PART I

Prepliminary and General

1. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1999 .

(2) The Companies Acts, 1963 to 1986, the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1990 , the Companies Act, 1990 , the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1999 , and this Act (other than section 40 ) may be cited together as the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1999.

(3) The enactments referred to in subsection (2) shall be construed together as one.

(4) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(5) The power under subsection (4) shall be so exercised that—

(a) the one day is appointed on which every provision of Part III (other than subsections (2), (3) and (7) of section 33 ), the First Schedule and the Second Schedule (in so far as it relates to the said Part) shall come into operation, and

(b) the day appointed on which subsections (2), (3) and (7) of section 33 shall come into operation is the day that is 2 months earlier than the said day.

2. —(1) In this Act—

“the Central Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;

“the Principal Act” means the Companies Act, 1963 .

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a Part, section or Schedule is a reference to a Part or section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended,

(c) a reference to any enactment is a reference to that enactment as amended, extended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).

3. —(1) The Minister may by order prescribe any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this Act (other than an order under section 1 (4) but including an order under this subsection).

(3) Every order under this Act (other than an order under section 1 (4)) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.