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## 29. Share Capital and Reserves 

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(i) The Ordinary Shares represent 93.68% of the total issued share capital. 

(ii) The Income Shares, which represent 5.85% of the total issued share capital, were created on 29 August 1988 for the express purpose of giving shareholders the choice of receiving dividends on either their Ordinary Shares or on their Income Shares (by notice of election to the Company). The Income Shares carried a different tax credit to the Ordinary Shares. The creation of the Income Shares was achieved by the allotment of fully paid Income Shares to each shareholder equal to his/her holding of Ordinary Shares but the shareholder is not entitled to an Income Share certificate, as a certificate for Ordinary Shares is deemed to include an equal number of Income Shares and a shareholder may only sell, transfer or transmit Income Shares with an equivalent number of Ordinary Shares. Income Shares carry no voting rights. Due to changes in Irish tax legislation since the creation of the Income Shares, dividends on the Company’s shares no longer carry a tax credit. As elections made by shareholders to receive dividends on their holding of Income Shares were no longer relevant, the Articles of Association were amended on 8 May 2002 to cancel such elections. 

## Share schemes 

The aggregate number of shares which may be committed for issue in respect of any share option scheme, savings-related share option scheme, share participation scheme, performance share plan or any subsequent option scheme or share plan, may not exceed 10% of the issued Ordinary share capital from time to time. 

## Share option schemes 

Details of share options granted under the Company’s share option schemes and the terms attaching thereto are provided in note 8 to the financial statements and on page 60 of the Report on Directors’ Remuneration. 

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## Share participation schemes 

As at 31 December 2012, 7,272,632 (2011: 7,118,587) Ordinary Shares had been appropriated to participation schemes. In the financial year ended 31 December 2012, the appropriation of 154,045 shares was satisfied by the reissue of Treasury Shares (2011: 39,144). The Ordinary Shares appropriated pursuant to these schemes were issued at market value on the dates of appropriation. The shares issued pursuant to these schemes are excluded from the scope of IFRS 2 Share- based Payment and are hence not factored into the expense computation and the associated disclosures in note 8. 

## Performance Share Plan 

In accordance with the terms of the Performance Share Plan (see note 8), Ordinary Shares have been purchased by the Employee Benefit Trust on behalf of CRH plc. The number of these shares held as at the balance sheet date was as follows: 

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In 2012, 226,617 Ordinary Shares were acquired by the Employee Benefit Trust by way of the reissue of Treasury Shares by CRH plc to satisfy the release of shares in respect of the 2009 award under the Performance Share Plan. 

(iii) Issue of scrip shares in lieu of cash dividends: 

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