Commentary
5.Section 1 provides that there may be paid out of money provided by Parliament sums required by HM Treasury for the purpose of making loans to Ireland by the UK. The maximum amount of payments that HM Treasury may make (excluding repayments), in the 5 year period beginning 9 December 2010, is £3,250 million. HM Treasury has an order-making power under subsection (4) to increase that limit. Where HM Treasury increases that limit solely for the purpose of taking into account exchange rate fluctuations between sterling and the euro during any part of the period between 9 December 2010 and the 30th day after the Act received Royal Assent, the order is not subject to any Parliamentary procedures. Otherwise, any order increasing the financial limit on lending is subject to affirmative procedure in the House of Commons.
6.Subsection (9) provides that section 1 ceases to have effect after 8 December 2015.
7.Section 2 provides that HM Treasury is under a duty to report to the House of Commons at six monthly intervals. The details required to be included in the reports are listed in subsection (3). The effect of subsection (4) is that a report is not required for a reporting period if (a) during that period there have been no loan disbursements, no loan repayments and no interest payments, and (b) there is no amount of principal and no interest outstanding at the end of that period.
8.Subsection (5) provides for section 2 to cease to have effect on a date after 31 March 2016 in circumstances where, as a result of subsection (4), there is no requirement to prepare a report.