§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary whether the so-called Irish Provident Assurance Company was required to make a deposit of £20,000 before commencing operations and to maintain that deposit to the present time; whether that money or any portion of it was now available to indemnify the company's victims; how many such victims there were; and what percentage of the money entrusted to the company had been spent in salaries and expenses?
Mr. BUXTONI am asked by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to answer the hon. Member's question. The Irish Provident Assurance Company, Limited, was registered in the year 1900 with a memorandum of association by which the power to do life assurance business was expressly excluded. The company was not liable under the then existing law to make a deposit, and accordingly was not required to make a deposit of £20,000 before commencing operations. As I informed the hon. Member on the 11th instant, the winding-up of the company is entirely under the control of the Irish courts of law, and there are no official 1044 facts or figures relating to the company in the possession of the Chief Secretary or of the Board of Trade.
§ Mr. GINNELLHow is it that an insurance company in England is required to lodge £20,000, while one in Ireland is not?