PART III.

Special Powers of the Company in Relation to the Laying Down and Maintenance of Pipe-Lines, and the Compulsory Acquisition of Land and the Construction, Maintenance and Operation of Transport Works.

Right of entry on land.

21. —(1) Any person (in this section referred to as an authorised officer) authorised in this behalf by the Minister in writing may, upon production of such authority, enter on any land for the purpose of making thereon any inquiry, investigation, or examination preliminary or incidental to the doing of any thing which the Company is authorised by this Part of this Act to do.

(2) If any person impedes or obstructs an authorised officer in the exercise of the powers conferred on such authorised officer by this section, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

Pipe-lines.

Power of Company to lay down and maintain pipelines.

22. —(1) The Company may subject to the provisions of this section, lay down and maintain pipe-lines for the purpose of carrying or conveying materials or liquids to or from premises owned by the Company.

(2) The Company shall not, without the previous consent of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, lay down any pipe-line under any public road.

Compulsory Acquisition of Land.

Acquisition of land, etc., by the Company.

23. —(1) The Company may for the purposes of the business of the Company do, with the consent of the Minister, all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) compulsorily acquire any land;

(b) compulsorily acquire any easement, way-leave, water-right, fishing right, or other right whatsoever existing over or in respect of any land or water.

(2) The Company may for the purposes of the laying down and maintenance of pipe-lines do, with the consent of the Minister, either or both of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) compulsorily acquire any land;

(b) compulsorily acquire any right over or in respect of any land or water.

(3) The Company shall not acquire under this section any land or any right over or in respect of any land held or occupied by a local authority or any body corporate for the purposes of any railway, tramway, dock, canal, water, gas, electricity, or other public undertaking.

(4) At any time after the passing of this Act and before conveyance or ascertainment of compensation the Company may, subject to the provisions of this section, enter on and take possession of any land, or exercise any right which the Company is authorised by this section to acquire compulsorily.

(5) Before exercising any of the powers conferred on it by the immediately preceding sub-section, the Company shall—

(a) in the case of the acquisition of any land, give at least one mo nth's or, if the land is an occupied dwelling house, three months' previous notice in writing to the occupier of the land;

(b) in any other case, give at least one month's notice in writing to the owner of the right or other property affected.

(6) Every notice under this section shall be accompanied by a plan showing fully and clearly the land or right to which the notice relates.

(7) Where the Company under this section enters on and takes possession of any land or exercises any right (as the case may be) before payment of the compensation, the Company shall pay to the occupier of the land or owner of the easement or other right affected (as the case may be) interest on the amount of such compensation when fixed at the rate of four pounds per cent, per annum from the date of such entry and taking possession or the exercise of such right (as the case may be) until the date of conveyance to the Company.

(8) Where the Company acquires under this section any land which is subject, either alone or in conjunction with other land, to a purchase annuity, payment in lieu of rent, or other annual sum (not being merely a rent under a contract of tenancy) payable to the Irish Land Commission, the Company shall become and be liable, as from the date on which the Company enters on and takes possession of the land so acquired, for the payment to the Irish Land Commission of such annual sum or such portion thereof as shall be apportioned by the Irish Land Commission on such land as if such land had been transferred to the Company by the proprietor thereof on that date.

(9) A notice under this section may be served on any person by sending such notice by registered post addressed to such person at his usual or last known address or, in the case of a notice to the occupier of any land, at such land.

(10) A notice under this section to the occupier of any land may be addressed to such occupier by the description “the occupier” without stating his name.

Payment and ascertainment of compensation.

24. —(1) Compensation shall be paid by the Company for land compulsorily acquired by the Company under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of the immediately preceding section to the several persons entitled thereto or having estates or interests therein, and for or in respect of easements, way-leaves, water-rights, fishing rights, and other rights compulsorily acquired under sub-section (1) of the said section to the owner thereof or the several persons entitled to or having estates or interests in the land or water over or in respect of which such rights are so acquired, and for or in respect of rights over or in respect of any land or water compulsorily acquired under sub-section (2) of the said section to the owner thereof or the several persons entitled to or having estates or interests in such land or water, and such compensation shall, in default of agreement, be fixed under and in accordance with the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919.

(2) All claims for compensation in respect of any land or right compulsorily acquired under the immediately preceding section shall be made within one year after such land is first entered on or such right is first exercised by the Company.

(3) Sections 69 to 83 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, shall apply to any compensation payable by the Company under this section and to the conveyance to the Company of property, corporeal or incorporeal, compulsorily acquired by it under the immediately preceding section, and for the purpose of such application the Company shall be deemed to be the promoter of the undertaking.

Construction, Maintenance and Operation of Transport Works.

Transport works.

25. —Each of the following works shall be transport works for the purposes of this Part of this Act, that is to say:—

(a) a railway;

(b) a tramway;

(c) an aerial ropeway;

(d) any other works for the transport of goods;

(e) any lines for the transmission of electricity generated by the Company.

Applications for orders authorising transport works.

26. —(1) The Company may apply to the Minister for an order (in this Part of this Act referred to as a transport works order) under this Part of this Act authorising it to construct, maintain, and operate, for the purposes of the business of the Company, transport works of a particular kind.

(2) Every application for a transport works order shall be accompanied by a draft of the proposed order, a plan of the proposed transport works, and a book of reference to such plan, and such draft, plan, and book of reference shall be in such form as the Minister may direct.

Deposit of draft order and notice of application.

27. —(1) Whenever an application is made for a transport works order the Company shall forthwith do the following things, that is to say:—

(a) deposit and keep deposited at the place or at each of the places appointed by the Minister a copy of the draft order, the plan, and the book of reference to such plan, which accompanied the application;

(b) publish a notice in such newspaper or newspapers as the Minister may direct, of the making of such application and of the deposit of a copy of such draft order, plan, and book of reference, and the place of such deposit;

(c) send to such persons (if any) as the Minister may direct a copy of such draft order, plan, and book of reference.

(2) Any person may inspect at all reasonable hours the copy of any draft order, plan, or book of reference deposited under this section.

Fees on applications.

28. —(1) There shall be paid to the Minister on every application for a transport works order such fee as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may fix.

(2) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to all fees payable under this section, that is to say:—

(a) such fees shall be collected in money and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance may from time to time direct, and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance; and

(b) the Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of such fees.

Local inquiries into applications for transport works order.

29. —(1) Whenever an application is made to the Minister for a transport works order the Minister shall appoint an officer of the Minister to hold a public inquiry into such application in the locality in which it is proposed to construct the transport works the subject of the application, and the Company, every owner, lessee and occupier of the land on or over which it is proposed to construct such transport works, every local authority within whose area such works are intended to pass, and every other person who, in the opinion of such officer, is substantially interested in the subject matter of such inquiry shall be entitled to appear and be heard at such inquiry.

(2) Evidence given before an officer of the Minister appointed to hold an inquiry under this section shall, if such officer so requires, be given on oath (which such officer is hereby empowered to administer) and any person who gives false evidence before any such officer shall be guilty of perjury and punishable accordingly.

Transport works orders.

30. —(1) After completion of a public inquiry under the immediately preceding section into an application for a transport works order the Minister shall consider such application and the report of the officer who made such inquiry, and if, after such consideration and after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, the Minister is of opinion that the application should be granted, the Minister shall make a transport works order authorising the Company to construct, maintain, and operate the transport works specified therein in such manner, subject to such restrictions and provisions and on such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks proper and specifies in such order.

(2) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to every transport works order, that is to say:—

(a) such order shall contain such provisions as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient for the purposes of such order;

(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of this sub-section—

(i) such order may contain provisions authorising the Company to acquire compulsorily any land the acquisition of which is, in the opinion of the Minister, necessary for giving effect to such order;

(ii) such order may grant to the Company any rights in or over land or water, or in or over any public road the grant of which is, in the opinion of the Minister, necessary for giving effect to such order;

(iii) such order shall, in respect of any land so acquired or any right over land or water so granted, provide for the payment of compensation by the Company to the several persons having estates or interests in such land or water, and shall provide that any question of disputed compensation shall be determined under and in accordance with the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919;

(iv) such order may incorporate all or any of the provisions of the Lands Clauses Acts, with such modifications and adaptations as the Minister thinks proper;

(v) such order shall specify the manner in which the transport works to which such order relates are to be constructed;

(vi) such order may contain provisions as to the manner in which such transport works are to be operated and maintained;

(vii) such order shall contain provisions limiting the use of such transport works to purposes relating to the business of the Company and to such other purposes (if any) as may be specified in such order;

(viii) such order shall contain all such provisions as the Minister thinks proper for the protection of the public generally and any persons affected by such order;

(ix) such order may provide that where the Company acts in contravention (whether by commission or omission) of any specified provision of such order, the Company shall be guilty of an offence under such order and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to such fine (not exceeding one hundred pounds) as may be specified in such order in respect of such offence and, in the case of a continuing offence, such further fine (not exceeding twenty pounds) as may be specified in such order in respect of such offence for each day during which such offence is continued after conviction thereof;

(x) such order may incorporate any provisions (including penal provisions) contained in any enactment relating to railways, with such adaptations and modifications as the Minister thinks proper;

(xi) such order may provide for the determination by arbitration of any specified questions arising thereunder;

(xii) such order may contain such provisions ancillary or incidental to any of the matters aforesaid as the Minister considers necessary and proper.

(3) The Minister may by order amend any transport works order.

(4) Every order made under this section shall have the force of law.

(5) All expenses incurred by the Minister in the exercise of his powers and functions under a transport works order shall, to such extent as may be determined by the Minister for Finance, be paid to the Minister by the Company.

Regulations in relation to maintenance and operation of transport works.

31. —Where the Minister has made a transport works order authorising the Company to construct, maintain and operate transport works of a particular kind, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the Minister may make regulations (not inconsistent with such order) in relation to the manner in which such transport works are to be maintained and operated by the Company and by any other person operating such works on behalf of the Company;

(b) if the Company or such other person acts in contravention (by omission or commission) of such regulations, the Company shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds and in the case of a continuing offence a further fine not exceeding five pounds for each day during which the offence is continued after conviction thereof.

Regulations in relation to use of electrical power.

32. —Where the Minister has made a transport works order authorising the Company to construct, maintain and operate transport works of a particular kind and has by such order authorised such transport works to be operated by electrical power, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the Minister may, after consultation with the Electricity Supply Board, make such regulations as he may think fit for securing that the electrical power shall be used by the Company and by any other person operating such works on behalf of the Company with all reasonable and proper precautions against danger to the public or damage to the property of any person;

(b) in making such regulations the Minister shall have regard to the expense occasioned thereby to the Company and to the effect thereof on the financial prospects of the Company;

(c) if the Company or any other person operating such transport works on behalf of the Company uses such electrical power in contravention of such regulations, the Company shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds and in the case of a continuing offence a further fine of five pounds for each day during which the offence is continued after conviction thereof;

(d) if in the opinion of the Minister the Company or any person operating such transport works on behalf of the Company has used such electrical power in contravention of such regulations (whether the Company has or has not been convicted of an offence) or the Minister is satisfied that the use of such power is a danger to the public, he may by order require the Company to cease to exercise the powers conferred by such transport works order with respect to the use of electrical power and thereupon the Company shall cease to exercise such powers except with the consent of the Minister and subject to such terms and conditions as he thinks fit.

Laying of orders and regulations before Houses of the Oireachtas.

33. —Every order and every regulation made by the Minister under this Part of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as conveniently may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling such order or regulation is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next subsequent ten days on which that House has sat after such order or regulation is so laid before it, such order or regulation (as the case may be) shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such order or regulation.

Protection of public roads and bridges as against the Company.

34. —(1) If and whenever the construction of any transport works involves the diversion, removal, or submergence of or any other interference with any public road or bridge, the following provisions shall (save as is otherwise provided by this section) have effect, that is to say:—

(a) where the construction of the transport works involves the closing of such road or bridge to traffic, the Company shall construct and shall maintain while such road or bridge is so closed to traffic a temporary road or bridge in the same or some other convenient situation sufficient to carry traffic of such quantity and character as normally uses such road or bridge;

(b) the Company shall, at or before the completion of the construction of the transport works, either restore such road or bridge to its former condition or construct, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, a new permanent road or bridge in the same or some other convenient situation sufficient to carry the like amount (in quantity and character) of traffic as the original road or bridge was able to carry and not substantially less convenient in gradient and curve than such original road or bridge;

(c) where the Company constructs a permanent new bridge and such bridge confers substantially greater advantages on the public of any county or urban district than the original bridge, whether by affording an improved means of communication or otherwise, the Company shall certify the cost of such new bridge and the Minister for Local Government and Public Health shall certify what part of such cost in his opinion ought reasonably to be borne by the council of such county or urban district, and thereupon a sum equal to the part so certified of such cost shall be raised by such council as part of the expenses of the maintenance of the road of which such new bridge is part and shall be paid by such council to the Company;

(d) if any doubt, dispute or question shall arise whether the Company, in the construction, maintenance, or restoration of any temporary or permanent road or bridge pursuant to this sub-section, has complied with the provisions of this sub-section, or whether a permanent new bridge constructed by the Company confers substantially greater advantages on the public of any county or urban district than the original bridge, such doubt, dispute, or question shall be decided by the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, whose decision shall be final.

(2) Where the execution of any transport works involves the permanent closing, removal, or submergence of a public road or bridge, and the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, is satisfied that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, a new road or bridge (as the case may be) in lieu of the road or the bridge so closed, removed, or submerged is not required, the Minister may by order declare that the foregoing sub-section of this section shall not apply or have effect in relation to such road or bridge (as the case may be), and upon such order being made the Company shall be relieved from any obligation by virtue of the said foregoing sub-section to provide, either temporarily or permanently, any road or bridge in lieu of the road or bridge (as the case may be) to which such order relates.