Finance Act, 1993

Foreign currency clearing accounts, etc.

139.—(1) The Minister may, whenever he considers it appropriate, establish accounts denominated in a currency other than the currency of the State and each account so established shall be known as a foreign currency clearing account.

(2) Notwithstanding section 54 of the Finance Act, 1970 , section 67 (8) of the Finance Act, 1988 , and any other statutory provision to the contrary, the Minister may pay into any foreign currency clearing account the proceeds of any borrowing or other transaction denominated in a currency other than the currency of the State but only if such proceeds are not moneys placed on deposit in accordance with section 4 of the Appropriation Act, 1965 .

(3) Except for transactions undertaken under section 4 of the Appropriation Act, 1965 , all payments and receipts denominated in any currency other than the currency of the State and in respect of which currency a foreign currency clearing account stands established shall be processed through the foreign currency clearing account so established or the Exchequer accounts at the Central Bank of Ireland.

(4) The Minister may, subject to subsection (7), apply any amounts standing to the credit of any foreign currency clearing account towards any of the following, that is to say:

(a) the defraying of interest or expenses arising on the public debt;

(b) the repayment of principal relating to the public debt;

(c) the discharging of payment obligations arising under any transactions entered into under section 54 (7) of the Finance Act, 1970 ;

(d) notwithstanding section 4 of the Appropriation Act, 1965 , the placing of such sums on deposit.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4) (d), the Minister may, whenever he considers it appropriate, establish deposit accounts denominated in a currency other than the currency of the State and each account so established shall be known as a foreign currency deposit account.

(6) The Minister shall only pay the proceeds of any deposit placed in a foreign currency deposit account, together with any interest earned on any such deposit, into a foreign currency clearing account which is denominated in the currency of such deposit.

(7) The disbursement of money from any foreign currency clearing account shall be subject to control by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the manner in which such control shall be exercised shall be specified by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

(8) All outstanding balances on foreign currency clearing accounts denominated in a particular currency shall, at least once in every calendar year, be reduced on the same day to zero by either paying such balances into the Exchequer accounts at the Central Bank of Ireland or applying such balances for any of the purposes set out in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (4) and on that day there shall not be outstanding any deposits denominated in that currency in any foreign currency deposit account.

(9) Accounts prepared under section 12 of the National Treasury Management Agency Act, 1990 , shall include a statement of any sums standing in every foreign currency clearing account and foreign currency deposit account at the close of the financial year of the Agency.

(10) The functions of the Minister referred to in the First Schedule to the National Treasury Management Agency Act, 1990 , for the purposes of section 5 of that Act shall be construed as if there were included in that Schedule for those purposes a reference to the functions of the Minister under this section.

(11) In this section “the Minister” means the Minister for Finance.