PART III

Miscellaneous Provisions

21. —In this Part—

“the Act of 1924” means the Railways Act, 1924 ;

“the Act of 1950” means the Transport Act, 1950 ;

“the Act of 1958” means the Transport Act, 1958 ;

“the Company” means Aerlód Teoranta;

“the Fishguard Company” means the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company;

“public road” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 ;

“railway line” includes a section of railway line;

“road authority” means the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough or the council of an urban district.

22. —(1) The Minister may on the application of the Board or the appropriate road authority, and after consultation with the Minister for Local Government, by order provide that any obligations of the Board or of the Fishguard Company to provide, make or maintain gates or other specified works at a specified level crossing (other than a crossing to which the provisions of section 47 of the Railways Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, section 6 of the Railways Clauses Act, 1863, or any other enactment incorporating requirements to similar effect, apply), where the road on one or both sides of the crossing is a public road, shall not apply to such level crossing.

(2) An order under this section may require the Board to provide and maintain such barriers, lights and automatic and other devices and appliances and to comply with such other conditions and requirements for the protection, safety and convenience of the public as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the order.

(3) An application to the Minister for an order under this section shall be accompanied by a draft of the proposed order and the draft shall be in such form as the Minister may direct.

(4) Before making an application to the Minister for an order under this section, the person proposing so to apply shall give notice of the proposal, together with a copy of the draft of the proposed order, to the following persons (other than the person proposing so to apply), namely, the Board, the appropriate road authority and the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána.

(5) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government, by order amend or revoke an order under this section.

23. —(1) Subject to subsection (4), where an order has been made under section 22 in respect of any level crossing, the appropriate road authority shall recoup to the Board fifty per cent, of the costs incurred by the Board in providing and maintaining any works required by the order at the level crossing.

(2) The Board shall furnish to the appropriate road authority, in such form as the Minister may require and as soon as may be after any works required by an order under section 22 have been provided, particulars of the cost of providing such works.

(3) The Board shall, as soon as may be after the end of each financial year, furnish to the appropriate road authority, in such form as the Minister may require, particulars, certified by the Board's auditors, of the cost of providing and maintaining in that year any works provided by an order under section 22.

(4) Where an order is made under section 22 and the Minister is satisfied (and so declares in the order) that the order is a direct consequence of a scheme of road improvement or new road construction carried out by a road authority, the cost of providing and maintaining any works required by the order shall be met by the road authority.

(5) In this section “works” includes everything required to be provided by an order under section 22.

24. —Section 9 (1) of the Act of 1958 is hereby amended by the insertion after “the undertaking” of “(including a level crossing on arailway line of the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company)”.

25. —(1) Where a person fails to shut and fasten the gate at either side of a level crossing or passage to which this section applies, as soon as he and any vehicle or animal under his care has passed through the level crossing or passage, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction in respect of every such offence to a fine not exceeding £25.

(2) The Board shall erect a notice at every level crossing or passage to which this section applies warning users that a person failing to shut and fasten either such gate after using the level crossing or passage is liable to prosecution.

(3) This section applies to a level crossing or passage over a railway line of the Board or of the Fishguard Company, other than a level crossing or passage at which attendance is provided by the Board for the purpose of the opening and closing of the gates at the crossing or passage for users thereof.

(4) An offence under this section may be prosecuted by the Board.

26. —(1) Where a public road crosses by means of a bridge a railway line owned by the Board or the Fishguard Company and the Board or the Fishguard Company is liable to maintain the road surface on that bridge, the Board may appoint a date (in this section referred to as the appointed date) in respect of that road surface and on the appointed date any liability of the Board or the Fishguard Company to maintain the road surface on the bridge shall cease.

(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), on and from the appointed date the road authority charged with the maintenance of the public road shall be liable to maintain the road surface on the bridge.

(b) The liability imposed on a road authority by this subsection shall not include liability for any repair of the road surface necessitated by embankment, foundation or abutment failure or by the failure of any part of the structure of the bridge.

(c) The Board shall pay to the road authority compensation for any expenses which the road authority may incur by reason of the liability imposed on it by this subsection.

(3) In this section—

“bridge” includes an approach to a bridge;

“road surface” includes surfacing, water channels and shores, but does not include the structure of a bridge.

27. —(1) On and from a date (in this section referred to as the appointed date) to be appointed by the Board—

(a) the liability of the Board to maintain the bridge across the river Inny known as Float Bridge and situated in the baronies of Moygoish and Fore in the county of Westmeath shall cease;

(b) the council of the county of Westmeath shall be liable to maintain the said bridge.

(2) The Board shall pay to the said council compensation for any expenses which the council may incur by reason of the liability imposed on it under this section.

28. —(1) Where compensation is payable by the Board under section 26 or 27—

(a) the amount thereof shall, in default of agreement, be determined by an arbitrator to be appointed by the Minister;

(b) the Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, fix the remuneration of the arbitrator and the remuneration shall be paid by the Board.

(2) An arbitrator appointed to determine the compensation payable by the Board under section 26 or 27 may, having regard (amongst other matters) to any unconditional offer of compensation made by the Board and not accepted or to any unconditional offer to accept a certain sum as compensation and not accepted by the Board, by his award and at his discretion—

(a) direct the Board to pay a sum (to be measured by the arbitrator) towards the costs and expenses of the road authority concerned or of the council of the county of Westmeath (as may be appropriate),

(b) direct the said road authority or council to pay a sum (to be measured by the arbitrator) towards the costs and expenses of the Board, or

(c) direct the Board and the said road authority or (as the case may be) the Board and the said council to abide their own costs and expenses.

29. —(1) Locomotive drivers and persons whom the Board wishes to train as locomotive drivers shall be medically examined from time to time in accordance with regulations made by the Minister on the application of the Board and after consultation with the trade unions representative of such drivers and persons.

(2) (a) A person shall not be trained to drive a locomotive nor retained in the employment of the Board as a locomotive driver if, in the opinion of the Chief Medical Officer, the results of a medical examination carried out pursuant to regulations made by the Minister under this section show that the health or eyesight of the person is below the standard considered from time to time by the Chief Medical Officer to be requisite for a locomotive driver.

(b) The standard for eyesight referred to in paragraph (a) may be set out in the regulations under subsection (1).

(3) In this section “the Chief Medical Officer” means the person who for the time being is the Chief Medical Officer of the Board and includes any other medical doctor for the time being or from time to time acting in place of or in substitution for the Chief Medical Officer.

(4) This section shall not apply to persons—

(a) who were employed as locomotive drivers by the Board before the 4th day of October, 1968, or

(b) who were being trained to drive locomotives by the Board before that date.

30. —(1) A dispute, difference or appeal which but for this section could be referred or made to the standing arbitrator shall not be so referred or made after the passing of this Part but shall be heard and decided by the Circuit Court if a party thereto entitled to refer or make it to such arbitrator applies to that Court by motion on notice served on the other party thereto not less than 21 days before the day on which the application is intended to be made and, subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions mentioned in subsection (6) shall, in relation to any such application, be construed and have effect accordingly.

(2) Where, in respect of a dispute, difference or appeal referred or made to the standing arbitrator under any of the provisions mentioned in subsection (6) since the passing of the Transport Act, 1966 , a decision was not given before the passing of this Part and is not given during the period of three months immediately after such passing, the dispute, difference or appeal shall, in lieu of being decided by the standing arbitrator, be heard and decided by the Circuit Court if a party thereto applies after the expiration of that period to that Court by motion on notice served on the other party thereto and on the standing arbitrator not less than 21 days before the day on which the application is intended to be made and, subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions mentioned in subsection (6) shall, in relation to any such application, be construed and have effect accordingly.

(3) An application to the Circuit Court under this section shall, at the election of the person making the application, be made to a judge of the Dublin Circuit or to the judge of the circuit where such person resides or has his principal place of business.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Third Schedule to the Act of 1924 or in section 41 or 42 of the Act of 1950, an appeal to the High Court (whose decision shall be final) on a question of law may be brought from a decision of the Circuit Court under this section, but an appeal from such a decision on a question of fact may not be brought.

(5) Section 8 of the Railways (Existing Officers and Servants) Act, 1926 , and section 43 of the Act of 1950 shall not apply or have effect in relation to disputes, differences or appeals falling to be heard and decided by the Circuit Court under this section.

(6) In this section “the standing arbitrator” means the standing arbitrator appointed for the purposes of the Third Schedule to the Act of 1924 or section 41 or 42 of the Act of 1950.

31. —(1) Notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1851, the Board may increase the tolls which it is empowered by section 16 of that Act to demand and take in respect of traffic using the bridge mentioned in section 14 of that Act, and such tolls shall be deemed to be charges within the meaning of section 8 of the Act of 1958 and to be charges which the Board may fix, demand, take and recover under that section.

(2) Sections 16 and 26 of the Act of 1851 shall apply to a mechanically propelled vehicle within the meaning of section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 .

(3) An offence under section 26 of the Act of 1851 shall be punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding the amount specified in that section.

(4) Section 28 of the Act of 1851 is hereby amended by the deletion of “of Timber,”.

(5) In this section “the Act of 1851” means the Waterford and Limerick Railway (Deviations) Act, 1851.

32. —Where, either before or after the passing of this Act, the employment with the Board of a person who is an officer or servant of the Board (including an officer or servant transferred or seconded under section 14 of the Great Northern Railway Act, 1958, or section 11 of this Act) is terminated for the purpose of enabling the person to enter the employment of the Company, and upon such termination, the person enters the employment of the Company—

(i) the person, and any person claiming through him, shall have the same right to membership of and benefits under any superannuation scheme for officers or servants of the Board (other than the Board's welfare scheme for regular wages staff) as he would have if his employment with the Company were employment with the Board,

(ii) except where otherwise agreed upon between the Board and the Company, upon such entry the obligations (whether obtaining legally or by customary practice) in respect of any such scheme and in respect of the members thereof attaching before such termination to the Board shall, as respects the person and any person claiming through him, attach to the Company,

(iii) the interval (if any) between such termination aforesaid and the commencement of the employment with the Company shall be deemed, for the purposes of any such scheme, not to be a break in the person's employment, and

(iv) the Board may include in a scheme or schemes amending any such scheme provisions giving effect to this section and, where the Minister is given power to confirm such scheme or schemes, such power may be exercised notwithstanding the inclusion of such provisions and such confirmation may be either withoutmodification of the provisions or with such modifications (whether by way of addition, omission or variation) as the Minister thinks proper.

33. —Sections 16 and 34 of the Act of 1950 (which relate respectively to the giving of information by the Board to the Minister and to the accounts of the Board and the auditing of those accounts) shall apply and have effect in relation to the Company as they apply and have effect in relation to the Board.

34. —Notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Act, 1963 , or in the memorandum or articles of association of the Company, an alteration in the said memorandum or articles shall not be valid or effectual unless made with the previous approval of the Minister.

35. —(1) The Board shall ensure that the American Company shall furnish to the Minister such information as he may from time to time require regarding matters which relate to its activities, other than day-to-day administration, and which appear to him to affect the national interest.

(2) The Board shall ensure that the American Company shall comply with section 34 of the Act of 1950 as if that section applied to the American Company, save in so far as that section may be in conflict with the laws of the State of New York relating to companies or corporations.

(3) The Board shall ensure that no alteration shall be made in the Certificate of Incorporation or Bye-Laws of the American Company without the previous approval of the Minister.

(4) In this section “the American Company” means the company incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, known as C.I.E. Tours International Incorporated and acquired by the Board under the Transport Act, 1950 (Additional Powers) Order, 1969 (S.I. No. 265 of 1969).

36. —Section 22 of the Regulation of Railways Act, 1868, is hereby amended by the substitution of “twenty-five pounds” for “Five Pounds”.