Home Building Finance Ireland Act 2018
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Communications with HBFI | ||
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25. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (8), a person shall not, with the intention of influencing the making of a decision in relation to the performance of the functions of HBFI or the HBFI group entity, communicate, on behalf of another person (in this section referred to as the “principal”), with— | ||
(a) HBFI, | ||
(b) a HBFI group entity, or | ||
(c) a person providing services or advice to HBFI or a HBFI group entity. | ||
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a reference in that subsection to a decision relating to the performance of the functions of HBFI includes a decision relating to— | ||
(a) the lending of money, or | ||
(b) any other matter that could give rise to an advantage or benefit to a person other than HBFI. | ||
(3) A person does not contravene subsection (1) if— | ||
(a) the person who makes the communication concerned is— | ||
(i) acting in his or her capacity as an adviser to the principal in relation to law, finance or the acquisition, disposal or development of land, | ||
(ii) acting in his or her capacity as an employee of the principal, | ||
(iii) where the principal is not a natural person— | ||
(I) a shareholder in, or | ||
(II) a person exercising control (within the meaning of section 4 (2) of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 ) over, | ||
the principal, | ||
(b) the communication concerned is made without an intention to benefit, or confer an advantage on, any specific person, or | ||
(c) where the person concerned publishes, as soon as practicable following the communication, a notice in a national daily newspaper, published and circulating in the State, stating— | ||
(i) the principal’s name, | ||
(ii) the address (or principal address) at which the principal carries on business or (if there is no such address) the address at which the principal ordinarily resides, | ||
(iii) the principal’s business or main activities, | ||
(iv) any e-mail address, telephone number or website address relating to the principal’s business or main activities, | ||
(v) any registration number issued to the principal by the Companies Registration Office, and | ||
(vi)(if a company) the address of the principal’s registered office, | ||
(vii) the date of the communication, and | ||
(viii) the subject matter of the communication and the result it was intended to secure. | ||
(4) A person who believes that he or she has been communicated with in contravention of subsection (1) shall, as soon as practicable, report to a member of the Garda Síochána— | ||
(a) that the communication was made, | ||
(b) the details of the communication made, and | ||
(c) the name of the person who communicated with him or her. | ||
(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence. | ||
(6) A person who fails to comply with subsection (4) commits an offence. | ||
(7) A person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a class D fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both. | ||
(8) The person on whose behalf a communication is made which gives rise to an offence under subsection (1) does not commit an offence. |