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10 1972

DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES ACT, 1972

PART VI

Administration

Licensing Provisions

Issue of licences by Minister.

31. —(1) The Minister may at his discretion grant or refuse an application for a licence.

(2) The Minister may attach conditions to a licence including conditions as to its expiry or revocation.

(3) The Minister may, if he so thinks proper, publish particulars of an application for a licence and invite representations concerning it from interested persons.

Issue of licences by local and harbour authorities.

32. —(1) A local or harbour authority may at its discretion grant or refuse an application for a licence.

(2) The authority shall comply with any regulations of the Minister as to the conditions under which licences may be granted.

(3) Subject to regulations, the authority may attach to a licence such conditions as it thinks proper.

(4) The authority may, if it so thinks proper, publish particulars of an application for a licence and invite representations concerning it from interested persons.

(5) (a) The authority shall cause a register of all licences granted by it under this Act to be kept in such form and containing such particulars as it may direct.

(b) The authority shall, when so required by the Minister, send to him, within the time specified, a copy of the register or any part thereof.

(c) Any person, upon payment of a fee of twenty-five new pence, and an inspector, without payment, shall be entitled at all reasonable times to inspect and take copies of or extracts from a register kept under this subsection.

Appeal from local or harbour authority.

33. —(1) If a local or harbour authority refuses to grant a licence or grants a licence on conditions with which the applicant is dissatisfied, the authority shall, at his request, deliver to him a certificate stating the grounds on which the authority has refused a licence or attached the conditions.

(2) The applicant may appeal to the Minister from the decision of the authority within ten days after receipt of the certificate or such further time as the Minister may allow.

(3) The appeal shall be in writing setting out the applicant's claim and shall be accompanied by the certificate.

(4) Having considered the appeal the Minister may, at his discretion, direct the authority to grant or cancel the licence, to attach specified conditions to the licence or to amend or delete a condition attached to the licence, and the authority shall, subject to any variation thereof under section 34, comply with the direction.

Appeal from the Minister.

34. —(1) Where the Minister refuses to grant a licence or grants a licence on conditions with which the applicant is dissatisfied or gives a direction under section 33 (4) with which the applicant is dissatisfied, the Minister shall, at the request of the applicant, deliver to him a certificate stating the grounds on which he has refused the licence, attached the conditions or given the direction.

(2) The applicant may appeal to the High Court from the decision or direction of the Minister.

(3) On the hearing of an appeal from a decision of the Minister refusing the grant of a licence or granting a licence on conditions with which the applicant is dissatisfied, the Court may direct the Minister to grant the licence, to attach specified conditions to the licence or to amend or delete a condition attached to the licence, as may be appropriate.

(4) On the hearing of an appeal from a direction under section 33 (4), the Court may either confirm the direction or direct the Minister to vary it in accordance with the order of the Court.

(5) A decision of the High Court on an appeal under this section shall be final save that, by leave of that Court, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court on a specified question of law.

Disuse of premises.

35. —Where the licensee of premises ceases to use them for the purpose for which they are licensed he shall, within one month, so inform the Minister or authority by whom the licence was issued and surrender the licence.

Regulations

Regulations.

36. —(1) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, regulations may provide for—

(a) the expiry and revocation of licences, or any class of licence, continued in force under section 8;

(b) the amendment and revocation of instruments continued in force under that section, other than bye-laws capable of being amended or revoked by any local or harbour authority, or railway or canal undertaking, in the exercise of its statutory powers;

(c) the regulation and control of licensed factories, magazines and stores and the rules to be observed in or about or in connection with any such premises;

(d) the prohibition or control of importation of any substance to which this Act applies;

(e) enforcing compliance with the terms of any standard specification for the time being in force, under the Industrial Research and Standards Act, 1961 , in relation to any substance to which this Act applies.

Exemptions.

37. —(1) Where any substance to which this Act applies is on board ship in pursuance of the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, or the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 , nothing in this Act or regulations thereunder (other than provisions relating to importation) shall apply thereto, except that the conveyance and keeping of the substance, on board ship or elsewhere, while the ship is in harbour shall be in accordance with such provisions as may be prescribed.

(2) Nothing in this Act or regulations thereunder (other than provisions relating to importation) shall apply to the carriage of any substance to which this Act applies aboard aircraft.

(3) The Minister may, by regulations, exempt from all or any of the provisions of this Act any specified class of explosive and any specified class of person or premises, on such conditions as may be prescribed, where he is satisfied that the application of such provisions is unnecessary or impracticable.

(4) Regulations may provide for the issue of licences for the purposes of the regulations and for attaching conditions to a licence.

Fees.

38. —The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, prescribe the fee to be paid for licences generally or for any particular kind of licence.

Inspectors

Inspectors.

39. —(1) The Minister may appoint persons to be inspectors for the purposes of this Act and may revoke any such appointment.

(2) Notice of an appointment and of the revocation of an appointment under this section shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil.

(3) An inspector shall be furnished with a certificate of appointment and when visiting any premises to which the provisions of this Act apply shall, if so required, produce the certificate to the occupier or any other person holding a responsible position of management at the premises.

Powers of inspectors.

40. —(1) An inspector shall have power—

(a) to enter, inspect and examine at all times, by day and night, any premises which he has reasonable cause to believe to be used for the manufacture, storage, packing or sale of any substance to which this Act applies;

(b) to take with him a member of the Garda Síochána if he has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in the execution of his duty;

(c) where he has reasonable cause to believe that at any premises an offence under this Act has been or is being committed, to use force where necessary in order to enter the premises, provided he is so authorised by a warrant of a Justice of the District Court (which such Justice is hereby authorised to issue upon reasonable ground being assigned on oath) or, if it appears to him to be a case of emergency and that the delay in obtaining a warrant would be likely to endanger life, without being so authorised;

(d) to require the production of any document kept in pursuance of this Act and to inspect, examine and copy any such document;

(e) to make such examination and inquiry as may be necessary to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act or regulations thereunder are being complied with;

(f) to require any person whom he finds on any such premises to give such information as it is in his power to give as to who is the occupier of the premises;

(g) for the purpose of any examination or inquiry under this section to require any person whom he finds on any such premises, or whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be, or to have been within the preceding two months, employed at the premises, to answer, in the absence of persons other than a person nominated by him to be present and any persons whom the inspector may allow to be present, such questions as the inspector thinks fit to ask, so however, that no answer given by a person in pursuance of a requirement imposed under this paragraph shall be admissible in evidence against him in any proceedings;

(h) to exercise such other powers as may be necessary for carrying this Act into effect.

(2) The occupier of the premises, his agents and servants, shall furnish the means required by an inspector as necessary for any entry, inspection, examination, inquiry, taking of samples or other power under this Act, in relation to the premises.

(3) If any person wilfully delays an inspector in the exercise of any power under this section, or fails to comply with the requisition of an inspector in pursuance of this section, or to produce any register, certificate, notice or document which he is required by or in pursuance of this Act to produce, or wilfully withholds any information as to who is the occupier of any premises, or conceals or prevents, or attempts to conceal or prevent, a person from appearing before or being examined by an inspector, that person shall be deemed to obstruct an inspector in the execution of his duties under this Act.

(4) Where an inspector is obstructed in the execution of his powers or duties under this Act—

(a) if the obstruction is in any premises, the occupier, and, if the person obstructing the inspector is not the occupier, also the person obstructing the inspector, shall be guilty of an offence,

(b) in any other case, the person obstructing the inspector shall be guilty of an offence.

Power of inspector to require remedy for immediate or apprehended danger.

41. —If an inspector is of opinion that any premises to which the provisions of this Act apply or any part thereof or any things or practices at the premises or connected with the control or management thereof are or are likely shortly to become dangerous to person or property, he may serve on the responsible person a notice stating that he is of that opinion and giving particulars of the reason why he is of that opinion, and imposing upon the responsible person such prohibitions or restrictions or requirements (of whatsoever kind) as appear to the inspector to be necessary for the purpose of safeguarding persons or property.

Power to take samples.

42. —(1) An inspector may at any time after informing the licensee or, if he is not readily available, a foreman or other responsible person in the licensed premises, take for analysis sufficient samples of any substance kept or used or intended to be used in the premises being a substance in respect of which he suspects a contravention of this Act, or which in his opinion is likely to cause bodily injury to the persons employed, or which he thinks may prove on analysis to be likely to cause such injury.

(2) The licensee or other responsible person referred to in subsection (1) may, at the time when the sample is taken, and on providing the necessary appliances, require the inspector to divide the sample into three parts, to mark and seal or fasten up each part in such manner as its nature permits, and—

(a) to deliver one part to the licensee, or other responsible person,

(b) to retain one part for future comparison, and

(c) to submit one part to the analyst,

and any analysis under this section shall, if so required, be carried out by or under the direction of the State Chemist.

(3) A certificate purporting to be a certificate by the State Chemist as to the result of an analysis of a sample under this section shall in any proceedings under this Act be admissible as evidence of the matters stated therein, but either party may require the person by whom the analysis was made to be called as a witness.

(4) No person shall, except in so far as is necessary for the purposes of a prosecution for an offence under this Act, publish or disclose to any person other than the licensee the results of an analysis made under this section.

Local inspectors.

43. —For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act in relation to premises licensed by a local or harbour authority or in respect of which an application for a licence is made to such authority, any officer or servant of the authority duly authorised on that behalf by the authority shall have all the powers of an inspector.

Taking and detention of substances.

44. —An inspector may take, remove and detain in his custody any substance found in the course of the exercise of any power conferred by this Act in respect of which he has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under this Act is being or is about to be committed, together with, if he thinks fit, any receptacle containing it.

Destruction of substances seized.

45. —(1) Where an inspector seizes any substance under the authority of this Act and it appears to him that it would be dangerous to retain it until the matter can be dealt with by the court, then, subject to the provisions of this section, he may destroy the substance.

(2) Unless, in the opinion of the inspector, it would be dangerous or impracticable to do so, the inspector shall, before destroying the substance, produce it to a peace commissioner and make before him a statutory declaration identifying the substance and stating his reasons for destroying it.

(3) Where the inspector destroys the substance without so producing it he shall, as soon as possible, make a statutory declaration as aforesaid.

(4) A statutory declaration under this section shall be prima facie evidence in every court of all matters of fact stated therein.

(5) Where an inspector makes a statutory declaration under this section in relation to any substance, he shall deliver a copy of the declaration to the person, if any, appearing to him to be the owner of the substance.

Dangerous conditions, practices and premises.

46. —(1) Sections 50 and 51 of the Factories Act, 1955 , which relate to the making of orders by the District Court as to dangerous conditions and practices, and dangerous factories, shall apply to all premises to which this Act applies.

(2) Sections 115 and 116 of the Factories Act, 1955 , which provide for the modification of agreements between owners and occupiers and for the apportionment of expenses of alterations to premises, shall apply in relation to any structural or other alterations in any premises to which this Act applies which are necessary in order to enable the owner or occupier of the premises to comply with any provisions of this Act or any regulation or order thereunder or in order to conform with any standard or requirement imposed by or under this Act.