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16 1989

CENTRAL BANK ACT, 1989

Chapter XI

Legal Tender Notes

Provision of legal tender notes.

118. —(1) It shall be lawful for the Bank to provide and issue in accordance with this Part notes to be known and in this Part referred to as legal tender notes for the following denominations, namely, £1, £5, £10, £20, £50, £100 and any other monetary denominations in respect of which the Minister has made an order under subsection (4) and such notes shall be current in the State and shall be legal tender in the State for the payment of any amount.

(2) Every legal tender note shall be of such form, size and design and printed in such a manner and on such paper and numbered and authenticated in such manner as stood prescribed before the commencement of this section or as may be prescribed thereafter from time to time for the purpose of this section.

(3) Any legal tender note of any denomination provided and issued at any time under the Currency Act, 1927 , or any subsequent Act shall continue to be current in the State and shall continue to be legal tender in the State for the payment of any amount.

(4) The Minister may, from time to time, by order specify for the purposes of subsection (1) any monetary denomination which is not already specified either in that subsection or by virtue of this subsection.

(5) In this section—

paper” includes any material capable of being printed upon;

prescribed” means prescribed by the Bank with the sanction of the Minister.

Application of certain enactments.

119. —Legal tender notes issued under this Act or under the Currency and Central Bank Acts, 1927 to 1971, or any of those Acts shall be deemed to be bank notes within the meaning of the Forgery Act, 1913, and any other enactment relating to offences in respect of bank notes which is for the time being in force in the State and to be valuable securities within the meaning of the Larceny Act, 1916, and any other law relating to stealing which is for the time being in force in the State and to be current coin of the State for the purpose of the Acts relating to payment of wages in cash and any other like enactment.

Issue of legal tender notes by Bank.

120. —(1) The Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 44:

“44. It shall be lawful for the Bank to issue legal tender notes—

(a) to itself or any other person against—

(i) gold bullion, or

(ii) any currency, security or other form of asset which may be held by the Bank, which, in the case of such other person, is delivered to the Bank in such manner and subject to such conditions as it may prescribe, or

(b) to such other person against an authorisation to charge that person's account with the Bank.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation with effect from the date the legal tender note fund is wound up under section 22 .

Redemption of legal tender notes.

121. —(1) The holder of a legal tender note of any denomination shall be entitled, on demand made by him during office hours at the principal office of the Bank in Dublin, to receive in exchange for the note—

(a) either or both one or more legal tender notes and coins which would be legal tender, or

(b) where the Bank has determined that payment by any other means is appropriate and the holder of the legal tender note so requests or consents, payment by that means, or

(c) (i) either or both one or more legal tender notes and coins which would be legal tender, and

(ii) part-payment in accordance with paragraph (b),

to the same total value.

(2) The Bank may refuse to exchange in accordance with subsection (1) any legal tender note which is so worn or damaged that it is in the opinion of the Bank not identifiable as a particular legal tender note or that the portion of such note forthcoming is not sufficient in the opinion of the Bank to exclude the possibility of the residue of such note being so exchanged on another occasion.

(3) The Bank may make such arrangements as it thinks proper for the cancellation and destruction by it or on its behalf of such legal tender notes exchanged in accordance with subsection (1) as it does not think proper to preserve for re-issue.

Calling in of legal tender notes.

122. —The Bank may, subject to such conditions as to time, place, manner and order of presentation as it thinks fit, call in any legal tender notes issued under this Act, or under the Currency and Central Bank Acts, 1927 to 1971, or any of those Acts, on the terms of paying for such notes on presentation in the same manner as if they were being redeemed under section 121 .

Defacement, etc., of legal tender notes and consolidated bank notes.

123. —(1) It shall not be lawful for any person to do any of the following things, that is to say—

(a) to cut, tear, or otherwise mutilate, or to interfere with any security device on or contained in, a legal tender note or a consolidated bank note, or

(b) to write, print, draw, stamp, emboss, or in any other way impress on a legal tender note or a consolidated bank note any letter, figure, design, or other mark, or

(c) to perforate a legal tender note or a consolidated bank note, whether the perforations do or do not form or represent any letter, figure, or other design, or

(d) to attach or affix to a legal tender note or a consolidated bank note any memorandum, advertisement or other writing.

(2) Every person who commits any act in relation to a legal tender note or a consolidated bank note which is a contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(3) The fact that a legal tender note has been the subject of an act which is a contravention of this section shall not prejudice or affect any obligation imposed or power conferred on the Bank by sections 121 and 122 of this Act to pay or exchange such note nor prejudice or affect any power so conferred on the Bank to refuse to exchange such note.

(4) The fact that a consolidated bank note has been the subject of an act which is a contravention of this section shall not prejudice or affect the obligation imposed on the Bank by section 36 (3) of the Principal Act in respect of payment on presentation of the note at its principal office in Dublin.

(5) This section shall not apply to anything done by or on behalf of the Bank for the purpose of the cancellation of a legal tender note or the retirement or cancellation of a consolidated bank note.