No. 23/1958:

SAVINGS BANKS ACT, 1958

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Interpretation.

2 Receipt and repayment of deposits.

3 Superannuation of staff of trustee savings banks.

4 Issue of deposit books not containing rules.

5 Removal of restrictions on number of accounts in savings banks.

6 Short title and collective citation.

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE TRUSTEE SAVINGS BANKS ACTS, 1863 TO 1920, TO PROVIDE FOR THE CESSER OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THOSE ACTS AND IN THE POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK ACTS, 1861 TO 1920, AND TO EXTEND SECTION 11 OF THE POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK ACT, 1861.

[23rd July, 1958.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1.—(1) In this Act—

"the Acts" means the Trustee Savings Banks Acts, 1863 to 1920;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.

(2) This Act, so far as it relates to the Post Office Savings Bank, shall be construed as one with the Post Office Savings Bank Acts, 1861 to 1920, and, so far as it relates to trustee savings banks, shall be construed as one with the Acts.

2.—In the case of any trustee savings bank, notwithstanding anything contained in the Acts or the rules and regulations for the management of the bank—

( a ) deposits may be received and repaid by cheque or other negotiable instrument or by postal or money order,

( b ) the receipt and repayment of deposits may be carried out either during or outside the usual hours of the bank for public business,

( c ) delivery of the amount of a deposit, either for receipt or repayment, may be made by post, and

( d ) for the purposes of a group savings scheme operated by the bank in any place, deposits may be received on behalf of the bank at that place by a trustee, manager or paid officer of the bank, either during or outside the usual hours of the bank for public business.

3.—(1) The trustees of a trustee savings bank may, with the consent of the Minister, prepare and carry out in accordance with its terms a scheme for the granting, subject to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed in the scheme, of superannuation benefits by way of pension or gratuity or both to or in respect of persons to whom this section applies.

(2) The trustees may at any time, with the consent of the Minister, amend a scheme under this section.

(3) The amount of and conditions in relation to the grant, termination or suspension of superannuation benefits under a scheme under this section shall, as nearly as may be, be equivalent in all respects to the amount of and conditions in relation to the grant, termination or suspension of superannuation benefits under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1956, as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment.

(4) This section applies to—

( a ) persons who become employed in the permanent and whole-time service of the bank after the passing of this Act,

( b ) persons who are employed in the permanent and whole-time service of the bank immediately before the passing of this Act and who adopt the provisions of a scheme under this section.

(5) A person to whom this section applies shall not be granted compensation under section 3 of the Savings Banks Act, 1904.

(6) The expenses incurred by the trustees in preparing and carrying out a scheme under this section shall be paid as part of the current expenses of the bank.

4.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 52 of the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1863, a deposit book which does not contain a copy of the certified rules of a trustee savings bank may be furnished to a depositor in the bank.

(2) A copy of the certified rules of the bank shall be furnished on request to a depositor to whom a deposit book of the kind specified in subsection (1) of this section has been furnished and copies of such rules shall be made available to depositors at the office and branch offices of the bank.

5.—(1) Section 38 of the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1863 (which prohibits double accounts in trustee savings banks), subsection (2) of section 1 of the Savings Banks Act, 1887 (which provides that regulations shall prohibit a person from being a depositor in both a trustee savings bank and the Post Office Savings Bank or from having two separate accounts in the Post Office Savings Bank), and subsection (1) of section 12 of the Savings Banks Act, 1891 (which provides for the forfeiture of amounts illegally deposited) shall cease to have effect.

(2) Regulations may be made by the Minister for Finance prescribing what declaration shall be required from a depositor on opening an account in a trustee savings bank and regulations may be made under section 11 of the Post Office Savings Bank Act, 1861, prescribing what declaration shall be required from a depositor on opening an account in the Post Office Savings Bank.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Savings Banks Act, 1958 .

(2) The Post Office Savings Bank Acts, 1861 to 1920, and so much of this Act as relates to the Post Office Savings Bank may be cited together as the Post Office Savings Bank Acts, 1861 to 1958.

(3) The Acts and as much of this Act as relates to trustee savings banks may be cited together as the Trustee Savings Banks Acts, 1863 to 1958.