TOURIST TRAFFIC (DEVELOPMENT) ACT, 1931

AN ACT TO MAKE BETTER PROVISION FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST TRAFFIC IN SAORSTÁT EIREANN AND TO ENABLE LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO EXPEND MONEYS FOR THAT PURPOSE. [27th May, 1931.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Definitions.

1.—(1) In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;

the word “county” means an administrative county, but does not include a county borough;

the expression “local financial year” means a period of twelve months ending on any 31st day of March;

the expression “rateable value” means the annual rateable value under the Valuation Acts.

• (2) For the purposes of this Act each of the following bodies shall be a local authority, that is to say:—

• (a) the council of a county;

• (b) the council of a county borough;

• (c) the council of a borough, other than a county borough;

• (d) the council of an urban district;

• (e) the commissioners of a town.

2 Approved companies.

2.—(1) The Minister may grant in respect of any company—

• (a) which is registered in Saorstát Eireann under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908; and

• (b) the objects of which are wholly or mainly the encouragement and development of tourist traffic in Saorstát Eireann, including the advertisement of the advantages and amenities of places in Saorstát Eireann or any part thereof as health or pleasure resorts; and

• (c) which undertakes to submit its accounts annually for audit to an auditor appointed by the Minister for Local Government and Public Health; and

• (d) which undertakes to keep such accounts as the Minister may require and to furnish those accounts to the Minister;

a certificate (in this section referred to as a certificate of approval) that such company is an approved company for the purposes of this Act.

• (2) Every company in respect of which a certificate of approval has been granted shall, so long as such certificate remains in force, be an approved company for the purposes of this Act, and upon such certificate ceasing to be in force shall cease to be an approved company for the purposes of this Act.

• (3) The Minister may, at any time, by notice in writing served on a company in respect of which a certificate of approval has been granted, revoke, without assigning any reason, such certificate, and as on and from the date of the service of such notice such certificate shall cease to be in force.

• (4) Where a resolution is passed authorising the winding-up of a company in respect of which a certificate of approval has been granted or an order is made by a court of competent jurisdiction for the winding-up of such a company, the certificate of approval granted in respect of such company shall as on and from the date of such resolution or order cease to be in force.

3 Contributions by local authorities to approved companies.

3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a local authority may, in any local financial year, enter into an agreement (in this Act referred to as a local contribution agreement) with an approved company to pay to such company, in respect of such local financial year or the next ensuing local financial year, or in respect of each of a specified number (not exceeding five) of consecutive local financial years, commencing with such first mentioned local financial year or the next ensuing local financial year, a specified sum (in this Act referred to as a local contribution).

• (2) Subject to the provisions of this section, a local authority may, in any local financial year, enter into any number of local contribution agreements with the same approved company or with different approved companies.

• (3) A local authority shall not enter into a local contribution agreement to pay a local contribution in respect of any local financial year, if the effect of entering into such agreement would be that the total amount agreed to be paid by way of local contribution by such local authority in respect of such local financial year would exceed—

• (a) where such local authority is the council of a county or county borough a sum equal to the amount of a rate of one penny in the pound on the rateable value of such county or county borough at the time such agreement is executed; or

• (b) where such local authority is the council of a borough, other than a county borough, or an urban district or the commissioners of a town, a sum equal to the amount of a rate of threepence in the pound on the rateable value of such borough, urban district or town at the time such agreement is executed;

and any local contribution agreement entered into in contravention of the foregoing provisions of this sub-section shall be void and of no effect.

• (4) Every local contribution payable in respect of a local financial year shall be expressed in the local contribution agreement under which it is payable to be payable and shall be payable in four equal quarterly instalments, on the 30th day of June, the 30th day of September, the 31st day of December and the 31st day of March in such local financial year.

• (5) Where an approved company ceases to be an approved company, every local contribution payable to such company in respect of any period commencing on or after the date on which such company ceases to be an approved company shall cease to be payable, and for the purposes of this sub-section every local contribution shall be considered as accruing from day to day and shall be apportionable in respect of time accordingly.

• (6) The receipt of an approved company for any moneys paid to it by a local authority under a local contribution agreement shall be a good discharge to such local authority.

• (7) The benefit of a local contribution agreement shall not be assigned unless all the following conditions are complied with, that is to say:—

• (a) that such assignment is to an approved company;

• (b) that the Minister consents to such assignment;

• (c) that such consent is endorsed on the document effecting such assignment.

• (8) All moneys received by an approved company under a local contribution agreement shall be expended by such company on such objects and in such manner as may be approved by the Minister and not otherwise.

4 Advertisement of health and pleasure resorts by local authorities.

4.—(1) Subject to the approval of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, the council of any county, county or other borough or urban district, or the commissioners of any town may, either alone or jointly or in combination with any one or more other such councils or commissioners, advertise and may, subject to the restrictions imposed by this section, expend money in advertising, by the insertion of advertisements in newspapers, or by means of posters, placards or other similar forms of advertisement, the advantages and amenities as a health or pleasure resort of such county or any part thereof, borough, district, or town, or in the case of joint or combined advertisements of an area comprising the whole or any parts of the respective counties, boroughs, districts, and towns of the several councils or commissioners so joining or combining.

• (2) The Minister for Local Government and Public Health shall not give his approval under the foregoing sub-section except after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

• (3) The amount which may be expended for the purposes of this section in any local financial year—

• (a) in the case of the council of a county or county borough, shall not, together with the amount of local contributions (if any) payable by such council in respect of such year, exceed a sum equal to a rate of one penny in the pound on the rateable value of such county or county borough at the commencement of such year; and

• (b) in the case of the council of a borough other than a county borough, or an urban district, or the commissioners of a town, shall not, together with the amount of local contributions (if any) payable under a local contribution agreement or agreements made by such council or commissioners in respect of such year exceed a sum equal to a rate of threepence in the pound on the rateable value of such borough, urban district, or town at the commencement of such year.

5 Expenses of local authorities.

5.—The expenses incurred under this Act—

• (a) in the case of the council of a county shall be defrayed out of the county fund and raised by means of the poor rate as a county at large charge; and

• (b) in the case of the council of the county borough of Dublin, shall be defrayed out of the municipal fund; and

• (c) in the case of the council of the borough of Dun Laoghaire, shall be defrayed out of the municipal fund; and

• (d) in the case of the council of a county borough, other than the county borough of Dublin, the council of a borough, other than a county borough and the borough of Dun Laoghaire, or the council of an urban district, shall be defrayed out of any rate or fund applicable to the purposes of the Public Health (Ireland) Acts, 1878 to 1919, in like manner as if they had been incurred for the purposes of those Acts; and

• (e) in the case of the commissioners of a town, shall be raised by means of the rate levied by them under section 60 of the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854, but shall be excluded in ascertaining any limit imposed by law upon such rate.

6 Repeal.

6.—Section 67 of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925) is hereby repealed.

7 Application of certain moneys.

7.—(1) Any moneys raised by a local authority for the purposes of section 67 of the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925), and not applied before the passing of this Act by such local authority for the said purposes may be applied by such local authority in defraying any expenses incurred by them under this Act.

• (2) Any contributions paid before the passing of this Act under sub-section (2) of section 67 of the Local Government Act, 1925, to the funds of any such association as is mentioned in the said sub-section shall be expended by such association in accordance with the said sub-section as if the said section 67 had not been repealed by this Act.

8 Short title.

8.—This Act may be cited as the Tourist Traffic (Development) Act, 1931.