Fishery Harbour Centres Act, 1968

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Acquisition of land in fishery harbour centres.

3.—(1) The Minister may, whenever he thinks proper, acquire, by agreement or compulsorily, any land situate in a fishery harbour centre or right over or in respect of land or water so situate.

(2) (a) Not later than one month before the Minister enters on any land or acquires any right, he shall cause maps, plans and books of reference in relation thereto to be deposited in accordance with this subsection.

(b) The maps and plans shall be sufficient in quantity and character to show on adequate scales the property, corporeal or incorporeal, proposed to be acquired and every interference (so far as it can be shown on a drawing) proposed to be made with any property, corporeal or incorporeal.

(c) The books of reference shall contain the names of the owners or reputed owners, lessees or reputed lessees and occupiers of all land proposed to be acquired under this section and of all rights proposed to be acquired under this section.

(d) The maps, plans and books of reference shall be deposited at the office of the Minister and at such other places (if any) as the Minister may specify and shall remain so deposited for such period as may be specified by the Minister and shall, while so deposited, be open to inspection by any person, free of charge, between the hours of ten o'clock in the morning and four o'clock in the afternoon on every day except Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.

(e) As soon as may be after the deposit of any maps, plans or books of reference, the Minister shall give public notice of such deposit by advertisement published in such newspaper or newspapers circulating in the area adjoining the centre as the Minister may specify.

(f) The public notice shall state that the maps, plans or books of reference to which it relates are open to public inspection in accordance with this paragraph and shall state the times and places at which they may be inspected.

(3) (a) The amount of the price or compensation to be paid by the Minister for any land acquired under this section to the several persons entitled thereto or having estates or interests therein, or for or in respect of any rights so acquired to the owner thereof or to the several persons entitled to or having estates or interests in the land over or in respect of which such right is so acquired shall, in default of agreement, be fixed under and in accordance with the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919 .

(b) Sections 69 to 83 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 (as adapted or amended by or under any subsequent Act), shall apply to any price or compensation payable under this paragraph and to the conveyance to the Minister of property, corporeal or incorporeal, acquired under this Act, and for the purpose of the application the Minister shall be deemed to be the promoter of the undertaking.

(4) All claims for the price of or compensation in respect of any land or right (whether corporeal or incorporeal) acquired under this section shall be made within one year after the land or right is first entered on or exercised under this section.

(5) (a) In this subsection “public authority” means the Irish Land Commission or the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland.

(b) Whenever the Minister acquires permanently any land which is subject, either alone or in conjunction with other land, to a land purchase annuity, payment in lieu of rent or other annual sum (not being merely rent under a contract of tenancy) payable to a public authority, he shall, as from the date on which he enters on and takes possession of the land so acquired—

(i) become and be liable for the payment to the public authority of such annual sum or such portion thereof as shall be apportioned by the public authority on such land as if the land had been transferred to the Minister by the owner thereof on that date, and

(ii) be entitled, if the Minister so thinks fit, to redeem the annual sum or such portion thereof as aforesaid, and

(iii) be obliged, if required by the public authority to do so, to redeem such annual sum or such portion thereof as aforesaid.

(6) (a) At any time after compliance by the Minister with subsection (2) of this section in relation to any land or right and before conveyance or ascertainment of compensation, the Minister may, subject to the subsequent provisions of this subsection, enter on and take possession of that land or terminate that right.

(b) Where the Minister exercises any power conferred on him by paragraph (a) of this subsection—

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the Minister shall pay to the person who is the occupier of the land entered on or the owner of the right over land terminated, interest on the amount of the compensation payable to such person at the rate of six per cent. per annum from the date on which the power was exercised until payment of the compensation.

(ii) if—

(I) the Minister has made an unconditional offer in writing of any sum as such compensation to the person, and

(II) the offer is not accepted by the person, and

(III) the sum awarded as compensation by the official arbitrator to the person does not exceed the sum so offered,

no interest shall be payable on such compensation in respect of any period after the date of the offer.

(c) The Minister shall not, without the consent of the occupier—

(i) enter on or take possession of any land under paragraph (a) of this subsection without giving to the occupier thereof at least one month's or, in the case of an occupied dwellinghouse, three months' previous notice in writing of his intention to do so, or

(ii) terminate any right under paragraph (a) of this subsection without giving to the owner thereof at least one month's notice of his intention to do so.

(d) A notice under paragraph (c) of this subsection may be given to any person by sending it by post in an envelope addressed to that person at his usual or last known address.

(e) Where, for any reason, the envelope mentioned in paragraph (d) of this subsection cannot be addressed in the manner provided by that paragraph, it may be addressed to the person for whom it is intended in either or both of the following ways—

(i) by the description “the occupier” or “the owner” (as the case may be) without stating his name,

(ii) at the land or the situation of the property to which the notice contained in the envelope relates.

(7) The Minister shall not acquire compulsorily under this section—

(a) any land, or

(b) any right over or in respect of land or water,

used in connection with the operation of commercial shipping (other than fishing boats) or the exercise of the public right of navigation without the consent of the Minister for Transport and Power.

(8) The powers of compulsory acquisition conferred on the Minister by this section shall not extend to land, or rights over or in respect of land or water, vested in the State, a Minister of State, the Irish Land Commission, a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 , the Electricity Supply Board or a gas undertaker (within the meaning of the Gas Regulation Act, 1920 , as amended).

(9) (a) The Minister may with the consent of the Minister for Finance, arrange for the exercise for and on behalf of the Minister of any one or more of his powers, functions or duties under the preceding subsections of this section by the Commissioners.

(b) An arrangement under this subsection shall continue in operation for such period as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determines and may, with the like consent, be terminated at any time or renewed from time to time.