First Previous (PART I Preliminary and General) Next (Chapter II Reserves and Refuges)

39 1976

WILDLIFE ACT, 1976

PART II

Wildlife Conservation and Protection

Chapter I

General

Functions of Minister in relation to wildlife.

11. —(1) It shall be a function of the Minister to secure the conservation of wildlife.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may in particular do all or any of the following:

(a) give assistance or advice to any person on any matter affecting wildlife,

(b) where the Minister considers that the management, or supervision of the management by him or on his behalf, of any land in which he has not an interest, is desirable in the interests of wildlife, he may manage or cause to be managed, or supervise or cause to be supervised the management of the land upon such terms and subject to such conditions as may be agreed upon between him and a person having an interest in the land,

(c) enter into, and carry out, an agreement with another person to participate in a scheme, undertaking or project for the conservation of wildlife and for the purposes of such scheme, undertaking or project to perform any one or more of the functions assigned to him under this Act,

(d) make grants or loans to further projects or activities which have as their object the conservation of wildlife generally, a particular aspect of such conservation or the development and proper use of hunting amenities and resources,

(e) promote, either directly or indirectly, whether alone or in conjunction with other persons, schemes or projects for the better conservation and use of wildlife or for the prevention, reduction or removal of any damage, or source of damage, to wildlife.

(3) The Minister may, either directly or in association with or through the agency of another person—

(a) carry out or cause to be carried out research which he considers desirable for the performance of his functions under this Act,

(b) promote the knowledge and understanding of matters to which the functions assigned to him under this Act are related.

(4) Nothing in this section shall restrict, prejudice or affect the performance by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries of any function which could have been performed by him immediately before the commencement of this section.

Obligations generally of Ministers of State and certain other authorities and bodies in relation to nature reserves and refuges.

12. —(1) This section applies to—

(a) a local authority,

(b) the Commissioners,

(c) any other body which is—

(i) established by or under statute and financed wholly or partly by means of loans or grants made by a Minister of State,

(ii) a company (in this subsection referred to as a State-sponsored company) within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 , in which the majority of the shares are held by or on behalf of a Minister of State,

(iii) a company within the meaning of the said Act in which the majority of the ordinary shares are held by a State-sponsored company, or a body established and financed in the manner specified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, and

as regards which there is in force for the time being a direction given for the purposes of this section by the Minister.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a Minister of State other than the Minister and every authority or body to which this section applies shall—

(a) before determining any matter or doing anything which is, in his or their opinion, or is represented by the Minister to the other Minister of State, or the authority or body to be likely or liable to affect, or to interfere with, the suitability for a nature reserve or a refuge, as may be appropriate, of land to which an establishment order, a recognition order or a designation order applies, or the management of land pursuant to and in accordance with an agreement under section 18 of this Act, consult the Minister as regards the avoidance or minimising of such effect or interference, and

(b) take all practicable steps to avoid or minimise such effect or interference.

(3) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply in relation to—

(a) any determination made or anything done in an emergency,

(b) the functions of the Minister for Local Government or of a planning authority under Parts III and IV of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 , or under Part V of that Act (other than sections 47, 48 and 49) or under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976 , or

(c) the functions of the Board, or

(d) the functions of the Commissioners under the Arterial Drainage Acts, 1945 and 1955.

(4) The Minister may give in relation to a body described in subsection (1) (c) of this section a direction for the purposes of this section and any such direction shall come into force when given and shall continue in force until cancelled by the Minister.

Wildlife Advisory Council.

13. —(1) The Minister shall by order establish a body which shall be known in the Irish language as An Chomhairle um Fhiadhúlra and in the English language as The Wildlife Advisory Council (which body is referred to in this Act as the Council) to perform the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Council may, either of its own volition or at the request of the Minister, make recommendations to the Minister as to the Minister's general policy (including administrative policy) in relation to the conservation of wildlife or as to objectives to be fixed or programmes to be implemented by the Minister in relation to such conservation, but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as enabling the Council to make to the Minister any recommendation as regards a particular administrative matter.

(3) The Minister shall take such steps as he considers appropriate to keep the Council informed of matters relating to the conservation of wildlife which are, in his opinion, likely to assist the Council in performing the functions assigned to it by subsection (2) of this section.

(4) The Minister may request the Council to furnish to him its opinion in relation to any function assigned to him by this Act or any matter which he considers to be related to any such function and it shall be the duty of the Council to comply with any such request.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the Minister may by order, made with the consent of the Minister for the Public Service in so far as it relates to allowances for members of the Council, provide for such one or more of the following as he considers appropriate:

(a) the constitution of the Council,

(b) the period for which and the terms and conditions upon and subject to which the members of the Council are to hold office,

(c) the manner in which a member of the Council may resign from office and the manner and circumstances in which such a member may be removed from office,

(d) the business and procedure of the Council,

(e) the payment of specified allowances to members of the Council,

(f) any matter which is ancillary or incidental to any of the foregoing.

(6) Before making an order under this section which contains provisions relating to the constitution of the Council, the Minister shall consult any other Minister of State or a body established by or regulated under statute considered by the Minister to be concerned.

(7) The members of the Council shall be appointed by the Minister and shall include such number of persons, by reason of their knowledge or experience of, or interest in, agriculture, fisheries, field sports, the conservation of wildlife or some other science, as he considers will ensure that the Council will assist materially in the furtherance of wildlife conservation.

Establishment of boards to provide or administer certain services.

14. —(1) If the Minister considers that the provision or administration of any service which under this Act he is enabled to provide or administer would be facilitated thereby, he may, with the consent of both the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Public Service, and after consulting such other Minister of State (if any) as the Minister considers appropriate to consult in the circumstances, by order establish a board (which shall be known by the name specified in the order) to provide, administer, or provide and administer that service on his behalf in accordance with such directives (which shall be complied with by the board) in relation to the general policy of the Minister relating to wildlife as he may give from time to time.

(2) Such of the provisions contained in the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply to a board established by the Minister under this section as the Minister specifies by order and for the purpose of applying any such provision in relation to a particular board as regards which the provision is so specified, any reference in that Schedule to the Board shall be construed as a reference to that particular board.

(3) The Minister may by order, if he considers it appropriate, provide that a specified board established under this section may be directed by the Minister to act on his behalf in the performance of such of his functions under this Act (other than the prosecution of an offence) as are specified in the order and the board so specified shall comply with any such direction and shall have all such powers as are necessary to put into effect any direction given to it by the Minister pursuant to the order.

(4) (a) As regards each accounting year a board established by the Minister under this section shall, within the specified period beginning immediately after the board's accounting year, make a report to the Minister of its activities during that year and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(b) The Minister shall, as regards a board established by him under this section, specify a period for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection and the period so specified is in that paragraph referred to as the specified period.

(5) The Minister shall not revoke an order under this section establishing a board without the consent of both the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Public Service.

(6) Where the Minister revokes an order under this section the following provisions shall have effect:

(a) all property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which immediately before the commencement of the order was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust or subject to conditions for the board to which the revoked order relates (in this subsection subsequently referred to as the board) and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property shall on the commencement of the order without any conveyance or assignment, but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company, become and be vested in or the property of or held in trust or subject to conditions for (as the case may require) the Minister for all the interest for which the same immediately before such commencement was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust or subject to conditions for the board, but subject to all trusts, conditions and equities affecting the same and then subsisting and capable of being performed,

(b) the said property which immediately before such commencement was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation or company in the name of the relevant board shall, upon the request of the Minister made at any time on or after such commencement, be transferred in such books by such bank, corporation or company into the name of the Minister,

(c) any chose-in-action transferred by this section may on or after such commencement, be sued upon, recovered, or enforced by the Minister in his own name and it shall not be necessary for the Minister to give notice to the person bound by such chose-in-action of the transfer effected by this section,

(d) every debt and other liability (including unliquidated liabilities arising from torts or breaches of contract) which, immediately before such commencement is owing and unpaid or has been incurred and is undischarged by the board shall, on such commencement, become and be the debt or liability of the Minister and shall be paid or discharged by and may be recovered from and enforced against the Minister accordingly, and

(e) where, immediately before such commencement, any legal proceedings are pending to which the board is a party, the name of the Minister shall be substituted for that of the board, and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

(7) Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895, shall not apply to the vesting in the Minister of property or rights transferred by subsection (6) of this section.