Finance Act, 1978

Contracts of guarantee and loan contracts in connection with aid to developing countries.

51.—(1) The Minister for Finance may, on behalf of the State, enter into contracts of guarantee and loan contracts in connection with actions designed to aid countries and territories described as developing countries and territories in the latest annual report of the Chairman of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published before the date of the relevant contract.

(2) The Minister for Finance shall not so exercise the powers conferred on him by this section that the amount or aggregate amount of money which he may at any one time be liable to pay under contracts of guarantee and loan contracts, together with the amounts (if any) which the said Minister has previously paid under contracts of guarantee and loan contracts and have not been repaid to him, exceeds £10,000,000.

(3) Moneys required to be paid by the Minister for Finance to meet sums which may become payable by him under subsection (1) of this section shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(4) Where the whole or any part of moneys advanced under subsection (3) of this section in respect of contracts of guarantee has not been repaid to the Minister for Finance within a period of five years from the date of the advance, the amount so remaining outstanding shall be repaid to the Central Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(5) Money received by the Minister for Finance arising out of contracts of guarantee and loan contracts entered into pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

(6) In this section—

“contracts of guarantee” means contracts under which the State becomes liable in respect of the whole or part of the financial obligations incurred by the recipients of loans under the terms of the loans;

“loan contracts” means contracts providing for loans under which the State advances the whole or part of the loans either directly or through an international organisation of which the State is a member.