(1) The Central Bank shall prepare and keep a file relating to each building society. The file is to be known as the public file of the society and must contain the documents or, if the case so requires, copies of the documents, and the records of the matters, directed by or under this Act to be kept in the public file of the society.

(2) The Central Bank shall ensure that a society's public file is kept at a specified office of that Bank and that the file is made available for inspection by members of the public during the ordinary business hours of that office.

(3) If a society's public file is kept in a form that is not immediately legible, the Central Bank shall make available a legible version of that file.

(4) A person who, during the ordinary business hours of the Bank, attends the office at which the Central Bank keeps the public files of societies is entitled -

(a) to inspect without charge the public file of a specified society, and

(b) on payment of the fee (if any) prescribed under section 33K of the Central Bank Act 1942, for the purposes of this subsection, to obtain a copy of all or any of the documents or records kept in the public file of the society.