S.I. No. 147/1954:

DUBLIN GAS ORDER, 1954.

DUBLIN GAS ORDER, 1954.

I, WILLIAM NORTON, Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, and of every or any other power me in this behalf enabling, hereby order as follows :--

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Dublin Gas Order, 1954.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 19th day of July, 1954.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937) shall apply to this Order.

3. (1) In this Order--

the expression " the Acts " shall mean the Alliance and Dublin Consumers' Gas Acts, 1866 to 1909,

the expression " the Act of 1909 " shall mean the Alliance and Dublin Gas Act, 1909,

the expression " the Company " shall mean the Alliance and Dublin Consumers' Gas Company.

(2) Every word or expression to which a special meaning is assigned in the Acts or in the Gas and Waterworks Facilities Act, 1870, or in the Gas Regulation Act, 1920, shall, save where the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in this Order.

4. All costs, charges and expenses of and incidental to the applying for and preparing and obtaining of this Order and otherwise in relation thereto shall be paid by the Company as part of the expenses of the undertaking.

5. (1) The limits within which the Company may supply gas for public and private purposes and put the Acts in execution shall, in addition to the limits of supply prescribed by the Acts, extend to and include such parts of the County Borough of Dublin and the County of Dublin within a radius of nine miles of the General Post Office, Dublin, as are not included in the limits of supply prescribed by the Acts and shall also extend to and include the Parish of Bray and the Townland of Fassure in the County of Wicklow.

(2) The Company is hereby authorised to supply gas for public and private purposes within the said limits as so extended as aforesaid.

(3) For the purpose of the supply of gas within the said limits as so extended and of giving effect to this Order, the Company may exercise such powers under the Acts as may be necessary or desirable for carrying the same into execution, and in particular, subject to the provisions of the Acts, the Company may alter, extend, adapt, use and make applicable to such purposes all or any of their existing mains, pipes, machinery, works, plants and appliances, or any part or parts thereof, and the several powers possessed by the Company under the Acts or any of them, to the extent to which the same are or can be made applicable for the said purposes, may be exercised by the Company in connexion therewith within the said limits as so extended as aforesaid.

6. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 40 of the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, and in the Acts, the Company may, in addition to the sums which it is authorised to borrow under the Acts, borrow on mortgage of its undertaking any sum not exceeding in the whole £250,000, and may so borrow the said sum without being required to obtain the certificate referred to in section 40 of the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845.

7. The Company may create and issue debenture stock subject to the provisions of Part III of the Companies Clauses Act, 1863, as amended by the Companies Clauses Act, 1869, but notwithstanding anything therein or in the Acts or in any other Act contained--

(a) the interest of all debenture stock and of all mortgages at any time after the date of this Order created or issued or granted by the Company shall, subject to the provisions of any subsequent Order or enactment, rank pari passu (without respect to the dates of the securities or of the Acts of Parliament or Orders or resolutions by which the stock or mortgages were authorised) and shall have priority over all principal moneys secured by such mortgages and charged upon the undertaking. Notice of the effect of this provision shall be endorsed on all mortgages and certificates of debenture stock.

(b) such debenture stock whether authorised by and created or issued under the Act of 1909 or this Order may bear such rate of interest as the Company with the sanction mentioned in the said Part III of the Companies Clauses Act, 1863, may determine.

(c) any such debenture stock may with such sanction as aforesaid be issued either as perpetual debenture stock or subject to such provisions for the redemption thereof by the Company at the Company's option or otherwise at such times and in such manner and on such terms and conditions as may be expressed on the certificates of such debenture stock.

(d) it shall be lawful for the Company under the provisions of this Order from time to time to create and issue new debenture stock whether redeemable or otherwise to such amount as may be necessary to provide money for the redemption or purchase of any redeemable debenture stock or within the limits of the Company's borrowing powers to re-issue any debenture stock which has been redeemed under the provisions of this Order or to issue any such new debenture stock for the purpose of redemption of or in substitution for any such redeemable debenture stock.

(e) debenture stock authorised by and created and issued under the provisions of this Order or the Act of 1909 may subject to such sanction as aforesaid be offered for sale by public auction or tender in accordance with the provisions of section 18 of the Act of 1909 or be issued in such other manner at such price and to such persons at such times and subject in all respects to such conditions as the Company in accordance with the terms of such sanction may determine.

(f) the proceeds of any issue under paragraph (d) of this Article shall be applied for the redemption at maturity of any redeemable debenture stock for the redemption of which such issue was made but may if the directors of the Company think fit be also at any time applied in the purchase of any such debenture stock at a price not exceeding the redemption price and any debenture stock so redeemed or purchased, other than stock the re-issue of which is by paragraph (d) of this Article authorised, shall be cancelled.

(g) the creation of new debenture stock under the provisions of paragraph (d) of this Article and the issue of new debenture stock so created shall not be deemed to be an increase of the borrowing powers of the Company, but in determining for the purposes of their accounts for the year in which any such new debenture stock has been issued and for each subsequent year the nominal amount of loan capital issued the Company shall make all such adjustments of the said nominal amount as shall be necessary in order to show the actual nominal amount of loan capital for the time being issued.

8. (1) All money to be raised by the Company on mortgage or by debenture stock under the provisions of this Order shall have priority against the Company and the property from time to time of the Company over all other claims on account of any debts incurred or engagements entered into by them after the coming into operation of this Order, provided always that this priority shall not affect any claim against the Company or their property in respect of any rent charge granted or to be granted by them in pursuance of the Lands Clauses Acts or in respect of any rent or sum reserved by or payable under any lease granted or made to the Company which is entitled to rank in priority to or pari passu with the interest or dividends on their mortgages or debenture stock, and provided also that the provisions of this Article shall be construed subject to section 209 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, and shall not affect the priority of debts to which priority is given by that section.

(2) Section 107 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, is hereby incorporated with and shall be deemed to form part of this Order and, for the purpose of such incorporation, the references therein to a company shall be construed as references to the Company.

9. All money raised under this Order by the Company whether on mortgage or by debenture stock shall be applied only to the general purposes of the Company being in all cases purposes to which capital is properly applicable.

10. Section 28 of the Act of 1909 shall be amended by substituting for the words " the paid-up capital of the Company " in subsections (1) and (3) thereof the words " the aggregate amount for the time being of the paid-up capital of the Company and of any premiums paid in respect thereof and of any outstanding loans raised by the Company on mortgage or by the creation and issue of debenture stock."

11. (1) The Directors of the Company may if they think fit in any year appropriate out of the revenue of the Company as part of the expenditure on revenue account any sum not exceeding an amount equal to ten shillings per cent. of the aggregate amount for the time being of the paid-up capital of the Company and of any premiums paid in respect thereof and of any outstanding loans raised by the Company on mortgage or by the creation and issue of debenture stock to a fund to be called " the Renewals Fund."

(2) The Renewals Fund shall be applicable to meet expenses incurred in the renewal of plant and works.

(3) The amount standing to the credit of the Renewals Fund shall not at any time exceed an amount equal to one-twentieth part of the aggregate amount for the time being of the paid-up capital of the Company and of any premiums paid in respect thereof and of any outstanding loans raised by the Company on mortgage or by the creation and issue of debenture stock.

(4) The moneys forming the Renewals Fund or any portion thereof may be invested in securities in which trustees are authorised by law to invest or may be applied for the general purposes of the Company to which capital is properly applicable or may be used partly in the one way or partly in the other.

(5) Resort may from time to time be had to the Renewals Fund notwithstanding that the sum standing to the credit of the fund is for the time being less than the maximum allowed by this Order.

12. Notwithstanding anything in the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, as applied by enactment to the Company :--

(1) (a) any person employed as chief engineer, general manager, or secretary of the company may be appointed a director of the company whether he is a stockholder or shareholder in the company or not, but not so as to increase the number of the directors beyond the maximum number prescribed by any enactment relating to the company ;

(b) a person appointed a director of the company by virtue of the last foregoing paragraph shall not cease to be a director by reason that he is employed as aforesaid;

(c) any such appointment shall be made by the directors of the company either for a fixed term or without any limitation as to the term thereof, but any person appointed by the directors by virtue of this section shall cease to be a director as from the next ordinary general meeting of the company unless the appointment is approved at that meeting by an ordinary resolution of the company ;

(d) the provisions of the said Act requiring directors to retire by rotation shall have effect as if a person appointed by virtue of this Article were not a director, but any appointment under this Article may be terminated by decision of the directors of the company, confirmed by an ordinary resolution of the company either at the next ordinary general meeting or any earlier general meeting specially convened for that purpose ;

(e) not more than one director of the company shall hold office at the same time by virtue of this Article ;

(2) any person formerly employed by the Company who is in receipt of a pension or superannuation allowance from the Company, or from any Pension or Superannuation Fund or Scheme operated by the Company or the Company's directors, shall not be disqualified from being appointed a director of the Company only by reason of being in receipt of any such pension or superannuation allowance.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 19th day of July, 1954.

(Signed) WILLIAM NORTON,

Minister for Industry and Commerce.