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13 1977

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AUTHORITY ACT, 1977

PART IV

Committees of Agriculture

Functions of committees of agriculture.

36. —(1) Every committee of agriculture shall, with the assistance of the Chief Agricultural Officer, prepare an annual agricultural advisory and education programme for its county and shall submit the programme to the Authority for consideration by the Board in relation to the annual programme referred to in section 32 and may—

(a) review, and make recommendations to the Minister and the Board, as appropriate, regarding, the operation of such programme and the schemes operated by the Minister in the county;

(b) from time to time request reports from the Chief Agricultural Officer on the progress of the advisory and education programme for the county;

(c) from time to time request reports from the appropriate officers of the Minister on the schemes operated by him in the county and request the attendance of those officers at meetings of the committee at which matters relating to those schemes are discussed; and

(d) make proposals to the Minister, through the General Council referred to in section 43, in regard to agricultural policy and development.

(2) (a) Every committee of agriculture shall have, in addition to the powers and functions mentioned in subsection (1), the functions that were exercised or performed, or were capable of being exercised or performed, by it immediately before the commencement of this section, except the functions transferred to the Authority under sections 12 and 15.

(b) The definition in section 2 of the Act of 1931 of the expression “the purposes of agriculture and other rural industries” shall be construed subject to this section.

(3) For the purpose of this Act “Chief Agricultural Officer”, in relation to a county, means the officer of the Authority to whom is assigned responsibility for executing in the county the functions of a committee of agriculture transferred to the Authority under sections 12 and 15.

Amendments of Act of 1931.

37. —(1) The Act of 1931 is hereby amended by the deletion of—

(a) “forestry” where it occurs in the definition of the expression “the purposes of agriculture and other rural industries” in section 2 and “and instruction in” in that definition; and

(b) “or for forestry schemes” in section 39;

and the said definition and section 39, as so amended, are set out in Table I to this section.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section and the repeal by this Act of sections 35, 36 (2) and 38 (2) of the Act of 1931 and of section 2 (2) of the Agriculture (Amendment) Act, 1958 , a committee of agriculture may distribute forest trees for shelter belts and other purposes in accordance with a scheme adopted by it and approved by the Minister.

(3) Paragraphs (e) and (f) of section 30 (2) of the Act of 1931 are hereby amended by the substitution of “five hundred” for “one hundred” and the said paragraphs as so amended are set out in Table II to this section.

TABLE I

the expression “the purposes of agriculture and other rural industries” includes assistance, improvement, and development of all or any of the following industries, that is to say, agriculture, horticulture, dairying, the breeding of horses, cattle and other livestock and poultry, bee-keeping, the cultivation and preparation of flax, and any industry immediately connected with and subservient to any of the said industries, and the said expression also includes aiding or facilitating the carriage and distribution of agricultural requisites and produce;

39. There shall be placed at the disposal of the Minister and applied by him for the purposes of agricultural schemes or any other lawful purposes of committees of agriculture such moneys as may from time to time be provided by the Oireachtas for those purposes.

TABLE II

(e) before a contract involving the payment by a committee of agriculture of the sum of five hundred pounds or any greater sum is made by such committee, such committee shall cause not less than ten days' public notice by advertisement or otherwise to be given stating the nature and purpose of such contract and inviting tenders for the execution thereof;

(f) on the making of a contract involving the payment by a committee of agriculture of the sum of five hundred pounds or any greater sum, such committee shall require and take from the person by whom such contract is to be performed sufficient security for the due performance thereof;

Co-operation with other bodies.

38. —A committee of agriculture may, subject to the approval of the Minister and in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be determined by him, join with another body or bodies in building premises and in leasing, purchasing or otherwise acquiring land and buildings for the joint use of the committee and such other body or bodies in the exercise of their respective powers and functions.

Agricultural schemes.

39. —(1) Every committee of agriculture shall, in respect of its functions under this Act, submit to the Minister, on or before such date as may be specified by him, the agricultural scheme to which section 33 of the Act of 1931 relates.

(2) When the Minister has considered the scheme, he shall issue to the committee by which the scheme was prepared a certificate in the prescribed form authorising the committee to demand from the council of the county in which the functional area of the committee is situated a contribution (in this Act referred to as the annual local contribution), in respect of the local financial year to which the agricultural scheme relates, of such amount as the Minister shall think proper to specify in such certificate having regard to—

(a) the estimate of expenses and receipts contained in the agricultural scheme, and

(b) the estimate of expenses and receipts furnished under section 44 to the Minister by the Board in regard to the provision of agricultural advisory and education services in the county.

(3) Every certificate under this section shall specify the respective portions of the annual local contribution which relate to the separate estimates of expenses and receipts indicated in subsection (2).

(4) Every committee of agriculture shall, upon receiving from the Minister a certificate under this section, forthwith send to the council of the county concerned a demand in the prescribed form for the total contribution specified in the certificate in respect of the local financial year to which it relates.

(5) Every council of a county to which a demand is made under this section by a committee of agriculture shall pay to such committee, at such time or times as the Minister may specify and in such manner as he may indicate, the amount of the demand without any deduction whatsoever.

(6) Every committee of agriculture shall, out of the annual local contribution, pay to the Authority each year without deduction, at such time or times and in such manner as the Minister may specify, the amount indicated in the certificate referred to in subsection (2) which relates to the expenses and receipts mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection.

(7) The annual local contribution shall not, in any local financial year, exceed, or be less than, the respective limits specified in section 1 (1) of the Agriculture (Amendment) Act, 1974 .

(8) The council of a county shall, in every local financial year, charge the amount of the annual local contribution in the area consisting of the county, exclusive of every (if any) urban district therein.

Amendment of Act of 1944.

40. —Section 5 (1) of the Act of 1944 is hereby amended by the insertion after “court” in paragraph (c) of “or any specific requirement of any statute applicable to such committee” and that paragraph as so amended is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(c) a committee of agriculture for a county fails to comply with any judgement, order or decree of any court or any specific requirement of any statute applicable to such committee, or

election year”.

41. —For the purposes of the Agriculture Acts and this Act “election year” means any year in which elections of members of local authorities are held pursuant to the Local Elections Acts, 1963 to 1974.

Amendment of Second Schedule to Act of 1931.

42. —(1) The Second Schedule to the Act of 1931 is hereby amended by the substitution for Rule 2 of the following Rule:

“2. Every committee of agriculture shall be composed both of persons who are and persons who are not members of the council and the number of members of every such committee who are members of the council shall be—

(a) in case the committee consists of a number of members which is a multiple of five, three-fifths of that number, and

(b) in any other case, the number which is the next whole number above three-fifths of the number of members.”

(2) Every person, other than a member of the council of a county, appointed to be a member of a committee of agriculture shall be appointed on the nomination of such voluntary rural organisations active in the county as the Minister may by order designate (either generally or in relation to each county or group of counties) and the number of members to be nominated by each such organisation shall, subject to the provisions of the Agriculture Acts and this Act, be such as the Minister may by order determine.

(3) This section shall have effect in relation to a committee of agriculture upon the commencement of the annual meeting of the council of the county by which the members of the committee are appointed held next after the first election of members of the council held after the passing of this Act.

General Council of Committees of Agriculture.

43. —A committee of agriculture may, subject to such limits as may be fixed from time to time by the Minister, make annual contributions to—

(a) the association of committees of agriculture known as the General Council of Committees of Agriculture formed for the purpose of consultation as to their common interests and the discussion of matters relating to agriculture, or

(b) in the event of that Council ceasing to exist, any association or body that may subsequently be formed which, in the opinion of the Minister, has similar aims and functions.