Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act, 1995
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Interpretation. |
2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires— | |
“the Act of 1982” means the Transport (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Act, 1982 ; | ||
“authorised officer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 21 ; | ||
“consumer”— | ||
(a) in relation to a contract, means the person who takes or agrees to take the package (“the principal contractor”); | ||
(b) in any other case, means, as the context requires— | ||
(i) the principal contractor, | ||
(ii) any person on whose behalf the principal contractor agrees to purchase a package (“another beneficiary”), or | ||
(iii) any person to whom the principal contractor or another beneficiary transfers the package (“the transferee”); | ||
“contract” means an agreement linking the consumer to the organiser (whether dealing directly with the consumer or through a retailer); | ||
“contravenes”, in reference to any provision of this Act, includes a failure or refusal to comply with the provision; | ||
“the Directive” means Council Directive No. 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990(1) on package travel, package holidays and package tours the text of which in the English language is set out for convenience of reference in the Schedule to this Act; | ||
“the Director” means the Director of Consumer Affairs; | ||
“functions” includes powers and duties; | ||
“the Minister” means the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications; | ||
“offer” includes an invitation to a person, whether by means of advertising or otherwise, to make an offer to buy a package; | ||
“organiser” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 ; | ||
“package”, subject to subsection (2), means a combination of at least two of the following components pre-arranged by the organiser when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of more than twenty-four hours or includes overnight accommodation— | ||
(a) transport; | ||
(b) accommodation; | ||
(c) other tourist services, not ancillary to transport or accommodation, accounting for a significant proportion of the package; | ||
“package provider” (or “provider”) means— | ||
(a) in circumstances other than those described at paragraph (b), the organiser, or where the retailer is also party to the contract, both the organiser and the retailer, or | ||
(b) in the case of a package sold or offered for sale by an organiser established outside the State through a retailer established within the State (and where the transport component of the package commences outside the State), the retailer; | ||
“premises” includes any building, dwelling, temporary construction, vehicle, ship or aircraft; | ||
“record” means any book, document or any other written or printed material in any form including any information stored, maintained or preserved by means of any mechanical or electronic device, whether or not stored, maintained or preserved in a legible form; | ||
“repatriation” means the return of the consumer to the place of departure or other place agreed with the consumer; | ||
“retailer” means the person who sells or offers for sale the package put together by the organiser. | ||
(2) The submission of separate accounts for different components of the package shall not cause the arrangements to be other than a package for the purpose of this Act. | ||
(3) This Act applies to packages offered for sale or sold in the State. | ||
(4) In this Act— | ||
(a) a reference to a section or a Part is a reference to a section or a Part of this Act unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended; | ||
(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended. | ||
(5) In this Act a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment, as adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act. | ||
(6) A word or expression that is used in this Act and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in this Act that it has in the Directive. | ||
(7) In construing a provision of this Act, a court shall give to it a construction that will give effect to the Directive and, for this purpose a court shall have regard to the provisions of the Directive including its preamble. | ||