National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1987
|
Protection of sites of historic wrecks. |
3.—(1) Where the Commissioners are satisfied in respect of any place on, in or under the sea bed of the territorial waters of the State or on, in or under the sea bed to which section 2 (1) of the Continental Shelf Act, 1968 , applies or on or in land covered by water that— | |
(a) it is or may prove to be the site where a wreck or an archaeological object lies or formerly lay, and | ||
(b) on account of the historical, archaeological or artistic importance of the wreck or the object, the site ought to be protected, | ||
they may by order (in this section referred to as “an underwater heritage order”) designate an area of the sea bed, or land covered by water, around and including the site as a restricted area. | ||
(2) The following provisions shall apply in relation to an underwater heritage order (and paragraphs (c) and (d) of this subsection shall apply in relation to an order revoking such an order): | ||
(a) the restricted area shall be specified in the order and shall be of such size as the Commissioners think necessary for the protection of the site concerned, | ||
(b) the order shall come into operation on the day specified in that behalf therein, or, if no such day is specified, on the seventh day after the day on which it is made, | ||
(c) the order shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be published in Iris Oifigiúil and in one or more newspapers circulating in the district in which the restricted area aforesaid is situated or, in case the restricted area concerned is an area of the sea bed, which is nearest to the restricted area concerned, | ||
(d) a copy of the order shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be deposited— | ||
(i) with the county registrar for any county or county borough in which the restricted area aforesaid, or any part of it, is situated or, in case the said restricted area is an area of the sea bed, with the county registrar for the county or county borough which is nearest to the said restricted area, | ||
(ii) with the District Court Clerk of any District Court district within which the restricted area aforesaid, or any part of it, is situated or, in case the said restricted area is an area of the sea bed, which is nearest to the said restricted area, and | ||
(iii) in every Garda Síochána station situated in the District Court district aforesaid, | ||
and a copy so deposited shall be made available for inspection, and may be inspected by members of the public during ordinary office hours, | ||
(e) the Commissioners may by order revoke the order. | ||
(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall not, in a restricted area, do any of the following, that is to say: | ||
(a) tamper with, damage or remove any part of a wreck or any archaeological object, | ||
(b) carry out diving, survey or salvage operations directed to the detection, location or exploration of a wreck or archaeological object or to recovering it or a part of it from, or from under, the sea bed or from land covered by water, as the case may be, or use equipment constructed or adapted for any purpose of diving, survey or salvage operations, or | ||
(c) deposit, so as to fall and lie abandoned on the sea bed or land covered by water, as the case may be, anything which, if it were to fall on the site of a wreck or archaeological object (whether it so falls or not), would wholly or partly obliterate the site or obstruct access to it, or damage any part of the wreck or object. | ||
(4) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person, shall not, at the site of a wreck (being a wreck which is more than 100 years old), or of another object (being an archaeological object), that is lying on, in or under the sea bed or on or in land covered by water— | ||
(a) tamper with, damage or remove any part of the wreck or archaeological object, | ||
(b) carry out diving, survey or salvage operations, directed to the exploration of the wreck or archaeological object or to recovering it or a part of it from, or from under, the sea bed or from land covered by water, as the case may be, or use equipment constructed or adapted for any purpose of diving, survey or salvage operations, or | ||
(c) deposit, so as to fall and lie abandoned on the sea bed or land covered by water, as the case may be, anything which, if it were to fall on the site (whether it so falls or not) would wholly or partly obliterate the site or obstruct access to it, or damage any part of the wreck or object. | ||
(5) (a) Upon application therefor to the Commissioners by any person and upon being furnished by him with such information in relation to the application as they may reasonably require and upon payment to them by the person of the prescribed fee (if any), the Commissioners may, at their discretion, after consultation with (in the case of an application relating to the sea bed) the Minister for the Marine and with such other (if any) persons having a special knowledge of or interest in the matter as they consider ought to be consulted, grant or refuse to grant a licence in writing to a person authorising the doing by (as may be specified in the licence) that person or that person and hisservants and agents, subject to such conditions as the Commissioners may think fit and specify in the licence— | ||
(i) in a specified restricted area or a specified part of such an area of the acts specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (3) of this section or of such of them as may be specified, or | ||
(ii) at a specified site to which subsection (4) of this section applies or at a specified part of such a site of the acts specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (4) of this section or of such of them as may be specified. | ||
(b) A licence under this subsection shall remain in force for such period as may be specified in the licence. | ||
(c) A licence under this subsection may— | ||
(i) be made subject to such conditions (if any) as the Commissioners think fit and specify in the licence, and | ||
(ii) may be revoked at any time by the Commissioners and the revocation shall take effect at the time when the person named in the licence is notified of the revocation or at such later time as may be specified in the revocation. | ||
(d) Where an application is made to the Commissioners for a licence under this subsection— | ||
(i) they shall, within three months of the receipt by them of the application— | ||
(I) either grant or refuse to grant the application, and | ||
(II) notify in writing the person who made the application of their decision, | ||
and | ||
(ii) if the person who made the application is not notified as aforesaid of their decision, the Commissioners shall be deemed to have granted the licence, without conditions. | ||
(e) An application to the Commissioners for a licence under this subsection shall be sent to the Commissioners by registered post or delivered by hand to an officer of the Commissioners at the head office of the Commissioners. | ||
(6) A person who finds a wreck (being a wreck which is more than 100 years old) or other object (being an archaeological object) that is lying on, in or under the sea bed or on or in land covered by water, shall, within 4 days after such finding, make a report of the finding to a member of the Garda Síochána or to the Commissioners and shall, when making the report, give to the member or to the Commissioners his name and address, state the nature of the wreck or other object and the time and place at which and the circumstances in which it was found by him and shall also (and whether he has or has not made such report as aforesaid and irrespective of the person to whom he has made such report (if any)) give to any member of the GardaSíochána or to an officer of the Commissioners on request any information within his knowledge in relation to the wreck, or other object. | ||
(7) A person who contravenes subsection (3), (4) or (6) of this section or a condition of a licence under subsection (5) of this section, shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(8) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that the act constituting the offence was the subject of a licence under this section granted to him, or to a person in relation to whom he was acting as servant or agent at the time of the commission of the act, and in force at that time. | ||
(9) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that the act constituting the offence was done by him— | ||
(a) in the course of any action taken by him for the sole purpose of dealing with an emergency of any description, or | ||
(b) out of necessity due to stress of weather or navigational hazards. | ||
(10) If wreck that is an archaeological object and was removed from a restricted area is in the possession of the receiver of wreck for any district and no person establishes a claim under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , to the ownership of the wreck within one year after it came into the possession of the said receiver, the said receiver shall, as the Director of the National Museum may request, either— | ||
(a) deliver the wreck to the Director of the National Museum who, as soon as may be after such delivery, shall— | ||
(i) retain it on behalf of the State, and | ||
(ii) pay— | ||
(I) to the said receiver, any expenses incurred by him, and his fees, in relation to the wreck, and | ||
(II) to any salvors of the wreck, such amount of salvage as appears to the Director of the National Museum to be reasonable in all the circumstances, | ||
or | ||
(b) sell the wreck and pay the proceeds of the sale (after deducting therefrom the expenses of the sale and any other expenses incurred by him, and his fees, in relation to the wreck and paying to any salvors of the wreck such amount of salvage as appears to the Director of the National Museum to be reasonable in all the circumstances) to the Minister for Finance. | ||
(11) (a) Proceedings for an offence under this section committed in an area consisting of part of the sea bed may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the State. | ||
(b) Proceedings for an offence under this section committed in an area consisting of land that is covered by water and is situated in two or more District Court districts, may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes betreated as having been committed, in any one of those districts. | ||
(12) Section 2 (1) of this Act and subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not apply to a member of the Garda Síochána, or a member of the Defence Forces, on duty, or to a person while acting on the instructions of the Commissioners. |