78. — The Building Societies Act, 1989, is hereby amended by the insertion after section 101 of the following section:

“101A.— (1) This section shall apply where a conversion scheme specifies rights of members of the society entitling them to shares in the successor company, to acquire shares in the successor company in priority to other subscribers or to any distribution of the funds of the society.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where—

(a) a member held shares in the society for the whole of the specified period,

(b) any shares held by that member were jointly held for the whole or part of the specified period,

(c) that member is named second in the records of the society for the whole or part of the period the shares were jointly held, and

(d) no person who has priority, in accordance with sub section (3), over the member referred to in paragraph (a) held shares in the society throughout the specified period,

the shares jointly held shall be regarded as having been held alone by the member referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) The following persons shall be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (2), as having priority over the member referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection, namely—

(a) where that member was the representative joint holder of the shares for part of the period the shares were jointly held, any person who was the representative joint holder for a later part of that period,

(b) where that member was not the representative joint holder of the shares for any part of the period the shares were jointly held—

(i) any person who was the representative joint holder of the shares for the whole or part of the period, and

(ii) if, in relation to the shares jointly held, that member is named second in the records of the society for part only of the period the shares are so held, any person who was joint holder of the shares and who was named second in the records of the society for a later part of that period.

(4) Where a member dies during the specified period at a time when the name of that member appears in the records of the society as a joint holder of shares, this section shall have effect in relation to any later time as if the member had never been so named.

(5) In this section—

“conversion scheme” means a conversion scheme where the conversion date falls after the passing of this Act;

“specified period” means the period beginning two years before the end of the day on which notice is given to members of the conversion resolution and ending on the day on which the conversion resolution is passed.”.