S.I. No. 431/1981 - European Communities (Merchandise Road Transport) Regulations, 1981.

1. The carriage is by a person who is a person of the description contained in

section 7

(1) (a) of the

Road Transport Act, 1935

(No. 23 of 1935), and the goods being carried (if any) are being carried into or out of the State.

2. For the purposes of paragraph (2) (a) of this Regulation, 2.5 metric tons unladen weight shall be deemed to be equivalent to 6 metric tons permissible maximum total laden weight.

3. Where on or after the 1st day of January, 1978, an application is made to the Minister for the grant of a restricted road freight licence to a person who is not a person of the description contained in

section 7

(1) (a) of the

Road Transport Act, 1935

or the grant or renewal of a merchandise licence, the Minister shall only allow the application if the applicant is the holder of a road freight certificate which is for the time being in force.

4. Where the holder of a road freight certificate dies or becomes physically or legally incapable of carrying on or managing the relevant merchandise road transport business, or where a person designated in pursuance of Regulation 5 of these Regulations dies or becomes physically or legally incapable of carrying on or managing such business, the Minister may, if he is satisfied that it is necessary in order to avoid hardship, grant a permission under this Regulation on an application being made to him in that behalf by or on behalf of such holder or person or the personal representative of such holder or person.

5. (1) Any member of the Garda Síochána may demand of any person, driving a mechanically propelled vehicle which is being used in the carriage of goods in relation to which the restrictions imposed by Regulation 3(1) of the Principal Regulations apply, the production of the relevant road freight certificate (together with, in case such certificate is, by virtue of Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations, no longer in force, a current certificate of renewal) or, a copy of such certificate (or, where appropriate, a copy of each such certificate), and if that person refuses or fails to produce such certificate, certificates, copy or copies, as may be appropriate, there and then, or though producing such document or documents, refuses or fails to permit such member to read it or them, that person shall, unless within ten days after the date on which the production was demanded he produces such document or documents in person to a member of the Garda Síochána at a Garda Síochána station to be named by such person at the time the production is demanded, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £50.

(2) Where a person of whom the production of a document or documents is demanded under this Regulation refuses to produce such document or documents or produces the document or documents but refuses or fails to permit a member of the Garda Síochána making the demand to read the document or documents, or where a person produces such document or documents at a Garda Síochána station in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Regulation but refuses to allow the member of the Garda Síochána to whom the document or documents is produced to read it or them, the member may demand of such person his name and address and if such person refuses or fails to give his name and address, or gives a name or address which is false or misleading, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £50.

(3) A person who, when producing a document to a member of the Garda Síochána pursuant to this Regulation, permits the member to see so much of the document as contains the name and address of the person to whom the document was granted and the date of the termination of the period in relation to which it was granted shall for the purposes of these Regulations be regarded as having permitted such member to read the certificate or copy.

(4) (a) In proceedings for an offence under this Regulation, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that he produced in person, within ten days after the day on which the production was demanded, neither a document nor documents, as may be appropriate in the particular case, in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Regulation.

(b) Where in proceedings for an offence under this Regulation it is proved that a member of the Garda Síochána demanded of the defendant the production of a road freight certificate, that at the time of the alleged offence the defendant was driving a mechanically propelled vehicle and that the vehicle was being used for the carriage of goods not the property of the owner of the vehicle, then, unless there is sufficient other evidence to raise an issue as to whether the vehicle was being used in the carriage of goods in relation to which the restrictions imposed by Regulation 3(1) of the Principal Regulations apply, the defendant shall be regarded as having driven the vehicle while it was being used in the carriage of goods in relation to which the said restrictions apply.

6. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by —

(

a

) as regards Regulation 3(2)—

(i) the insertion of the following new subparagraph after subparagraph (b)

“(bb) the carriage is within the State and occurs during the period beginning on the 1st day of August and ending on the 30th day of November in any year and is confined to the carriage of newly harvested wheat, oats or barley from a farm to a place of storage, assembly or processing,”, and

(ii) the substitution of “a person who is a person of the description contained in

section 7

(1)(a) of the

Road Transport Act, 1935

(No. 23 of 1935), and the goods being carried (if any) are being carried into or out of the State” for “means of a lorry or tractor which complies with the conditions specified in

section 7

(1) of the

Road Transport Act, 1935

(No. 23 of 1935), as amended by

section 29

of the

Transport Act, 1958

(No. 19 of 1958), and which is used in the course of international transport” in subparagraph (d), and the said subparagraph (d) as so amended, is set out in paragraph 1 of the Table to this Regulation;

(

b

) the substitution of “paragraph (2) (a)” for “paragraph (2) (b)” in paragraph (3) of Regulation 3, and the said paragraph (3), as so amended, is set out in paragraph 2 of the Table to this Regulation;

(

c

) the insertion of “a restricted road freight licence to a person who is not a person of the description contained in

section 7

(1) (a) of the

Road Transport Act, 1935

, or the grant” before “or renewal” in paragraph (1) of Regulation 4, and the said paragraph (1), as so amended, is set out in paragraph 3 of the Table to this Regulation;

(

d

) the substitution of the following for paragraph (2) of Regulation 4;

“(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Regulation are in addition to and not in substitution for

section 8

of the

Road Transport Act, 1971

(No. 8 of 1971), or any requirement of the Act or any regulations made under the Act which is for the time being in force, being a requirement which relates to the grant or renewal of merchandise licences or the grant of a restricted road freight licence.”;

(

e

) the substitution of the following for paragraph (11) of Regulation 5;

“(11) On the application for the grant or renewal of a road freight certificate, the Minister shall in considering whether or not a person satisfies the requirements of provision (a), take into account any conviction of which particulars are by these Regulations required to be given by the applicant.”;

(

f

) the substitution of the following for subparagraph (d) of Regulation 5(17)

“(

d

) any offence under these Regulations,

(

e

) any offence under a law in force in a Member State of the European Communities, other than the State, and which corresponds to any of the foregoing offences.”;

(

g

) The addition to Regulation 5 of the following paragraph

“(18) The references in paragraph (7) (b) of this Regulation to a national certificate of competence and an international certificate of competence shall be construed as including a reference to any document which is issued for the purposes of the Council Directive outside the State by the competent authority in a Member State of the European Communities in accordance with Council Directive No. 77/796/EEC of 12 December, 1977, and corresponds to a national certificate of competence or, as may be appropriate, an international certificate of competence.”;

and

(

h

) the substitution of “physically or legally incapable” for “incapable through ill health” where it firstly occurs and of “dies or becomes physically or legally incapable” for “becomes incapable through ill health” where it secondly occurs in paragraph (1) of Regulation 8, and the said paragraph (1), as so amended, is set out in paragraph 4 of the Table to this Regulation.

TABLE

7. Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of Regulation 13(5) of the Principal Regulations are hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 18th day of December, 1981.

PATRICK COONEY,

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal document).

The Instrument provides for the recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications for goods haulage operators of other EEC Member States.

It also contains amendments to the European Communities (Merchandise Road Transport) Regulations, 1977 on admission to the occupation of road haulage operator.

(a)

OJ No. L 308/18 19 November, 1974.

(b)

OJ No. L 334/37 24 December, 1977.

I, PATRICK COONEY, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act, 1972

(No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 74/561/EEC of 12 November, 1974,

(a)

and Council Directive 77/796/EEC of 12 December, 1977,

(b)

hereby make the following regulations