HORSE BREEDING ACT, 1934

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE LICENSING OF STALLIONS AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH. [9th February, 1934.]

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

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

the expression “the Minister”means the Minister for Agriculture;

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

the word “inspector”means any person authorised (either generally or for a special purpose) by the Minister to exercise all or any of the powers and perform all or any of the duties conferred and imposed on an inspector by this Act;

the expression “the appointed day”means the day appointed by the Minister under this Act to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act.

2 The appointed day.

2.—The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act.

3 Application of this Act.

3.—This Act applies to every stallion which is for the time being of or over the prescribed age and is not for the time being an exempted stallion.

4 List of exempted stallions.

4.—(1) The Minister shall cause to be kept a list to be called and known as “the list of exempted stallions” (in this Act referred to as “the list”).

• (2) The list shall be in the prescribed form and there shall be entered therein and removed therefrom the matters respectively required by this Act to be entered therein and removed therefrom.

• (3) Any person may inspect the list on payment of such fee, not exceeding one shilling for each inspection, as may be prescribed.

5 Application for entry in the list of exempted stallions.

5.—(1) The owner of any stallion (in this Act referred to as an exemptible stallion), which is entered in a prescribed recognised stud book and which—

• (a) is used for the service of no mares other than mares which are either—

• (i) entered in a prescribed recognised stud book, or

• (ii) approved by the Minister, or

• (b) is used exclusively for racing, or

• (c) is in training for racing,

may make application to the Minister requesting him to enter such stallion in the list as the property of such owner.

• (2) Every application made under this section shall be made in the prescribed form and manner, shall contain the prescribed particulars, and shall be accompanied by such fee, not exceeding two shillings and sixpence, as may be prescribed.

6 Entry in list of exempted stallions.

6.—(1) On receipt of any application made under and in accordance with this Act for the entry of a stallion in the list, the Minister shall, if he is satisfied that such stallion is an exemptible stallion, enter such stallion and the prescribed particulars relating to such stallion in the list.

• (2) Every stallion for the time being entered in the list shall, save as otherwise provided by this Act, be an exempted stallion within the meaning of and for the purposes of this Act.

7 Removal from list of exempted stallions.

7.—The Minister shall remove from the list any stallion entered therein which has ceased to be an exempted stallion on the Minister becoming aware of such cesser.

8 Determination of exemption.

8.—(1) Any stallion entered in the list shall cease to be an exempted stallion on the happening of any of the following events, that is to say:—

• (a) the expiration of six months from the death of the owner of such stallion where the personal representative of such owner has not during those six months transferred (whether by sale, assent to a bequest or otherwise) the ownership of such stallion, or

• (b) the expiration of a period of thirty days from the date of any transfer of the right to the ownership of such stallion, unless the person to whom the right to the ownership of such stallion is transferred applies within such period, under this Act, for the entry of such stallion in the list as the property of such person, or

• (c) such stallion ceasing to be an exemptible stallion.

• (2) It shall be the duty of the owner of any stallion entered in the list and of the personal representative of any deceased owner of any such stallion to notify the Minister of the happening of any event by reason of which such stallion ceases to be an exempted stallion.

• (3) If any person fails to comply with the obligation imposed on him by the immediately preceding sub-section, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall on summary conviction thereof be liable to a fine not exceeding forty shillings.

9 Evidence of list of exempted stallions.

9.—(1) The list shall be—

• (a) deemed to be in proper custody when in the custody of the Minister or any officer of the Minister authorised in that behalf by the Minister, and

• (b) admissible in evidence without further proof on production from the proper custody.

• (2) Prima facie evidence of any entry in the list may be given in any Court or any legal proceeding by the production of a copy of such entry purporting to be certified to be a true copy by any officer of the Minister authorised in that behalf, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such officer, or that he was in fact such officer, or was in fact so authorised.

• (3) A certificate purporting to be under the hand of an officer of the Minister, authorised in that behalf by the Minister, that any stallion specified in such certificate is not entered in the list shall be conclusive evidence of the matter so certified, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such officer, or that he was in fact such officer, or was in fact so authorised.

• (4) Any person may—

• (a) obtain a copy certified in the manner hereinbefore mentioned to be a true copy of any entry in the list on payment of such fee as may be prescribed;

• (b) obtain such certificate as is hereinbefore mentioned that a stallion is not entered in the list on payment of such fee as may be prescribed.

10 Restrictions on keeping of stallions.

10.—(1) On and after the appointed day it shall not be lawful for any person to keep or have in his possession any stallion to which this Act applies unless—

• (a) (i) he has made application in accordance with this Act for a licence authorising the holder thereof to keep and have in his possession such stallion, and

• (ii) such application has been neither refused nor granted; or

• (b) (i) he is the holder of a licence granted under this Act authorising the holder thereof to keep and have in his possession such stallion, and

• (ii) he keeps or has in his possession such stallion in accordance with the terms of such licence; or

• (c) (i) he is the holder of a permit granted under this Act authorising the holder thereof to keep and have in his possession such stallion, and

• (ii) he keeps or has in his possession such stallion in accordance with the terms of such permit.

• (2) Every person who keeps or has in his possession any stallion to which this Act applies in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section of this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

• (3) Whenever any person has been convicted of an offence under the next foregoing sub-section of this section, such person shall, if after the expiration of fourteen days after such conviction he keeps or has in his possession in contravention of this section the stallion in respect of which he was so convicted, be guilty of an offence under this sub-section of this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds together with a further fine not exceeding five pounds for each week or part of a week during which he continues to keep or have in his possession such stallion in contravention of this section after the expiration of the said fourteen days.

• (4) In any prosecution for an offence under this section the burden shall lie on the person prosecuted of proving (if in issue) any of the following matters, that is to say:—

• (a) that an application was made in accordance with this Act for a licence in respect of the stallion to which such prosecution relates;

• (b) that a licence or permit was granted under this Act in respect of such stallion and was in force at the time when such offence is alleged to have been committed;

• (c) the age of such stallion;

and unless and until the contrary is proved it shall be presumed that no such application was made or that no such licence or permit was granted or if such licence or permit had been granted that it was no longer in force at the time at which the offence was alleged to have been committed and that such stallion was on that day a stallion to which this Act applies.

• (5) For the purpose of a prosecution for an offence under this section a stallion shall be deemed to be kept by and to be in the possession of each and every of the following persons, that is to say:—

• (a) the owner of the stallion, and

• (b) a person to whom the stallion has been lent, hired or leased for a period exceeding six months, and

• (c) the owner or the person having the charge or management of the lands or premises on which the stallion was when the offence was alleged to have been committed, unless such owner or person proves that the stallion was then on the said lands without his knowledge or connivance.

11 Applications for licences.

11.—(1) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to applications for licences under this Act, that is to say:—

• (a) every application shall be in the prescribed form, and be made to the Minister in the prescribed manner, and shall contain the prescribed particulars;

• (b) every application made in the prescribed time shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee (in this section referred to as the licence fee) payable for the licence to which the application relates;

• (c) every application made at any time other than the prescribed time shall be accompanied by the licence fee for the licence to which the application relates and shall in addition be accompanied by the fee (not exceeding five pounds and in this section referred to as the special fee) prescribed for such applications.

• (2) The licence fee paid with any application made to the Minister under this section, if such application be refused, shall be returned to the applicant.

• (3) Any special fee paid with any application made under this section shall be retained by the Minister and disposed of in accordance with this Act whether such application be granted or refused.

• (4) Every application for a licence or for the renewal of a licence made under and in accordance with the Horse Breeding Act, 1918, repealed by this Act, and after the first day of January, 1933, and before the appointed day shall be deemed to be an application for a licence under this Act in the prescribed form and to have been made in the prescribed time and the amount of any fee paid upon such application shall, subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section, be deemed to be paid for or on account of the licence fee payable under this Act.

• (5) If any amount paid as a fee on an application for a licence made under the Horse Breeding Act, 1918, and deemed to be paid for or on account of the licence fee payable under this Act is greater or less than the licence fee so payable such amount shall be adjusted as between the Minister and the applicant by repayment or further payment as the case may require.

• (6) The Minister in making regulations prescribing licence fees may divide stallions into different classes and may by such regulations prescribe different licence fees in respect of licences granted for stallions of different such classes.

12 Minister may grant licences.

12.—(1) The Minister may grant a licence under this Act to any person who applies to him in accordance with this Act for such licence, and may also issue to the applicant (when so requested) a certified copy of such licence.

• (2) Where the Minister is satisfied that a licence granted under this section has been lost or destroyed he may, subject to the prescribed conditions and on payment of the prescribed fee, issue to the holder of such licence a duplicate thereof, and such duplicate licence shall for all purposes have the same force and effect as the original licence, and all the provisions of this Act with respect to a licence granted under this Act shall apply to a duplicate licence issued under this section.

• (3) Where the Minister is satisfied that a certified copy of a licence granted under this section has been lost or destroyed he may, subject to the prescribed conditions and on payment of the prescribed fee, issue to the holder of such licence another certified copy thereof.

• (4) The Minister may if he so thinks fit limit the operation of any licence granted under this Act to any place or area in Saorstát Eireann and any licence the operation of which is so limited shall authorise the holder thereof to keep and have in his possession the stallion to which such licence relates only in the place or district to which its operation is limited.

13 Conditions for granting a licence.

13.—(1) The Minister may refuse to grant a licence under this Act in respect of any stallion which appears to him—

• (a) to be affected by any contagious or infectious disease, or

• (b) to be affected by any other disease or defect prescribed as a disease or defect rendering a stallion unsuitable for breeding purposes, or

• (c) to be inadequately prolific, or

• (d) likely by reason of its defective conformation or physique, or otherwise, to beget unsuitable progeny.

• (2) The Minister may cause any stallion in respect of which an application for a licence under this Act has been made to be inspected and examined by an inspector, and in that case it shall be the duty of the applicant to permit such stallion to be so inspected and examined.

14 Revocation of licences.

14.—Where it appears to the Minister that a stallion in respect of which a licence has been granted under this Act—

• (a) is affected by any contagious or infectious disease, or

• (b) is affected by any other disease or defect prescribed as a disease or defect rendering such stallion unsuitable for breeding purposes, or

• (c) is inadequately prolific, or

• (d) has begotten or is, by reason of its defective conformation or otherwise, likely to beget unsuitable progeny,

the Minister may revoke the licence granted in respect of such stallion.

15 Operation, duration and renewal of licences.

15.—(1) Every licence granted under this Act shall be expressed and shall operate to authorise the person to whom it is granted or transferred to keep and have in his possession, in accordance with the terms of such licence, a specified stallion to which this Act applies and shall (unless it is previously revoked under this Act and subject to any suspension under this Act) continue in force until the 31st day of December next after the date on which it was granted and shall then expire unless it is renewed under this Act.

• (2) Every person who is the holder of a licence granted under this Act which is in force (whether by virtue of the original grant or of a renewal or by way of transfer of such licence) may, within the prescribed time and while such licence continues so in force apply to the Minister for a renewal of such licence.

• (3) Every application for the renewal of a licence granted under this Act shall be in the prescribed form, accompanied by the prescribed fee and be made in the prescribed manner and shall contain the prescribed particulars.

• (4) The provisions of this Act in relation to the grant of a licence under this Act shall apply to every application for the renewal of a licence granted under this Act in like manner as they apply to the grant of such licence with and subject to the modification that an application for a renewal of a licence granted under this Act in respect of a stallion which has attained the age of seven years and which has been licensed under this Act for three consecutive years preceding such application for renewal shall not be refused on the ground only of such stallion being affected in its wind.

• (5) Where an application has been made in accordance with this section for the renewal of a licence granted under this Act and such application has not been granted or refused before the expiration of the licence in respect of which it was made such licence shall be renewed by virtue of this section until such application is either granted or refused.

16 Production of licence for inspection.

16.—(1) It shall be the duty of the holder of a licence granted under this Act to produce or cause to be produced on demand such licence or a certified copy thereof issued under this Act, at the place where the stallion to which it relates is usually kept or at any place at which such stallion for the time being is, for inspection by—

• (a) an inspector, or

• (b) a member of the Gárda Síochána, or

• (c) a person in charge of a mare about to be served by such stallion.

• (2) Every holder of a licence granted under this Act who fails without just cause or excuse to produce such licence or a certified copy thereof issued under this Act or to cause such licence or copy to be produced on any occasion on which he is required by this section so to do shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding two pounds.

• (3) A demand for the production of a licence shall be deemed for the purpose of this section to have been made to the holder of such licence if such demand is made verbally at the place where the stallion to which such licence relates is usually kept or for the time being is to a person in the employment of such holder and having the care, custody, or charge of such stallion.

17 Duty on persons having custody of stallions.

17.—(1) It shall be the duty of any person having custody or charge of any stallion to which this Act applies, and of the owner or the person having the charge or management of the lands or premises on which any such stallion is found, if so required by an inspector or by a member of the Gárda Síochána, to give to such inspector or such member the name and address of the owner of such stallion and of the person by whom such stallion is kept, so far as the same are known to him.

• (2) Every such person as aforesaid who, knowing the name or address of the owner of a stallion to which this Act applies or of the person by whom such stallion is kept, refuses when so required to give such name or address to an inspector or to a member of the Gárda Síochána shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding two pounds.

18 Permits for keeping of stallions.

18.—(1) The Minister may, if he so thinks proper, grant to any person, on payment of the prescribed fee (not exceeding five shillings), a permit to keep and have in his possession for a period not exceeding eleven months a stallion to which this Act applies.

• (2) Every permit granted under this section shall be in the prescribed form and shall be subject to the prescribed conditions.

• (3) A permit granted under this section shall be expressed and shall operate to authorise the person to whom it is granted to keep and have in his possession, subject to and in accordance with the prescribed conditions, the stallion mentioned in such permit during the period of time (not exceeding eleven months) specified in such permit or during any extension thereof endorsed on such permit.

• (4) The Minister may at any time revoke or suspend a permit granted under this section.

• (5) The provisions (including the penal provisions) of this Act in relation to the production and inspection of licences shall apply to the production and inspection of permits granted under this section.

19 Transfer of licences and permits.

19.—(1) Save in the manner and to the extent authorised by this section, licences and permits granted under this Act shall not be transferable.

• (2) Where the right to the possession of a stallion in respect of which a licence or permit granted under this Act is in force passes from the holder of such licence or permit to another person (in this section called the transferee) either by a transfer or devolution of the property in the stallion or by a loan, hire, or lease of the stallion for a period exceeding six months, or by the cesser or surrender of any such loan, hiring, or lease, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (a) the Minister may, on the application of the transferee and on notice to the holder of such licence or permit or his personal representative and on compliance with the prescribed conditions, transfer such licence or permit in the prescribed manner to the transferee;

• (b) if such licence or permit is not so transferred, such licence or permit shall, subject to the provisions of this section, cease to be in force and shall be deemed to have been revoked by the Minister at the expiration of one month after the right to the possession of such stallion passes from the holder of such licence or permit to the transferee;

• (c) no offence under this Act shall be deemed to be committed by reason only of the transferee keeping or having possession of such stallion during the period between his applying for a transfer of such licence or permit and his receipt of the decision of the Minister on such application, and for the purposes of this paragraph the decision of the Minister, if communicated to the transferee by post, shall be deemed to be received by him at the time when the same would be delivered in the ordinary course of the post.

• (3) On the death of the holder of a licence or permit granted under this Act, the personal representative of such holder may retain possession of the stallion to which such licence or permit relates for a period not exceeding three months from the death of such holder or until the sooner termination of such licence or permit, without obtaining a transfer to himself of such licence or permit, and such personal representative shall during such period or until such termination (as the case may be) be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be the holder of such licence or permit.

20 Effect of loans, etc., of stallions.

20.—(1) Where the holder of a licence or permit granted under this Act lends, hires, or leases the stallion to which such licence or permit relates to another person for a period not exceeding six months, such stallion shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to continue during such lending, hiring, or lease in the possession of and to be kept by the holder of such licence or permit.

• (2) Where the holder of a licence or permit granted under this Act lends, hires, or leases the stallion to which such licence or permit relates to another person for a period exceeding six months, such stallion shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to pass into the possession and keeping of such other person at the commencement of such lending, hiring, or leasing and to continue in such possession or keeping until the termination of such lending, hiring, or leasing.

21 Duties of holder of licences and permits.

21.—(1) It shall be the duty of the holder of a licence or permit granted under this Act—

• (a) to send within the prescribed time and in the prescribed form to the Minister the prescribed particulars of—

• (i) any transfer (whether by sale or otherwise) or devolution of the property in the stallion to which such licence or permit relates, and

• (ii) any loan, lease, or hiring of such stallion, and

• (iii) the castration of such stallion, and

• (iv) the death of such stallion;

• (b) on or within three days after the happening of any event which would entitle any other person to obtain a transfer of such licence or permit, to return such licence or permit to the Minister, with such particulars of such event as may be prescribed;

• (c) to return to the Minister such licence or permit within the prescribed time after the termination thereof by suspension, revocation, effluxion of time, death or castration of the stallion, or otherwise.

• (2) If and whenever the holder of a licence or permit granted under this Act refuses, neglects, or omits to comply with any of the provisions 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 five pounds.

22 Inspection of stallions.

22.—(1) An inspector may inspect and examine and any member of the Gárda Síochána may inspect at all reasonable times any stallion to which this Act applies or any stallion which is reasonably believed by such inspector or member to be a stallion to which this Act applies.

• (2) Any inspector or member of the Gárda Síochána may, for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred on him by this section, enter at all reasonable times any lands or premises on which any such stallion as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section of this section is for the time being kept or is reasonably believed by such inspector or member to be so kept.

• (3) Every person who obstructs or impedes any inspector or any member of the Gárda Síochána in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

• (4) The powers conferred by this section on an inspector and on a member of the Gárda Síochána shall be exerciseable by such inspector and such member whether a licence or permit has or has not been granted under this Act in respect of the stallion which is the subject matter of the exercise of such powers.

23 Minister may order castration of certain stallions.

23.—(1) Where the Minister refuses an application for a licence or a permit under this Act or revokes or suspends a licence or permit granted under this Act, or is of opinion that a stallion to which this Act applies is not suitable for breeding purposes the Minister may serve on the owner, reputed owner, or other person keeping or having possession of the stallion the subject of such application, licence, permit, or opinion a notice in the prescribed form requiring such person within the time (not being less than fourteen days) specified in such notice to have such stallion castrated.

• (2) In the event of a notice served under the foregoing sub-section of this section not being complied with within the time limited therein, the Minister may cause the stallion the subject of such notice to be castrated at the expense of the owner of such stallion, and for that purpose any person authorised in that behalf by the Minister may enter any land or premises in which such stallion is or is reasonably believed to be, and the cost of such castration shall be paid by the owner of such stallion to the Minister on demand and may be recovered by the Minister from such owner as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (3) Any person who obstructs or impedes the Minister or any person duly authorised by him in the exercise of any of the powers conferred by this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

• (4) The exercise by the Minister of the powers conferred on him by this section shall not relieve any person from any penalty which he may have incurred under any other section of this Act.

• (5) Where the owner of a stallion is not known, a notice under this section in relation to that stallion may be addressed to “the owner of a stallion” without naming him, and in any case a notice under this section may be served by delivering it to the person to whom it is addressed, or by delivering it to a person over sixteen years of age on the land or premises on which the stallion to which it relates is then kept, or by sending it by post to the person to whom it is addressed at his last known place of abode or the place at which the stallion to which it relates was last known to be kept.

24 Establishment of panels of referees.

24.—(1) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after the appointed day, and subsequently within two months before the termination of each panel established under this section, establish a panel of referees for the purposes of this Act by appointing not less than five persons (in this section referred to as original referees), three at least of whom shall be registered veterinary surgeons, to form such panel, in the case of the first such panel, as from a date specified by the Minister and, in the case of every subsequent panel, as from the date of the termination of the then existing panel.

• (2) The Minister may at any time or from time to time, within the period of three years from the date of the appointment of any original referees as members of a panel established under this section, appoint such and so many other persons as he may think fit to be members of such panel in addition to such original referees or in substitution for any of such original referees who dies or resigns before the expiration of such period.

• (3) Every panel established under this section shall continue for a period of three years from the date on which it is established and shall then terminate and all persons who are members of such panel shall be eligible to be members of the next or any subsequent panel established under this section.

• (4) Every member of a panel of referees established under this section shall be paid by the Minister such fees and expenses for every inspection and examination made by him in pursuance of this Act as the Minister shall, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, direct.

25 Requisition for examination by a referee.

25.—(1) Where the Minister—

• (a) refuses an application for a licence or permit under this

Act or for the renewal of a licence granted under this Act, or

• (b) refuses to transfer a licence or permit granted under this Act or to grant a new licence or permit in lieu of such transfer, or

• (c) revokes or suspends a licence granted under this Act, or

• (d) serves under this Act a notice requiring that a stallion be castrated,

the owner or any person keeping or having possession of the stallion to which the application, licence, permit, or notice relates shall be entitled on application in the prescribed manner, and within the prescribed time, and on payment of the prescribed fee not exceeding five guineas, to have such stallion inspected and examined by a referee.

• (2) Upon receipt of an application under the foregoing sub-section of this section together with the prescribed fee thereon, the Minister shall cause the stallion to which such application relates to be inspected and examined by a referee or referees nominated by the Minister from the panel of referees, and such referee or referees shall make a report or reports in writing to the Minister of the result of the inspection and examination of such stallion.

• (3) The Minister shall thereupon consider the said report or reports and shall, as in his absolute discretion he may think proper, either confirm, with or without modification, reverse, or cancel the refusal, revocation, suspension or notice aforesaid.

• (4) Where an application for the inspection and examination of a stallion is made under this section on account of a refusal to grant or to transfer a licence or permit or to grant a new licence or permit in lieu of such transfer or to renew a licence, no offence under this Act shall be deemed to be committed by the keeping or having possession of the stallion to which such application relates pending the decision of the Minister on the report or reports of the referee or referees.

• (5) Where an application for the inspection and examination of a stallion is made under this section on account of the revocation or suspension of a licence or the service of a notice, such revocation, suspension, or notice shall be deemed to be withdrawn pending the decision of the Minister on the report or reports of the referee or referees and if such revocation, suspension, or notice is confirmed, with or without modification, by the Minister under this section, the revocation or suspension as so confirmed shall take effect as on and from the date of such confirmation or the notice as so confirmed shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been served on the date of such confirmation.

• (6) When selecting a member or members of the panel of referees to inspect and examine a stallion under this section, the Minister shall not nominate any member who has previously been employed by the person making the application or by the Minister to inspect or examine such stallion.

• (7) Where the Minister reverses or cancels under this section any such refusal, revocation, suspension, or notice as aforesaid the fee paid on the application for the examination and inspection of the stallion by a referee shall be returned to the person by whom it was paid.

26 Expenses.

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

27 Disposal of fees.

27.—All fees received by the Minister under this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

28 Penalty for fraudulent use of licences.

28.—Every person who fraudulently alters or uses or permits the fraudulent alteration or use of any licence, duplicate licence, certified copy licence or permit granted or issued under this Act shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

29 Prosecution of offences.

29.—Every offence under any provision of this Act may be prosecuted by or at the suit of the Minister as prosecutor.

30 Regulations.

30.—(1) 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, but no such regulations shall be made in relation to the amount or collection of fees without the consent of the Minister for Finance.

• (2) Every regulation made by the Minister 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 annulling such regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after such regulation is so laid before it, such regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

31 Repeal.

31.—The Horse Breeding Act, 1918, is hereby repealed.

32 Short title.

32.—This Act may be cited as the Horse Breeding Act, 1934.