State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014

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Fixed payment notice and declarations

51. The following sections are substituted for section 27 of the Act of 2004:

“Fixed payment notice

27. (1) Where—

(a) an authorised officer in relation to a State airport for which he or she is such an officer, or

(b) an officer of the Minister or other person appointed by the Minister for the purposes of this section in relation to an airport which is not a State airport,

has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under—

(i) section 15(9) for contravening or failing to comply with a provision of a bye-law made under that section,

(ii) section 2A(1) or (2) (inserted by section 65 of the Act of 1998) of the Air Navigation and Transport Act 1973 , or

(iii) section 47 of the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014,

he or she may serve the person or cause the person to be served with a notice (‘fixed payment notice’) in the prescribed form, in the manner mentioned in subsection (2).

(2) Where a fixed payment notice is to be served under this section it shall be—

(a) served personally or by post on the person who is alleged to have committed the offence, or

(b) where the alleged offence involved the parking of a mechanically propelled vehicle at an airport—

(i) served on the person who parked the vehicle, or

(ii) where the person cannot be identified, affixed to the vehicle and, as soon as practicable thereafter, served personally or by post on the registered owner of the vehicle.

(3) A fixed payment notice shall state that—

(a) the person is alleged to have committed the offence, or, if the notice is affixed to a mechanically propelled vehicle under subsection (2) (b) (ii), the offence specified in the notice is alleged to have been committed,

(b) the person may make to the relevant company or the Minister, as the case may be, at the address specified in the notice a payment, accompanied by the notice, of the relevant amount, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, and

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

(4) Where a fixed payment notice is served under subsection (1) —

(a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the relevant company concerned or the Minister at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice,

(b) the relevant company or the Minister, as the case may be, may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money so paid, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any circumstances by the person who made it, and

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

(5) In a prosecution for an offence under a provision referred to in subsection (1) the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a fixed payment notice has been made lies with the defendant.

(6) In any proceedings in respect of an offence referred to in subsection (1) a document purporting to be a certificate or receipt of posting or delivery by or on behalf of An Post or another postal service is evidence of the posting or delivery of a fixed payment notice.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (3)(b) the relevant amount is—

(a) in respect of an offence mentioned in subsection (1)(i) or (iii) - €100, and

(b) in respect of an offence mentioned in subsection (1)(ii) - €250,

or such other amount in respect of either of those amounts standing specified for the time being in regulations made by the Minister.

(8) For the purposes of prescribing the form of a fixed payment notice—

(a) the relevant company, in respect of a State airport, may make bye-laws, or

(b) the Minister, in respect of an airport which is not a State airport may make regulations,

prescribing the form of the notice.

(9) The payment of relevant amounts under this section shall be disposed of in a manner determined by the relevant company or the Minister, as the case may be.

(10) In this section ‘relevant company’ means—

(a) daa, in relation to Dublin airport,

(b) Shannon Airport Authority, in relation to Shannon airport, and

(c) before the Cork appointed day, daa, and from that day Cork Airport Authority, in relation to Cork airport.

Declaration

27A. (1) Where a fixed payment notice is affixed to a mechanically propelled vehicle or served on the registered owner of the vehicle in accordance with section 27(2)(b)(ii) in respect of an alleged offence under section 15(9) for contravening a provision of bye-laws under that section relating to the parking of the vehicle at an airport, the notice shall contain or be accompanied by a statement requiring the registered owner, if he or she wishes to show—

(a) that he or she was not at the time of the commission of the alleged offence concerned driving, in control of or otherwise using the vehicle, and

(b) if—

(i) the use of the vehicle was authorised by the registered owner, the name and address of the person in control of the vehicle at the material time, or

(ii) such use was unauthorised, that fact,

give or send, not later than 21 days after the date of service on the registered owner of the notice, to an authorised officer at the address contained in the notice, a declaration, in the manner specified in the notice, signed by the registered owner, stating such.

(2) An authorised officer may require such reasonable information of the person on whom the fixed payment notice referred to in subsection (1) is served as to the whereabouts of the person in control of the vehicle at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.

(3) Where the registered owner of the mechanically propelled vehicle concerned does not give or send to an authorised officer the information specified in subsection (1)(b)(i) or (2), then, in a prosecution of that registered owner for the offence to which the fixed payment notice relates, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown that he or she was driving, in control of or otherwise using the vehicle at the time of the commission of the alleged offence.

(4) Where the registered owner of a mechanically propelled vehicle complies with a requirement of this section, to the satisfaction of an authorised officer, the payment of the relevant amount specified in the the fixed payment notice need not be made by the registered owner and a prosecution of the registered owner in respect of the alleged offence to which the notice relates shall not be initiated.

(5) A person who gives information in a declaration under subsection (1) or upon a requirement under subsection (2), which he or she knows is false or misleading, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class D fine.”