PART IV

Miscellaneous

35. —(1) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may by order designate the countries which are parties to the Protection Convention.

(2) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may by order amend or revoke an order under this section including an order under this subsection.

(3) An order under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

36. —(1) A person shall not disclose any confidential information that becomes available to him—

(a) by virtue of the provisions of the Protection Convention,

(b) pursuant to the Notification Convention, in connection with the notification of a nuclear accident or relevant to minimising its radiological consequences,

(c) arising out of the provision of assistance under the Assistance Convention either—

(i) when the assistance is being provided to or in another state, on behalf of the State, or

(ii) when the assistance is being provided to or in the State on behalf of another state or an international organisation, or

(d) while performing (or as a result of having performed) duties as a member of the Institute, or member of its staff, or as an advisor or consultant to the Institute,

unless he is duly authorised to do so.

(2) A person who contravenes a provision of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) In subsection (1) of this section—

“confidential” means that which is expressed to be confidential either as regards particular information or as regards information of a particular class or description;

“duly authorised” means authorised by a Minister of the Government, by a person authorised in that behalf by that Minister, by the Institute or by a person authorised in that behalf by the Institute.

37. —(1) A certificate of the Minister stating that equipment, property or other materials being sent to, from or through the State for the purposes of assistance pursuant to the Assistance Convention shall be accepted by the Revenue Commissioners so as to exempt such equipment, property or materials from any tax or custom charges and render them immune from seizure, attachment or requisition.

(2) On the issue of a certificate under subsection (1) of this section the said equipment, property or materials shall be imported, exported or otherwise transported, as the case may be, without undue delay.

38. —(1) A person who—

(a) possesses, uses, transfers, alters, disposes or disperses nuclear material in such a manner so as to cause or be likely to cause death or serious injury to any person, or substantial damage to property, or

(b) steals nuclear material, or

(c) embezzles or fraudulently obtains nuclear material, or

(d) does any act constituting an unlawful demand for nuclear material, by the threat of the use of force, by the use of force, or by a threat of any kind, or

(e) threatens—

(i) to use nuclear material to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial property damage,

(ii) to commit an offence under paragraph (b) of this subsection in order to compel any person, an international organisation or state to do or to refrain from doing any act,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) If a person, whether an Irish citizen or not, does in a convention country an act which if he had done it in the State, would have constituted an offence under subsection (1) of this section, he shall be guilty of the offence which the act would have constituted if he had done it in the State.

(3) If a person who is a national of a convention country or an Irish citizen does outside the State or a convention country an act which if he had done it in the State would have constituted an offence under subsection (1) of this section, he shall be guilty of the offence which the act would have constituted if he had done it in the State.

(4) A member of the Garda Síochána may arrest without warrant any person whom he suspects has committed or is committing an offence under this section.

(5) For the purpose of investigating offences under this section, a member of the Garda Síochána may demand names and addresses and proof of identity from any persons he reasonably suspects of having committed or being involved in the act of committing an offence under this section.

(6) (a) For the purposes of this section, any act done on board a ship, aircraft or hovercraft, when it is in or over the State or the territory of a convention country, shall be treated as done in the State or that country and any act done on board a ship, aircraft or hovercraft registered in the State or a convention country shall be treated as done in the State or that country and in the convention country (if any) in or over whose territory it is done.

(b) In paragraph (a) of this subsection “territory” includes territorial seas.

(7) This section shall apply only to acts done after the commencement of this Act.

(8) In this section—

“act” includes omission;

“steals” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the Larceny Act, 1916.

39. —(1) Proceedings for an offence under section 38 of this Act which is an offence by virtue of subsection (2) or (3) of the said section may be taken in any place in the State and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed in that place.

(2) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 38 (1) of this Act, no further proceedings (other than a remand in custody or bail) shall be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(3) The Director of Public Prosecutions shall not take, or consent to the taking of, further proceedings such as are mentioned in subsection (2) of this section in respect of an offence involving an act referred to in section 38 (1) of this Act unless it appears to him that—

(a) a convention country in relation to which Part II of the Extradition Act, 1965, applies has made a request under that Part for the surrender of the person concerned for the purpose of trying him for an offence in respect of the act in question and the request has been finally refused (whether as the result of a decision of a court or otherwise), or

(b) a warrant has been issued by a judicial authority in a place in relation to which Part III of the Extradition Act, 1965, applies for the arrest of the person concerned for the purpose of trying him for an offence in respect of the act in question and it has been finally determined (whether as a result of a decision of a court or otherwise) that the warrant should not be endorsed for execution in the State under that Part or that the person concerned should not be delivered up in accordance with the warrant, or

(c) because of special circumstances (which may include the likelihood of a refusal such as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection or of a determination such as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of this subsection) it is expedient that proceedings should be taken against the person concerned for an offence under the law of the State in respect of the act in question.

(4) No proceedings shall be taken under section 38 of the Extradition Act, 1965, in respect of an act that constitutes an offence by virtue of that section and also an offence referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(5) Subsection (3) of this section shall not apply to proceedings against an Irish citizen or to proceedings in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed in the State.

40. —(1) A person who contravenes a provision of an order made under section 30 or a regulation or order made under section 32 of this Act shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable:

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment,

(b) on conviction on indictment, other than for an offence under section 38 of this Act, to a fine not exceeding £100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to both,

(c) on conviction on indictment for an offence under section 38 of this Act, to a fine not exceeding £1,000,000 or to imprisonment for life or other term decided by the court or to both, and

(d) in every case on conviction on indictment, to the forfeiture of the substance, device or apparatus in respect of which the offence was committed.

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate or by a person purporting to act on behalf of a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any person being a director, manager, secretary, member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of any such body, or being any other similar officer of any such body, that person shall also be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

41. —(1) A summary offence under an order made under section 30 of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister or the Institute.

(2) A summary offence under a regulation made under section 32 (1) (a) or (b) of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

(3) A summary offence under a regulation made under section 32 (1) (c) or (d) of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister for the Marine.

(4) A summary offence under a regulation made under section 32 (1) (e) of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister for Finance.

(5) A summary offence under a regulation made under section 32 (1) (f) of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister for Health.

(6) A summary offence under section 29 of this Act in relation to an offence concerning an inspector may be brought by the Minister who appointed that inspector or by the Institute if the Institute appointed that inspector.

42. —(1) The Minister may, after consultation with such other Ministers of the Government and other persons as he considers appropriate, pay compensation in respect of—

(a) death of or injury to a person providing assistance to the State on behalf of a requested state or organisation in accordance with the Assistance Convention, or

(b) loss of or damage to non-consumable equipment or materials related to the assistance,

except in cases of wilful misconduct by the persons who caused the death, injury, loss or damage.

(2) In the event of—

(a) death of or injury to a person providing assistance to another state on behalf of the State in accordance with the Assistance Convention, or

(b) loss of or damage to non-consumable equipment or materials related to the assistance,

except in cases of wilful misconduct by the persons who caused the death, injury, loss or damage, the Minister may pay compensation unless the requesting state concerned pays such compensation or indicates its intention to pay compensation for such death, injury, loss or damage.

(3) Where the Minister pays compensation under subsection (2) of this section he shall, in consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, lodge claims with the requesting state concerned for reimbursement of the cost of such compensation.

43. —(1) The Nuclear Energy (An Bord Fuinnimh Núicléigh) Act, 1971 , on the establishment day, shall stand repealed.

(2) The Third Schedule to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 , on the establishment day, is hereby amended by the deletion in column (1) of “(No. 12 of 1971)” and by the deletion in column (2) of “Nuclear Energy Act, 1971” and by the insertion of “Radiological Protection Act, 1991” in column (2) of the said Schedule.

44. —Notwithstanding the repeal of section 6 of the Nuclear Energy (An Bord Fuinnimh Núicléigh) Act, 1971 , any order made under section 6 of that Act shall remain in force and may be amended or revoked as if made under section 30 of this Act.

45. —The Health Act, 1953 , is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion after “may” in section 59 (4) of “, after consultation with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland,”,

(b) by the insertion before “radio-active” and “irradiating apparatus” in section 59 (4) (a) of “medical”,

(c) by the deletion of section 59 (4) (b), and

(d) by the insertion after section 59 (5) (a) (v) of the following—

“(vi) by members of the staff of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland,”.

46. —The Factories Act, 1955 , is hereby amended by the insertion in section 71 (1) after “Minister for Health” of “(or, where a process of manufacture involves the use of radioactive substances or nuclear devices (within the meaning of the Radiological Protection Act, 1991) or irradiating apparatus, after consultation with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland)”.

47. —Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895, shall not apply to the vesting in the Institute of any property or rights transferred by this Act.