2. In this Act—

“Act of 1976” means Gas Act 1976;

“Act of 1987” means Gas (Amendment) Act 1987;

“Act of 2002” means Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002;

“Act of 2006” means Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006;

“assets” means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property of any description (including money) and includes securities, choses in action and documents;

“BGÉ” means Bord Gáis Éireann;

F1["board of directors" means the board of directors of the network company appointed under section 7A;]

F1["chief executive officer" means, subject to section 7B(6), the person appointed to be the chief executive officer of the network company under that section;]

“Commission” means Commission for Energy Regulation (as adapted by section 5 of the Act of 2002);

F1["director" means, other than in subsection (1) of section 7A, a person appointed to the board of directors under that section or the chief executive officer;]

“disposal date”, in relation to an energy company, means the date on which the energy company is disposed of pursuant to section 30;

“distribution system” means the system owned by BGÉ and operated by Gaslink for the transport of natural gas through local or regional pipelines with a view to its delivery to customers;

“employees of BGÉ” includes employees of the Board within the meaning of section 7A of the Act of 1976;

“energy business” means the energy business owned and operated by BGÉ and its subsidiaries and includes the functions, business activities, assets and licences of BGÉ and its subsidiaries that relate to—

(a) the supply of natural gas,

(b) the generation of electricity,

(c) the supply of electricity, and

(d) the operations of the subsidiary of BGÉ registered under the laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as firmus energy (Distribution) Limited under company registration number 05375370;

“energy company” shall be construed in accordance with section 21;

“Gaslink” means Gaslink Independent System Operator Ltd., being the company formed pursuant to Regulation 5 of the European Communities (Internal Market in Natural Gas) (BGÉ) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 760 of 2005);

“liabilities” means liabilities, debts or obligations (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent);

“licences” includes licences, authorisations and permits under —

(a) the Foreshore Act 1933,

(b) the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992,

(c) the Electricity Regulation Act 1999,

(d) the Gas (Amendment) Act 2000,

(e) the Act of 2002,

(f) the European Communities (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading) Regulations 2012 (S.I. No. 490 of 2012).

F2["majority-shareholding Minister" has the same meaning as it has in the Gas (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024;]

“material interest” shall be construed in accordance with section 2(3) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995;

“Minister” means Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources;

“Natural Gas Directive” means Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 ² concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC;

“network company” shall be construed in accordance with section 5;

“network transfer date” shall be construed in accordance with section 15;

“network transfer plan” shall be construed in accordance with section 13;

“ownership”, in relation to an asset, includes proprietary rights arising under a lease, a licence or a bailment of the asset;

“rights” means any rights, powers, privileges or immunities (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent);

“transmission system” means the system owned by BGÉ and operated by Gaslink for the transport of natural gas through a high pressure pipeline, other than an upstream pipeline, with a view to delivering the gas to customers;

“subsidiary” means a subsidiary within the meaning of the Companies Acts;

“transfer date” shall be construed in accordance with section 25;

“transfer plan” shall be construed in accordance with section 21.