Control of Prices Act , 1932

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Control of Prices Act, 1932.

2 Definitions.

2.—In this Act—

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

the expression “protected commodity” means a commodity which if imported into Saorstát Eireann would on importation be liable to a customs duty or a commodity the importation of which into Saorstát Eireann is prohibited or restricted by law ;

the word “specification” when used in relation to any commodity means such detailed particulars of such commodity as may be required for the identification of such commodity for the purpose of ascertaining the value thereof ;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

the word “inspector” means a person authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred by this Act on an inspector.

3 Scheduled commodities.

3.—(1) Each of the following commodities shall be a scheduled commodity for the purposes of this Act, that is to say:—

(a) the several commodities mentioned in the Schedule to this Act ;

(b) any other commodity which is by order of the Executive Council made under this section declared to be a scheduled commodity for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Executive Council may by order under this section declare any commodity of common use to be a scheduled commodity for the purposes of this Act.

(3) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which such House has sat after such order is laid before it annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such order.

4 Construction of certain expressions.

4.—(1) References in this Act to the wholesale price charged or to be charged for a scheduled commodity shall be construed as references to the price at which such commodity is sold or is to be sold wholesale to a person engaged in the business of selling such commodity retail.

(2) In this Act the expression “sell or offer for sale wholesale” in relation to a scheduled commodity means sell or offer for sale wholesale to a person engaged in the business of selling such commodity retail, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

5 Prosecutions by the Minister.

5.—Save as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, any offence under any section of this Act may be prosecuted by or at the suit of the Minister as prosecutor.

6 General regulations.

6.—The Minister may by order make regulations in relation to any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

7 Laying of orders and regulations before Houses of Oireachtas.

7.—Every order and regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat annulling such order or regulation, such order or regulation (as the case may be) shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything done previously under such order or regulation.

8 Expenses.

8.—All expenses of carrying this Act into execution shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART II. Prices Commission and Controller of Prices.

9 Establishment of Prices Commission.

9.—(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act, there shall be established a Commission (in this Act referred to as the Commission), which shall be known as and styled the Prices Commission, to fulfil the functions assigned to the Commission by this Act.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission shall consist of five members (in this Act called ordinary members) of whom at least two shall be women and of whom one who may be a woman shall be a person representative of agricultural interests.

(3) The ordinary member who is required to be a person representative of agricultural interests shall be nominated by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Agriculture and the other ordinary members shall be nominated by the Minister.

(4) Every ordinary member shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office for such period, not exceeding five years, as the Minister shall fix at the time of his nomination, but shall be eligible for renomination.

(5) If and whenever an ordinary member is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition or arrangement with his creditors, or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer Imprisonment or penal servitude, or ceases to be ordinarily resident in Saorstát Eireann, or absents himself from all sittings of the Commission for a period of three months without the permission of the Minister, he shall be disqualified from holding the office of an ordinary member.

(6) Whenever it appears to the Minister that on account of illness or for other sufficient reason an ordinary member of the Commission is temporarily unable to discharge his duties as such member, the Minister may appoint a person to act as an ordinary member for such period (not exceeding the duration of such inability) as he shall think proper, and every person so appointed to act as an ordinary member of the Commission shall during the period for which he is so appointed be an ordinary member of the Commission in the place of such first-mentioned ordinary member.

10 Additional members of the Commission.

10.—(1) The Minister may from time to time for the purposes of any particular investigation by the Commission appoint such and so many persons (not being ordinary members) to act as additional members of the Commission as he thinks fit.

(2) Every additional member so appointed shall for the purposes of the investigation for which he is appointed be a member of the Commission.

11 Chairman of the Commission.

11.—(1) The Minister shall appoint one of the ordinary members to be Chairman of the Commission and the ordinary member so appointed shall hold office as such Chairman during the pleasure of the Minister.

(2) Where at any sitting of the Commission the Chairman of the Commission is absent, the members of the Commission present at such sitting shall appoint one of such members to act as such Chairman at such sitting.

12 Remuneration of Commission.

12.—Any member of the Commission may, if the Minister for Finance so directs, be paid such remuneration and allowances as the said Minister shall determine.

13 Restriction on interested person acting as member.

13.—Whenever an investigation is being held under this Act by the Commission into the price of a particular commodity, and any member of the Commission is personally interested in any business selling such commodity, such member shall inform the Minister of the nature and extent of his interest and shall not, unless authorised by the Minister so to do, act as a member of the Commission for the purposes of such investigation.

14 Validity of proceedings of the Commission.

14.—The proceedings of the Commission shall not be invalidated by reason of the existence of any vacancy amongst the members or any defect in the appointment of any member.

15 Controller of Prices.

15.—(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act, the Minister shall appoint a person (in this Act referred to as the Controller) to be known as and styled the Controller of Prices.

(2) The Controller shall act as secretary to the Commission and shall discharge the other functions assigned to him by this Act.

(3) The Controller shall hold office upon such terms and be remunerated at such rates and in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

16 Staff of Commission.

16.—The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may appoint such and so many persons as he shall consider necessaryto be officers of the Commission, and such persons shall hold office upon such terms and be remunerated at such rates and in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

17 Regulations for proceedings of the Commission.

17.—(1) The Commission shall make regulations for the governance of its proceedings and may by such regulations make provision for all or any of the following matters, that is to say:—

(a) the quorum at any sitting of the Commission;

(b) the times and places of the sittings of the Commission;

(c) the persons to whom notice of the sittings of the Commission shall be given;

(d) the form and manner in which submissions shall be made and evidence given to the Commission, and in particular, whether such submissions and evidence shall be given viva voce or in writing;

(e) the attendance for viva voce examination or cross-examination of persons who have made submissions or given evidence in writing;

(f) the admission or exclusion of any person to or from the sittings of the Commission;

(g) such matters as appear to the Commission to be necessary or expedient for the proper conduct of its business.

(2) Regulations made under this section shall not have any force or effect unless and until they have been approved by the Minister.

18 Powers of Commission.

18.—(1) The Commission shall have all such powers, rights, and privileges for enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath (which any member of the Commission is hereby authorised to administer) or otherwise, and for compelling the production of documents as are vested in the High Court, or a judge thereof in respect of the trial of an action, and a summons signed by any one or more members of the Commission shall be equivalent to and have the like effect as a formal process issued by the High Court for enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents.

(2) If any person—

(a) on being duly summoned as a witness before the Commission makes default in attending, or

(b) being in attendance as a witness refuses to take an oath legally required by the Commission to be taken, or to produce any document in his power and control legally required by the Commission to be produced by him, or to answer any question to which the Commission may legally require an answer, or

(c) does any other thing which would, if the Commission were a Court of Justice, having power to commit for contempt of court, be contempt of such court,

the Commission may certify the offence of that person under their hands to the High Court and that court may, after such inquiry as it thinks proper to make, punish or take steps for the punishment of that person in like manner as if he had been guilty of contempt of the said court.

(3) A witness before the Commission shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he were a witness before the High Court.

19 Notice of investigations by the Commission and submissions by interested persons.

19.—(1) Whenever the Commission are required by this Act to make an investigation, the Commission shall cause notice of the making of such investigation to be published in the Iris Oifigiúil and in such other manner as the Commission thinks suitable.

(2) On the publication of a notice under the foregoing sub-section any person either on his own behalf or in a representative capacity may make a submission to the Commission in relation to the subject matter of the investigation to which such notice relates.

20 Private sittings of the Commission.

20.—The Commission may, in their absolute discretion, hold any sitting or part of a sitting in private and the reference in the next following section to a private sitting of the Commission shall be construed as a reference to a sitting or part of a sitting of the Commission held in private.

21 Prohibition on disclosure of information.

21.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section it shall not be lawful for any person who is a member or an officer of the Commission to disclose any information available to him only by virtue of the powers of obtaining information conferred upon the Commission or upon an inspector by this Act to any person other than a member or officer of the Commission concerned with such information in the course of his duties.

(2) It shall not be lawful for any person (other than a member or officer of the Commission) who attends a private sitting of the Commission to disclose to any person any information acquired through being present at such sitting and which is available only by virtue of the powers of obtaining information conferred upon the Commission or an inspector by this Act.

(3) If any person acts in contravention of this section he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or imprisonment for a period of six months or at the discretion of the Court to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(4) Nothing in sub-section (1) of this section shall apply to the disclosure of any information—

(a) to the Minister in a report (not being an annual report) or other communication from the Commission, or

(b) for the purposes of legal proceedings taken or proposed to be taken under this Act.

22 Annual reports by the Commission.

22.—The Commission shall, as soon as may be after the close of every year, make to the Minister a general report of the proceedings of the Commission under this Act, and the Minister shall cause every such general report received by him to be laid forthwith before each House of the Oireachtas.

23 Appointment of Commission to hold inquiries under section 17 of the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932.

23.—The Minister may appoint the Commission to hold a public inquiry for the purposes of section 17 of the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932 (No. 19 of 1932), and whenever the Minister so appoints the Commission to hold any such inquiry, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the Commission shall hold such inquiry;

(b) the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to the following matters, that is to say, regulations for proceedings of the Commission, powers of the Commission, notices of investigations by the Commission and submissions by interested persons, private sittings of the Commission, prohibition on disclosure of information and annual reports by the Commission, shall not apply in respect of such inquiry.

PART III. Retail and Wholesale Prices.

24 Investigations into retail and wholesale prices of scheduled commodities.

24.—(1) Where the Minister sends a request to the Commission to investigate whether unreasonably high retail prices or unreasonably high wholesale prices (as may be specified in such request) are being charged throughout Saorstát Eireann or in any specified part thereof for any scheduled commodity which conforms to the specification set out in such request, the Commission shall as soon as may be make an investigation (in this Part of this Act referred to as a price investigation) into, in case such request relates to retail prices, the retail and wholesale prices charged for such commodity in the area specified in such request or, in case such request relates to wholesale prices, the wholesale prices charged for such commodity in such area.

(2) Before sending under the immediately preceding sub-section a request to the Commission to make an investigation into the price (whether retail or wholesale) of butter the Minister shall first consult the Minister for Agriculture.

(3) Where any person (other than the Minister) sends a representation in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars representing that unreasonably high retail prices or unreasonably high wholesale prices (as may be specified in such representation) are being charged throughout Saorstát Eireann or in any specified part thereof for any scheduled commodity which conforms to the specification set out in such representation, the Commission shall, if and only if they are of opinion that an investigation should in the public interest be made, make subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section as soon as may be an investigation (in this Part of this Act also referred to as a price investigation) into, in case such representation relates to retail prices, the retail and wholesale prices charged for such commodity in the area specified in such representation or, in case such representation relates to wholesale prices, the wholesale prices charged for such commodity in such area.

(4) Where a representation under the immediately preceding sub-section relates to the price (whether wholesale or retail) of butter, the Commission shall refer such representation to the Minister for Agriculture and shall not make any investigation into the subject matter of such representation except with the consent of the said Minister.

25 Proceedings consequential on price investigation.

25.—(1) Where after the completion of a price investigation the Commission are of opinion that the prices the subject of such investigation are not unreasonably high the Commission shall report accordingly to the Minister.

(2) Where, after the completion of a price investigation into the retail and wholesale prices charged for a commodity, the Commission are of opinion that unreasonably high retail prices are being charged for such commodity but that the wholesale prices charged for such commodity are not unreasonably high, the Commission shall give public notice, which shall not specify the names of the persons by whom such unreasonably high retail prices are being charged, in such manner as they think best suited for bringing to the notice of such persons such opinion and such notice shall state the price to which such prices should in the opinion of the Commission be reduced and require such reduction to be made within a time specified in such notice.

(3) Where, after the completion of a price investigation into the retail and wholesale prices charged for a commodity, the Commission are of opinion that both such prices are unreasonably high, the Commission shall give public notice, which shall not specify the names of the persons by whom such prices are being charged, in such manner as they think best suited for bringing to the notice of such persons such opinion and such notice shall state the prices to which such prices should in the opinion of the Commission be reduced respectively and require such reductions to be made within, a time specified in such notice.