GAS ACT, 1976

FIRST SCHEDULE IRISH GAS BOARD

IRISH GAS BOARD

Section 7.

1. The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of land or rights over land.

2. The Board shall consist of a chairman and such number of other members, not being more than six, as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance may determine.

3. A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall be disqualified for being a member of the Board.

4. (1) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time as occasion requires appoint a member of the Board to be chairman thereof.

(2) The chairman of the Board shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns the office of chairman or ceases to be chairman under paragraph (4) of this Article, hold office until the expiration of his period of office as a member of the Board.

(3) The chairman of the Board may at any time resign his office as chairman by letter sent to the Minister, and the resignation shall, unless it is previously withdrawn in writing, take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the Board has been informed by the Minister of the resignation.

(4) Where the chairman of the Board ceases during his term of office as chairman to be a member of the Board, he shall also then cease to be chairman of the Board.

5. Each member of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance and the Minister when making the appointment shall fix such member's term of office which shall not exceed five years and, subject to the foregoing and to Articles 7 and 9 (2) of this Schedule, such member shall hold his office on such terms and conditions as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for the Public Service, determines.

6. A member of the Board shall be paid by the Board out of moneys at its disposal such remuneration (if any) and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for the Public Service, determines.

7. The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, remove from office any member of the Board who has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his duties, or who has committed stated misbehaviour, or whose removal appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Board of its functions.

8. A member of the Board may resign his office as such member by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of receipt of the letter by the Minister.

9. (1) Where a member of the Board is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann or for election to either House of the Oireachtas he shall, upon accepting nomination as a member of Seanad Éireann or upon nomination for such election, as the case may be, cease to be a member of the Board.

(2) Where a member of the Board—

(a) is adjudged bankrupt or makes a composition or arrangement with his creditors, or

(b) ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State, or

(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment,

he shall thereupon cease to be such a member.

10. A chairman or member of the Board whose term of office expires by the effluxion of time shall be eligible for reappointment.

11. Where a casual vacancy occurs among the members of the Board, the Minister shall take such steps as are necessary to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

12. The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

13. The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Board.

14. At a meeting of the Board the chairman of the Board shall, if present, be chairman of the meeting, but if the chairman of the Board is not present at a meeting or if the office of such chairman is vacant, then the members of the Board present at the meeting shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

15. The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be three or such other number (being not less than three) as may be determined from time to time by the Board.

16. The chairman of the Board and each ordinary member of the Board at a meeting thereof shall have a vote.

17. Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and, in the event that voting is equally divided, the chairman shall have a casting vote.

18. Subject to Article 15 of this Schedule, the Board may act notwithstanding a vacancy among its members.

19. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate its procedure and business.

20. The Board may perform any of its functions through or by any of its members duly authorised by the Board in that behalf.

21. The Board may perform any of its functions through or by any of its officers or servants or any other person duly appointed by the Board in that behalf, but nothing in this Article shall be construed as enabling any person to execute on behalf of the Board any document under seal.

22. The Board shall, as soon as may be after its establishment, provide itself with a seal.

23. The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Board, or some other member thereof authorised by the Board to act in that behalf, and by the signature of an officer of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

24. Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Board and every document purporting to be an instrument made by the Board and to be sealed with the seal (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with Article 23 of this Schedule) of the Board shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without proof, unless the contrary is shown.

25. (1) The Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister for the Public Service, make a scheme for the granting of pensions, gratuities or other allowances to or in respect of the chairman and other members of the Board, being members whose duties as such are wholetime, ceasing to hold office, other than persons in respect of whom an award under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, may be made.

(2) A scheme under this Article may provide that the termination of the appointment of the chairman or of a member of the Board during that person's term of office shall not preclude the award to him under the scheme of a pension, gratuity or other allowance.

(3) The Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister for the Public Service, amend a scheme made by him under this Article.

(4) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any pension, gratuity or allowance payable in pursuance of a scheme under this Article, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for the Public Service, whose decision shall be final.

(5) A scheme made under this Article shall be carried out by the Board in accordance with its terms.

(6) Every scheme made by the Minister under this Article shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the scheme, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(7) Where an established civil servant is definitively transferred to the Board as a member thereof, the superannuation benefits to be granted to him shall, if the Minister for the Public Service in his discretion so directs, be calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, as if, during the period of his service as a wholetime member of the Board subsequent to his transfer, he had been an established civil servant and had been paid during that period out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas within the meaning of section 17 of the Superannuation Act, 1859.

SECOND SCHEDULE ACQUISITION ORDERS

ACQUISITION ORDERS

Section 32.

1. Every application by the Board for an acquisition order shall be accompanied by—

(a) a draft of the order applied for,

(b) such plan or plans, specifications and other documents as will show clearly the situation and area of the land to which the order sought is to apply, whether in relation to a right over the land or in relation to any other estate or interest in the land, and in case such right over or interest in the land or in any part thereof is proposed to be acquired for the purpose of enabling a pipeline to be laid, the following additional provisions shall apply, namely;

(i) the said documents may show a strip of land (in this Article referred to as the “corridor”) in, on or over which it is proposed by the Board to construct the pipeline,

(ii) the said documents may show and separately distinguish and delineate the limits (in this Act referred to as the “deviation limits”) within which the Board consider it may be necessary in providing such pipeline to construct it outside the corridor or to execute works outside the corridor,

(c) a statement of the nature of the estate or interest in such land or the right over land which the Board seeks to acquire by virtue of the order, and

(d) a book of reference specifying—

(i) in case the Board propose to acquire a right over land or an interest in such a right, the person for the time being who is entitled to enjoy the right, if that person can by reasonable inquiry by the Board be ascertained,

(ii) in case the Board proposes to acquire any interest in land, other than a right or interest mentioned in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the person who is the owner of the land if that person can be ascertained by such inquiry, and

(iii) in case land is separately distinguished and delineated pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Article, the person who is the owner of the land or any part of the land within the deviation limits if that person can be ascertained by such inquiry.

2. Where an application is made by the Board for an acquisition order, the Minister may give such directions as he thinks fit as to the form of the plan, specification and book of reference referred to in the application.

3. (1) Where an application is made by the Board to the Minister for an acquisition order, the Board shall do the following

(a) deposit and keep deposited, at the place or each of the places appointed by the Minister in relation to the application for such period (being a period of not less than three weeks) as the Minister shall direct, a copy of the draft order, the plan or plans, specification and the book of reference which accompanied the application and which comply with any directions given by the Minister under Article 2 of this Schedule,

(b) publish in such newspaper or newspapers as the Minister shall direct notice of the making of the application stating the place or places at which the application and the accompanying documents may be inspected pursuant to this Schedule during a period specified in the notice (which period shall be the period so directed) and also stating that representations and objections as regards the proposed acquisition order may be made in writing to the Minister during the said period (which representations and objections are hereby authorised to be made),

(c) not later than two weeks before the expiration of the period so directed, serve a notice in writing containing the particulars mentioned in and complying with the requirements of paragraph (3) of this Article on any person whose name is specified in the relevant book of reference, other than an owner of land within the deviation limits, and whose address, being the address at which he ordinarily resides, can by reasonable inquiry be ascertained by the Board and—

(i) in case the Board proposes to acquire by virtue of the order a right over land or an interest in such a right, who is for the time being either entitled to enjoy such right or interest or the owner of the land comprising the servient tenement,

(ii) in case the Board proposes so to acquire an interest in land other than a right or interest mentioned in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, who is the owner of the land,

(d) not later than two weeks before such expiration, send to the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the Minister for Lands, the Minister for Local Government, the Commission, An Bord Pleanála and any local authority within whose functional area the land to which the application relates or any part of such land is situate, and to such other person (if any) as the Minister may, as regards the application, specify, a copy of the draft acquisition order and any plan and any other document sent to the Minister with the application.

(2) Where land is separately distinguished and delineated pursuant to Article 1 (b) of this Schedule, the Board may within the period mentioned in paragraph (1) (a) of this Article serve on any person referred to in the relevant book of reference in relation to any such land a notice in writing containing the particulars mentioned in and complying with the requirements of paragraph (3) of this Article.

(3) A notice referred to in paragraph (1) (c) or paragraph (2) of this Article shall state—

(a) that an application has been made to the Minister for,

(i) in the case of a notice referred to in the said paragraph (1) (c), an acquisition order,

(ii) in the case of a notice referred to in the said paragraph (2), the confirmation of deviation limits,

(b) that objections and representations may be made in writing to the Minister in relation to the application (which objections and representations are hereby authorised to be made),

(c) the period within which such objections and representations may be so made, and

(d) the place or places at which and the period during which the documents accompanying the application may be inspected pursuant to Article 4 of this Schedule,

and the notice shall indicate the situation of the land to which the draft order, if made, would relate and with which the person on whom the notice is served is concerned.

4. Where an application is made by the Board to the Minister for an acquisition order, a person may during the period specified in a notice published pursuant to Article 3 (1) (b) of this Schedule inspect at any reasonable hour any document deposited pursuant to Article 3 (1) (a) of this Schedule with the application.

5. (1) There shall be paid to the Minister on every application for an acquisition order such fee (if any) as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may fix.

(2) Fees payable under this Article shall be collected in money and be taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance may from time to time direct, and be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of that Minister, and the Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of such fees.

6. A dispute or difference as to the amount of compensation payable by the Board under this Act shall not be a ground for objection to the making of an acquisition order.

7. (1) (a) Where an application is made by the Board to the Minister for an acquisition order and where an objection is received, the Minister shall at the request of the objector, or may without such request, direct that an oral hearing be conducted as regards the application unless in his opinion the objection is frivolous, vexatious or otherwise of such a nature that the application can properly be considered without such a hearing.

(b) Where the Minister directs an oral hearing to be conducted into an application by the Board for a compulsory acquisition order, he shall appoint a person to conduct such hearing and report to the Minister on the hearing, and the Board, and every person by whom an objection or representation to or as regards the application is made shall be entitled to appear and be heard at the hearing.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this Article shall not apply to an application by the Board to the Minister for an acquisition order to extinguish a public right of way.

(3) (a) The person appointed to conduct a hearing under this Article may summon witnesses to attend at the hearing and require any such witness to produce at the hearing any document in the witness's power or control.

(b) Evidence given before a person appointed to conduct a hearing under this Article shall, if the person so requires, be given on oath (which the person is hereby empowered to administer) and any person who gives false evidence before such person shall be guilty of perjury and be punishable accordingly.

(c) A summons to a witness to attend before a hearing under this Article shall be signed by the person appointed to conduct the hearing.

(d) A witness before a hearing under this Article shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he were a witness before the High Court.

(e) If any person—

(i) on being duly summoned before a hearing under this Article makes default in attending, or

(ii) being in attendance as a witness at such a hearing refuses to take an oath legally required to be taken by him, or to produce any document in his power or control legally required to be produced by him, or to answer any question to which the person conducting the hearing may legally require an answer, or

(iii) does any thing which if the proceedings were proceedings before a court of justice having power to commit for contempt of court, would be contempt of such court,

that person shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

8. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this Article, where the Minister, having complied with such of the following requirements as are appropriate, namely, the requirements of section 32 (5) (b) of this Act and the requirements of Article 7 of this Schedule, and having considered any report made to him under the said Article 7, or in case no such report is made, any representations made or objections not withdrawn, is of the opinion that an application by the Board for an acquisition order should be granted either in whole or in part, he shall, subject to any variations or amendments to the application as he thinks proper to make, make an acquisition order as regards the right over land or any other estate or interest in land specified in the application, or in the application as so varied or amended by the Minister, and except in so far as it applies to a public right of way the acquisition order shall be made subject to—

(a) such restrictions (if any) as the Minister thinks proper and specifies in the order, and

(b) such other terms and conditions (if any) as the Minister thinks proper and so specifies.

(2) This Article shall not apply to any land within the deviation limits or to any right over such land.

9. Where the Minister, having complied with the requirements of Article 7 of this Schedule and having considered any report made to him under the said Article 7, or in case no such report is made, any representations made or objections not withdrawn, is of the opinion that the deviation limits delineated in documents deposited under this Schedule should be confirmed either in whole or in part, he shall, subject to any variations of or amendments to those limits as he thinks fit to make, so confirm the deviation limits.

10. (1) Where as regards a book of reference an owner of land (including land comprising a servient tenement) or a person entitled to enjoy a right over land who should have been included therein is omitted or the name included in such book as an owner or person so entitled is incorrect, or any land, or right over land, which should have been referred to in such book is omitted or any land referred to in such book is incorrectly described, the Board may apply to the Minister in writing to correct or amend the book of reference.

(2) Where an application is made by the Board to the Minister under this Article, the Board shall serve on the owner of the land (or, where appropriate, the land comprising a servient tenement) or the person entitled to enjoy the right over land, to which the application relates a notice stating—

(a) that an application has been made to the Minister under this Article,

(b) the correction or amendment sought by the Board,

(c) that the person may within the period of three weeks commencing on the day on which the notice is served make in writing representations or an objection to the Minister as regards the application (which representations or objection such person is hereby authorised to make).

(3) Where the Minister, having considered any representations or objection duly made under this Article and not withdrawn, is satisfied that the omission, misdescription, or other mistake on foot of which the application is made was due to a mistake or oversight by the Board, he may correct or amend the book of reference to which the application relates either in the manner sought by the Board or in such other manner as he considers appropriate.

(4) Where the Minister corrects or amends a book of reference under this Article, the omission, misdescription or other mistake on foot of which the application under this Article was made shall not form a ground on which the validity of the relevant book of reference may be questioned in any legal proceedings.

11. The following provisions shall have effect in relation to an acquisition order, namely;

(a) the order shall contain such provisions as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient for the purpose of and for giving effect to the order,

(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of this Article the order may incorporate all or any of the provisions of the Land Clauses Acts, other than Articles 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the Second Schedule to the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, and for the purpose of this subparagraph—

(i) the Board shall for the purposes of the Land Clauses Acts be deemed to be the Promoter and the order shall be deemed to be the Special Act, and

(ii) the Board shall for the purposes of the Second Schedule to the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, be regarded as being the local authority, the Minister shall be deemed to be the confirming authority and the order shall be deemed to be the confirming Act,

(c) no action shall lie at law or in equity against the Board or any contractor or officer or servant of the Board for or on account of any act, matter or thing in respect of which compensation is payable by virtue of this Act,

(d) the order may provide that where the Board acts in contravention (whether by commission or omission) of any specified provision of the order the Board shall be guilty of an offence under the order and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to such fine (not exceeding £100) as may be specified in the order in respect of the offence and, in the case of a continuing offence, to such further fine (not exceeding £20) as may be specified in the order in respect of the offence for each day during which the offence is continued after conviction thereof,

(e) the order may incorporate any provision (including penal provisions) contained in any enactment relating to gas undertakers or gas undertakings with such adaptations and modifications as the Minister thinks proper,

(f) the order may contain provisions authorising the Board at any time before conveyance of, or ascertainment of price or compensation for, land or a right over land being acquired by the Board under the order to enter and take possession and to use such land or exercise such right in exercise of the powers conferred on the Board under this Act and, in case the order contains such provisions, it shall also contain provisions—

(i) requiring the Board, if it so enters and takes possession of the land or exercises such right, to pay interest on the amount of the price or compensation payable under this Act at such rate as shall be determined from time to time by the Minister for Finance from the date on which such power was exercised until payment,

(ii) requiring that, if the Board has made an unconditional offer in writing of any sum as such compensation to the person to whom the compensation is payable under this Act, and the offer is not accepted by such person, and the sum awarded as compensation by the property arbitrator to such person does not exceed the sum so offered, then no interest shall be payable on such compensation in respect of any period after the date of the offer,

(iii) requiring the Board, if it so enters and takes possession of the land or so exercises any right over land, to give to the occupier of the land at least one month's or, in the case of an occupied dwellinghouse, three months' previous notice in writing of its intention so to enter on or take possession of any land or so to exercise any right,

(iv) authorising the Board to serve the notice aforesaid on a person by sending it by prepaid post in an envelope addressed to the person at his usual or last known address and deeming the notice to have been served on the person at the time at which the envelope would be delivered in the ordinary course of post and when the address of the person cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, authorising the Board to serve the notice by affixing it in a conspicuous position on or near the land to which it relates and authorising the addressing of the envelope to the person for whom it is intended in case his name cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry by addressing it to “the owner” or “the occupier” (as the case may require) without naming him,

(g) the order shall provide that whenever, under the order, the Board acquires or enters on and takes possession of any land which is subject, either alone or in conjunction with other land, to a land purchase annuity or a reclamation annuity, payment in lieu of rent or other sum payable periodically (not being merely rent under a contract of tenancy) payable to the Commission or to the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the Board shall—

(i) as from the date on which it acquires, or enters on and takes possession of the land, whichever date is the earlier, become and be liable for payment to the Commission or the said Commissioners (as the case may be) of such periodical sum, or such portion thereof as shall be apportioned by the Commission or the said Commissioners (as the case may be) on the land, as if the land had been transferred to the Board by the owner thereof on that date,

(ii) be entitled, if the Board so thinks fit, to redeem the periodical sum or the portion thereof aforesaid, and

(iii) be obliged, if required by the Commission or the said Commissioners (as the case may be) so to do, to redeem the periodical sum or the portion thereof aforesaid,

(h) the order may provide that the Board may, for the purpose of enabling it to ascertain the ownership of any land, give any person who is the occupier of the land or who, either directly or indirectly, receives rent in respect of the land, a notice in the prescribed form requiring him to state in writing the nature of his own interest therein and the name and address of any other person known to him as having an interest therein, whether as owner in fee simple, mortgagee, lessee or otherwise, and provide that any person who, having been required by the Board by a notice in writing given in pursuance of this provision to give to them any information, fails to give the information, or gives any information which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly gives information which is so false shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £25,

(i) the order may provide for the determination by arbitration of any specified questions arising thereunder,

(j) the order may contain such provisions ancillary or incidental to any of the matters aforesaid as the Minister considers necessary and proper.

12. The definition of “owner” in section 2 of this Act shall as regards this Schedule apply subject to the following modification, namely, in relation to land which comprises a servient tenement it shall be construed and have effect as if paragraph (b) thereof were deleted.