Fishery Harbour Centres Act, 1968

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Operation and development of fishery harbour centres.

4.—(1) The Minister shall manage, control, operate and (to such extent as he thinks proper) develop each fishery harbour centre and shall have all such powers as are necessary for those purposes.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, but without prejudice to the generality thereof, the Minister may, in relation to each fishery harbour centre—

(a) make such bye-laws as he deems necessary or desirable for the purposes of the management, control, operation and development of the centre (excluding bye-laws in relation to matters referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection),

(b) by order, fix rates, tolls and other charges for the use of facilities (including the harbour) and services in the centre and provide for their payment and collection and for penalties and remedies for their non-payment (including distress and sale of ships, boats and goods in respect of which any rates, tolls or charges are payable),

(c) provide, or arrange for the provision of, facilities in the centre for the sale of fish landed at the centre and require that fish so landed be offered for sale at the centre and that sales of fish at the centre be conducted in such manner as the Minister may specify,

(d) appoint, to manage, control, operate and develop the centre, such number of officers and servants as he deems necessary for the purpose and provide for their powers, functions and duties and, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, for their terms and conditions of service (including, if, and in such cases as, he thinks fit, superannuation benefits),

(e) provide, improve and develop or arrange for the provision, improvement and development of, such facilities and installations as he considers desirable or necessary at the centre,

(f) provide, improve and develop or arrange for the provision, improvement and development of, such services ancillary to or connected with the fish industry as he considers desirable or necessary at the centre.

(3) (a) This subsection applies to—

(i) service as an officer or servant in the employment of the managing authority for a harbour other than Galway Harbour to which an order under section 2 of this Act relates, being service ending immediately before the commencement of such order, and

(ii) service which is remunerated out of the Fund.

(b) Service to which this subsection applies shall, if the Minister for Finance thinks fit, be deemed, for the purposes of the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, to be service which was in a public department and was remunerated entirely out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas and where any such service was in a pensionable capacity, it shall, if the Minister for Finance thinks fit, be deemed for the purposes of those Acts to be service as an established officer in the permanent civil service of the Government.

(4) (a) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, arrange for the exercise of any one or more of his powers, duties or functions under subsection (1) and paragraphs (c), (e) and (f) of subsection (2) of this section and section 6 of this Act by any person selected, with the consent of the person, by the Minister.

(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.

(5) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section including an order under this subsection.

(6) (a) A person who contravenes a provision of an order or bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(b) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence.

(7) (a) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order or bye-law under this section, the following provisions shall have effect—

(i) the Minister shall publish notice of his proposal at least once in such newspaper or newspapers circulating in the area adjoining the fishery harbour centre to which the order or bye-law will relate as he may specify,

(ii) the notice shall include a statement of the purposes for which the order or bye-law is proposed to be made, an intimation that a copy of the draft order or bye-law is open for public inspection at a place in the fishery harbour centre aforesaid specified in the notice and that any person may submit to the Minister objections to the draft order or bye-law at any time during the period of twenty-one days commencing on the day of the first publication of the notice,

(iii) the Minister shall, during the said period of twenty-one days, keep a copy of the draft order or bye-law open for public inspection at the place aforesaid,

(iv) any person who objects to the draft order or bye-law may submit his objection to the Minister in writing at any time during the said period of twenty-one days and the Minister shall consider the objections, and

(v) on the expiration of the said period of twenty-one days, the Minister shall, as he may think proper, refrain from making the order or bye-law or make the order or bye-law either without modifications or with such modifications therein as he may think proper.

(b) A copy of an order or bye-law for the time being in force under this section in respect of a fishery harbour centre shall be made available by the Minister for inspection by the public at the centre during ordinary office hours and the Minister shall make available to the public at such price (if any) as may be determined by the Minister copies of orders and bye-laws for the time being in force under this section in relation to the centre.

(c) A document which purports to be a copy of an order or bye-law made under this section and which has endorsed thereon a certificate (purporting to be signed by an officer of the Minister) stating the document is a true copy of the order or bye-law, as the case may be, and that the specified date, shall, without proof of the signature of such order or bye-law, as the case may be, was in force on a officer or that he was in fact such officer, be evidence (until the contrary is proved) in every court and in all legal proceedings of the order or bye-law, as the case may be, and of the fact that it was in force on that date.

(8) The Minister shall not make an order or bye-law under this section in relation to or affecting commercial shipping (other than fishing boats) or the exercise of the public right of navigation without consultation with the Minister for Transport and Power.

(9) Notice of the making of an order or bye-law under this section shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil as soon as conveniently may be after it is made.