Shannon Fisheries Act, 1938

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Number 7 of 1938.

SHANNON FISHERIES ACT, 1938.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

PART II.

Vesting of Fisheries and Fishing Rights in the Board.

PART III.

Miscellaneous

Number 7 of 1938.

SHANNON FISHERIES ACT, 1938.

AN ACT TO MAKE FURTHER AND BETTER PROVISION IN RELATION TO THE FISHERIES OF THE RIVER SHANNON AND FOR THAT PURPOSE TO AMEND THE SHANNON FISHERIES ACT, 1935 . [18th March, 1938.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

Short title and citation.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Shannon Fisheries Act, 1938.

(2) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Shannon Fisheries Acts, 1935 and 1938.

Interpretation and construction.

2.—(1) In this Act the expression “the Principal Act” means the Shannon Fisheries Act, 1935 (No. 4 of 1935).

(2) This Act shall be read and construed as one with the Principal Act, and accordingly every word and expression to which a particular meaning or interpretation is given in the Principal Act shall, if occurring in this Act have herein the meaning or interpretation given to it in the Principal Act.

Saving of rights of Commissioners of Public Works.

3.—Nothing in this Act shall operate to prejudice or affect any right of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland in relation to the navigation of the waters of the River Shannon.

PART II.

Vesting of Fisheries and Fishing Rights in the Board.

The appointed day for this Part of this Act.

4.—(1) The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(2) In this Part of this Act the expression “the appointed day” means the day appointed under this section to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

Vesting of certain fisheries and fishing rights in the Board.

5.—(1) On the appointed day, every fishery and every fishing right in or over the waters of the River Shannon above the weir known as Corbally Mill weir, together with all ancillary rights appertaining to or necessary for the enjoyment of such fishery or fishing right, shall, if and in so far as it is not already vested in the Board, become and be transferred to and vested in the Board by virtue of this Act and without any conveyance.

(2) The fisheries and fishing rights (including ancillary rights) which become vested in the Board on the appointed day by virtue of this section are in this Part of this Act referred to as transferred fisheries and fishing rights.

Compensation in respect of transferred fisheries and fishing rights.

6.—(1) Every person who owns or has an estate or interest in a transferred fishery or fishing right immediately before the appointed day and applies to the Board within six years after the appointed day for such compensation as is hereinafter mentioned shall be entitled to be paid by the Board compensation in respect of the transfer to the Board of such fishery or fishing right.

(2) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to the compensation to be paid under this section by the Board to any person, that is to say:—

(a) such compensation shall be calculated by reference to the value on the day before the appointed day of the fishery or fishing right in respect of which, or in respect of an estate or interest in which, such compensation is payable;

(b) sub-sections (1) and (4) of section 14 of the Principal Act shall apply and have effect in relation to such compensation as if it were compensation payable under that Act;

(c) such compensation shall be assessed and paid as soon as reasonably may be after the claim for such compensation has been received by the Board.

(3) No compensation shall be payable in respect of the transfer by this Act of a fishery or a fishing right to the Board unless application for such compensation is made to the Board within six years after the appointed day.

Public notice of transfer of fisheries and fishing rights.

7.—Within thirty days after the appointed day and also within thirty days after the first, second, third, and fourth anniversaries of the appointed day, the Board shall publish, in the Iris Oifigiúil and in such and so many daily newspapers published and circulating in the city of Dublin as the Board shall think proper and in such and so many newspapers published and circulating in the city of Limerick as the Board shall think proper, public notice of the vesting of the transferred fisheries and fishing rights in the Board by this Act and of the right under this Act of the owner of and persons having estates and interests in a transferred fishery or fishing right to compensation in respect thereof and of the time within which and the manner in which application for such compensation may be made.

PART III.

Miscellaneous.

Power of the Board to construct a weir at Thomond Bridge.

8.—(1) Without prejudice to the generality of any of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 9 of the Principal Act, and in addition to the things which are by that section declared in particular to be lawful for the Board to do, it shall be lawful for the Board to construct, maintain, and operate a fishing weir on the River Shannon of such design, dimensions, and materials, and (subject to the limitations imposed by the next following sub-section of this section) in such situation as the Board shall think proper.

(2) The fishing weir constructed by the Board under this section shall be so situate that the longitudinal centre line of such weir is above, but not more than one thousand yards above, the longitudinal centre line of the bridge over the River Shannon known as Thomond Bridge.

(3) It shall be lawful for the Board to acquire, either permanently or temporarily and either compulsorily or by agreement, all such land (including land covered by water) and easements, profits-a-prendre, and other rights over or in relation to land or water as the Board shall reasonably require for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the fishing weir which the Boardis empowered by this section to construct, and sub-sections (1) and (4) of section 14 of the Principal Act shall apply and have effect in relation to all compensation payable by the Board in respect of the acquisition by the Board of any such land or rights as if such compensation were payable under the Principal Act.

(4) Nothing in this section shall operate to authorise the Board to do any of the things which are declared by sub-section (2) (as amended by this Act) of section 9 of the Principal Act to be things which nothing in that section shall operate to authorise.

Maintenance of an oyster fishery by the Board.

9.—(1) In this section the expression “the Act of 1884” means the Oyster Cultivation (Ireland) Act, 1884.

(2) It shall be lawful for the Board, whenever and so often as they think proper, to apply under the Act of 1884 to the Minister for Agriculture for an order under that Act for the establishment or improvement and the maintenance and regulation by the Board of an oyster fishery in the tidal portion of the waters of the River Shannon.

(3) Section 17 of the Act of 1884 shall not apply or have effect in relation to any order made under that Act on the application of the Board under this section, and in lieu of the said section 17 it is hereby enacted that if any such order takes away or abridges any of the rights mentioned in the said section 17 or if the doing of anything by the Board under such order interferes with any such rights, such taking away, abridgment, or interference shall be deemed to be an injury caused by the operation of the Shannon hydro-electric works within the meaning of the Principal Act and the relevant provisions of the Principal Act shall apply and have effect accordingly.

(4) If and whenever the Board obtains, in pursuance of this section, an order under the Act of 1884, it shall be lawful for the Board at any time thereafter to acquire, either compulsorily or by agreement, any oyster fishery in the tidal portion of the waters of the River Shannon, which, in the opinion of the Board, is competitive with any oyster fishery worked by the Board under any such order or the acquisition of which would, in the opinion aforesaid, render the working of any oyster fishery so worked by the Board more remunerative, and, whenever the Board so acquires an oyster fishery, sub-sections (1) and (4) of section 14 of the Principal Act shall apply and have effect in relation to the price to be paid by the Board for such oyster fishery as if such price were payable under the Principal Act.

(5) If the Board obtains, in pursuance of this section, an order under the Act of 1884, the expression “the Shannon fisheries” shall, for the purposes of the Principal Act and this Act, be construed as including the fishery maintained by the Board under such order and also every (if any) oyster fishery acquired by the Board under this section, but so long only as such fisheries are respectively vested in the Board.

Ex-gratia grants by the Board to certain persons.

10.—Whenever the Board is satisfied, on the application of any person, that such person—

(a) was engaged, by way of trade or otherwise for profit, in fishing in the waters of the River Shannon or was employed for reward by another person in such fishing, or was both so engaged and so employed, and

(b) has suffered loss of profits or loss of earnings by reason of any interference under the Shannon Electricity Act, 1925 (No. 26 of 1925), the Electricity (Supply) Acts, 1927 to 1935, the Principal Act, or this Act with the waters of the River Shannon or any fishery therein or fishing right thereover, and

(c) has not received and is not entitled to receive any such additional compensation as is mentioned in sub-section (3) of section 14 of the Principal Act or any compensation under section 15 of the Principal Act,

the Board may, if in their absolute discretion they so think proper, make to such person an ex-gratia payment of such amount as they think proper.

Amendment of section 9 of the Principal Act.

11.— Section 9 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in sub-section (2) of the said section of the following paragraph in lieu of paragraph (e) now contained therein, that is to say:—

“(e) to construct or erect any work or structure on any lands which are tidal lands within the meaning of the Foreshore Act, 1933 (No. 12 of 1933), without the consent of the Minister or otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions of such consent, or”.

Amendment of section 25 of the Principal Act.

12.—In sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Principal Act, all words from the words “other than” to the words “hereinafter mentioned” are hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof it is hereby declared and enacted that the said sub-section (1) shall not apply to or render unlawful anything done under and in accordance with the written permission of the Board.