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21 1939

AIR-RAID PRECAUTIONS ACT, 1939

PART IV.

Obscuration of Lights and Camouflage.

General duty of occupiers of factories, owners of mines and essential undertakers.

49. —(1) It shall be the duty of the occupier of any factory premises, of the owner of any mine and of essential undertakers to take forthwith any necessary measures to secure that in the event of emergency, throughout any period of darkness—

(a) no lights are allowed to appear from within any building on the premises, or used for the purposes of the mine or undertaking; and

(b) no lights not within a building remain alight, unless they are essential for the conduct of work of national importance, are adequately shaded, are reduced in power and, save where the Minister otherwise directs, are capable of instant extinction at any time.

(2) A factory inspector may serve on the occupier of any factory premises, a mines inspector may serve on the owner of any mine and any person authorised by the Minister may serve on any essential undertaker, a notice in writing requiring the occupier, owner or undertaker, within the time specified in the notice, to take such measures as may be specified in the notice, being such measures as are mentioned in sub-section (1) of this section.

(3) This section does not apply to any of the matters dealt with in the next succeeding section.

Provisions as to processes involving flames or glare.

50. —(1) Where any process carried on in factory premises, or in the premises of any essential undertaker, involves the emission of flames or glare not capable of being screened by means which would suffice in the case of ordinary lighting of a building, the Minister may serve on the occupier of the factory premises, or on the essential undertaker, as the case may be, a notice in writing requiring him, within the time specified in the notice, to take such measures as may be specified in the notice to secure that in the event of an emergency the flames or glare will either no longer be produced during any period of darkness, or will be wholly or partially screened.

(2) The Minister may serve on the owner of any mine in connection with which there is any accumulation or deposit of refuse which is burning or is liable to spontaneous combustion, a notice in writing requiring him, within the time specified in the notice, to take such measures as may be specified in the notice to secure that in the event of an emergency no flames or glare will be produced during any period of darkness by that accumulation or deposit or that any flames or glare so produced will be wholly or partially screened.

Camouflage.

51. —The Minister may serve on the occupier of any factory premises or on any essential undertaker a notice in writing requiring him, within the time specified in the notice, to take such measures as may be specified in the notice to secure that the factory premises or, as the case may be, any of the premises of the undertaker, are or can be made less readily recognisable by aircraft in the event of attack.

State grants under Part IV.

52. —(1) There may be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas towards the approved expenses of any person on whom a notice has been served under the two immediately preceding sections in taking the measures specified in the notice, grants not exceeding one-half of those expenses.

(2) In this section “approved expenses” means such expenses of a capital nature as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, approve for the purposes of this section.

Penalties for failure to comply with notice.

53. —If any person on whom a notice is served under any of the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act fails to comply with the requirements thereof, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and, if the failure in respect of which such person was so convicted continues after the conviction, such person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds for each day on which the offence continues.

The court by which any persons are convicted under this sub-section may fix a reasonable period from the date of the conviction for the compliance by them with the requirements of the notice, and, where the court has fixed such a period, the said daily penalty shall not be recoverable in respect of any day before the expiration thereof.

Saving for Part III.

54. —The preceding provisions of this Part of this Act relating to essential undertakers shall not be construed as limiting the generality of the provisions of Part III of this Act, but no grant shall be made both under this Part of this Act and that Part of this Act in respect of the same expenses.

Powers of entry on premises.

55. —(1) Any authorised officer shall, on producing some duly authenticated document showing his authority, have a right to enter any premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of—

(a) ascertaining whether there is or has been, on or in connection with the premises, any contravention of or failure to comply with the provisions of this Part of this Act or any notice given thereunder;

(b) ascertaining whether or not circumstances exist which would authorise or require any action to be taken under this Part of this Act.

(2) If it is shown to the satisfaction of a justice of the District Court on sworn information in writing—

(a) that admission to any premises has been refused, or that refusal is apprehended, or that the premises are unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent, or that the case is one of urgency, or that an application for admission would defeat the object of the entry; and

(b) that there is reasonable ground for entry into the premises for any such purpose as aforesaid, such justice may by warrant under his hand authorise an authorised officer to enter the premises, if need be by force, but such warrant shall not be issued unless such justice is satisfied either that notice of the intention to apply for a warrant has been given to the occupier, or that the premises are unoccupied, or that the occupier is temporarily absent, or that the case is one of urgency, or that the giving of such notice would defeat the object of the entry.

(3) An authorised officer entering any premises by virtue of this section, or of a warrant issued thereunder, may take with him such other persons as may be necessary, and on leaving any unoccupied premises which he has entered by virtue of such a warrant shall leave them as effectually secured against trespassers as he found them.

(4) Every warrant granted under this section shall continue in force until the purpose for which the entry is necessary has been satisfied.

(5) If any person who in compliance with the provisions of this section or of a warrant issued thereunder is admitted into a factory, workshop or workplace discloses to any person any information obtained by him in the factory, workshop or workplace with regard to any manufacturing process or trade secret, he shall, unless such disclosure was made in the performance of his duty, be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds or at the discretion of the court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months.

(6) If any person obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the exercise of any right conferred on such officer by this section, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(7) Each of the following persons shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this section, that is to say:—

(a) a factory inspector;

(b) a mines inspector;

(c) any person authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred on an authorised officer by this section.

Provisions as to practice of dimming lights by local authorities.

56. —Nothing in any enactment requiring a local authority to cause the whole or any part of its area to be lighted shall render it unlawful for such authority to cause the lights in highways and public places in the whole or any part of its area to be dimmed or extinguished for the purpose of—

(a) training or exercising any persons in respect of air-raid precautions; or

(b) testing devices for enabling movement of traffic to continue in unlighted streets