coins or legal tender notes with the Commission in accordance with this Act.