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PART III
The Bond
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The Bond.
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13.—(1) A tour operator or travel agent shall, before a licence is granted to him under this Act, furnish evidence acceptable to the Minister that the tour operator or travel agent, as the case may be, has entered into an arrangement satisfactory to the Minister for the protection of persons who, during the period of validity of the licence, enter into contracts with him relating to overseas travel.
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(2) The arrangement referred to in subsection (1) of this section is in this Act referred to as “the Bond”.
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(3) The Bond shall provide that, in the event of the inability or failure of the tour operator or travel agent concerned to meet his financial or contractual obligations in relation to overseas travel contracts, a sum of money will become available to the Minister, or to any person nominated or approved of by the Minister, as trustee, to be applied for the benefit of any customer of the tour operator or travel agent concerned who has incurred loss or liability because of such inability or failure to meet financial or contractual obligations.
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(4) The sum of money referred to in subsection (3) of this section may be applied for all or any of the following purposes—
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(a) to provide travel facilities for any customer of the tour operator or travel agent concerned who is outside Ireland and who is unable to make the return journey provided for in the overseas travel contract by reason of the inability or failure of the tour operator or travel agent concerned to fulfil his financial or contractual obligations in relation to such overseas travel contract;
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(b) to reimburse a customer of a tour operator or travel agent for any reasonable expenses necessarily incurred by such customer by reason of the inability or failure of the tour operator or travel agent to meet his financial or contractual obligations in relation to an overseas travel contract;
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(c) to refund, as far as possible, to a customer of a tour operator or travel agent any payments made by him to the tour operator or travel agent in respect of an overseas travel contract which could not be completed by reason of the inability or failure of the tour operator or travel agent to meet his financial or contractual obligations in relation to such overseas travel contract;
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(d) to defray any reasonable expenses incurred by the Minister, or provide for any payments by the Minister, on behalf of a customer of a tour operator or travel agent in respect of an overseas travel contract which could not be completed by reason of the inability or failure of the tour operator or travel agent to meet his financial or contractual obligations in relation to such overseas travel contract.
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(5) The Minister or, as the case may be, the person nominated or approved of by the Minister, as trustee, shall keep all proper and usual accounts, including an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet, of all moneys received by him on foot of a bond and of all disbursements made by him from any such moneys.
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(6) As soon as may be after the end of each year, accounts kept in pursuance of this section shall be submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and, immediately after the audit, a copy of the income and expenditure account and of the balance sheet and a copy of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the accounts shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
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(7) Without prejudice to any existing right of a customer of a tour operator or travel agent to recover damages in relation to the standard of accommodation or service provided pursuant to an overseas travel contract, nothing in this section shall be construed as enabling such customer to recover any damages out of any sum of money made available under the Bond.
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