Rates on Agricultural Land (Relief) Act , 1935

1 Definitions.

1.—(1) The expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health;

the word “county” does not include a county borough;

the expression “scheduled urban district” means an urban district mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act;

the expression “the Act of 1898” means the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, as adapted by or under any subsequent enactment;

the expression “the Act of 1925” means the Local Government (Rates on Agricultural Land) Act, 1925 (No. 35 of 1925);

the expression “the Act of 1931” means the Local Government (Rates on Agricultural Land) Act, 1931 (No. 28 of 1931);

the expression “the Act of 1933” means the Rates on Agricultural Land (Relief) Act, 1933 (No. 43 of 1933);

the expression “financial year” includes local financial year;

the expression “the current financial year” means the financial year which began on the 1st day of April, 1934;

the word “valuation” when used without qualification means valuation under the Valuation Acts;

the expression “rating area”—

(a) when used in relation to the council of a county, means such county exclusive of any urban districts therein and

(b) when used in relation to the council of an urban district, means such urban district;

the expression “agricultural land” does not include any land forming part of a railway or a canal nor any land in a scheduled urban district which was, at the passing of the Act of 1898, situate in an urban sanitary district, but subject to those exceptions and to any declaration made under the next following sub-section of this section, includes all land which is described as agricultural land in the valuation lists under the Valuation Acts and is situate in the rating area of the council of a county or of a scheduled urban district;

the expression “tenement of agricultural land” means a rate-able hereditament or tenement which consists wholly or partly of agricultural land;

save where the context otherwise requires, the expression “the agricultural grant” means the aggregate of the following grants, that is to say:—

(a) the agricultural grant referred to in section 48 of the Act of 1898, and

(b) the supplementary grant under the Act of 1925, and

(c) the additional supplementary grant under the Act of 1931, and

(d) the grant which the Minister for Finance is required by this Act to make in the current financial year.

(2) The council of a county or of a scheduled urban district may, if they think proper, declare that the land within the curtilage of a specified dwellinghouse in the rating area of such council shall not be agricultural land for the purposes of this Act or for the purposes of the Act of 1898 as applied or affected by this Act, and thereupon such land shall not be agricultural land for those purposes.

2 Ascertainment of specified valuation.

2.—(1) The specified valuation for the purposes of this Act of any agricultural land in any particular county shall be ascertained in accordance with the following provisions, that is to say:—

(a) where a person is rated in respect of only one tenement of agricultural land in such county and the valuation under the Valuation Acts of the agricultural land included in such tenement does not exceed twenty pounds, the specified valuation of such agricultural land shall be the valuation thereof under the Valuation Acts;

(b) where a person is rated in respect of two or more tenements of agricultural land in such county and the total amount of the valuations under the Valuation Acts of all the agricultural land included in such tenements does not exceed twenty pounds, the specified valuation of the agricultural land included in each such tenement shall be the valuation thereof under the Valuation Acts;

(c) where a person is rated under the Local Government (Rates on Small Dwellings) Act, 1928 (No. 4 of 1928), as owner in respect of two or more tenements of agricultural land in such county, the specified valuation of the agricultural land included in each such tenement shall be the valuation thereof under the Valuation Acts;

(d) where the Irish Land Commission is rated in respect of only one tenement of agricultural land in such county and the valuation under the Valuation Acts of the agricultural land included in such tenement exceeds twenty pounds, the specified valuation of such agricultural land shall be twenty pounds;

(e) where the Irish Land Commission is rated in respect of two or more tenements of agricultural land in such county and the total amount of the valuations under the Valuation Acts of all the agricultural land included in such tenements exceeds twenty pounds, the specified valuation of the agricultural land included in each such tenement shall be the valuation thereof under the Valuation Acts or twenty pounds, whichever is in each case the lesser;

(f) the following provision shall apply where, but only where, none of the foregoing paragraphs of this section applies, that is to say:—

(i) where a person is rated in respect of only one tenement of agricultural land in such county, the specified valuation of the agricultural land included in such tenement shall be twenty pounds, and

(ii) where a person is rated in respect of two or more tenements of agricultural land in such county, such tenements shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to form together a single tenement of agricultural land, and the specified valuation of the agricultural land included in such single tenement shall be twenty pounds.

(2) In this section the word “county” shall be construed as meaning the county inclusive of all scheduled urban districts which are situate in such county and exclusive of all other urban districts situate in such county.

3 Tenements in occupation of a trustee.

3.—Where a person is rated in respect of two or more tenements of agricultural land situate in the same county and the Minister is satisfied that such person occupies one or more but not all of such tenements (in this section referred to as the trust holding or holdings) as trustee under a trust which does not apply to the others or other of such tenements and under which such person derives no benefit or a partial benefit only from such occupation, the Minister may, if he thinks it reasonable so to do having regard to all the circumstances of the case, declare the trust holding or holdings to be in separate occupation from the others or other of such tenements, and thereupon and thereafter so long as the said trust subsists in respect of the trust holding or holdings and no others or other of such tenements, this Act shall apply and have effect in relation to all such tenements as if the trust holding or holdings and the others or other of such tenements were respectively occupied by different persons.

4 Increase of the agricultural grant.

4.—(1) In the current financial year the Minister for Finance shall make, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant of four hundred and seventy thousand pounds, and such grant shall be so made by the said Minister by way of an increase (over and above the supplementary grant under the Act of 1925 and the additional supplementary grant under the Act of 1931) of the agricultural grant referred to in section 48 of the Act of 1898, and shall be deemed for the purpose of all enactments now in force to form part of the said agricultural grant referred to in the said section 48 and, in particular, shall be subject to the provisions of section 40 of the Irish Land Act, 1903.

(2) Out of the agricultural grant in respect of the current financial year, there shall be paid to the Council of each of the several counties in Saorstát Eireann the sum stated in the second column of the Second Schedule to this Act opposite the name of the county where it appears in the first column of the said Second Schedule, and every sum so paid to a council shall be deemed to be the sum certified under section 48 of the Act of 1898 as payable to such council during the current financial year, and accordingly every enactment which applies to the sum so certified as payable to a council (whether so applying before or after the issue of such sum) shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, apply to the sum payable to such council in pursuance of this sub-section.

(3) Sub-section (5) of section 6 of the Local Government Act, 1927 (No. 3 of 1927), shall not apply or have effect in relation to the agricultural grant in respect of the current financial year, and the said section 6 shall, in relation to that agricultural grant, be construed and have effect accordingly.

5 The primary allowance rate.

5.—(1) As soon as may be after the passing of this Act, the Minister shall ascertain and certify in respect of every county—

(a) the rate in the pound on the valuation for the financial year which began on the 1st day of April, 1933, of all agricultural land in such county to which the aggregate amount of the following grants is equivalent, that is to say:—

(i) the sum certified under the Act of 1898 to be pay able out of the agricultural grant referred to in section 48 of that Act to the council of such county in respect of the financial year which began on the 1st day of April, 1933, and

(ii) the sum payable out of the supplementary grant under the Act of 1925 to the said council in respect of the said financial year, and

(iii) the sum payable out of the additional supplementary grant under the Act of 1931 to the said council in respect of the said financial year, and

(b) the rate in the pound on that portion of the valuation of all the agricultural land in such county which was specified valuation within the meaning of the Act of 1933 to which the grant payable to such county under the said Act of 1933 is equivalent.

(2) In this Act, the expression “the primary allowance rate” in relation to any county means the aggregate of the two rates in the pound certified by the Minister under this section in respect of such county.

6 The primary allowance.

6.—Every council of a county shall, in the current financial year, make in accordance with this Act to every person rated in respect of a tenement of agricultural land (being a hereditament or tenement which consists wholly or partly of agricultural land situate within the rating area of such council) an allowance (in this Act referred to as the primary allowance) calculated—

(a) at the primary allowance rate, and

(b) on whichever of the following valuations is the lesser, that is to say, the specified valuation of the agricultural land contained in such tenement or the valuation of so much of such agricultural land as is situate within the rating area of such council.

7 The employment allowance.

7.—(1) In this section—

the expression “the qualifying period” means the period which began on the 1st day of April, 1933, and ended on the 31st day of December, 1933, and the expression “adult workman”means a male person who, on the 1st day of April, 1933, was not less than seventeen years of age nor more than seventy years of age and who was not and whose wife was not, at any time during the qualifying period, the rated occupier of agricultural land the valuation or the aggregate of the valuations of which during the qualifying period was equal to or greater than five pounds.

(2) Where—

(a) an adult workman was, or two or more adult workmen were each, at work during the whole of the qualifying period on any agricultural land (in this sub-section referred to as the first-mentioned agricultural land) situate in the rating area of the council of a county, and

(b) the valuation in the current financial year of the first-mentioned agricultural land exceeds the specified valuation of the agricultural land contained in the tenement which contains the first-mentioned agricultural land; and

(c) the person who is rated for the service of the current financial year in respect of such tenement makes to such council a claim under and in accordance with this section for the allowance hereinafter mentioned,

such council shall make, in accordance with this Act, to such person in respect of each such adult workman an allowance (in this Act referred to as the employment allowance) calculated at the primary rate of allowance and on the amount by which the valuation (in the current financial year) of the first-mentioned agricultural lands exceeds the specified valuation of the agricultural land contained in the tenement which contains the first-mentioned agricultural land, but subject to the overriding limitation that the amount on which the employment allowance is so to be calculated shall not in any case exceed the sum ascertained by multiplying the sum of twelve pounds ten shillings by the number of adult workmen who were at work on the first-mentioned agricultural land during the whole of the qualifying period.

(3) Where two or more adult workmen were successively at work on any agricultural land during the qualifying period and the respective periods during which such adult workmen were severally so at work are such that at all times during the qualifying period at least one of such adult workmen was at work on such agricultural land and no such adult workman was so at work during the whole of the qualifying period, then and in such case (whether any two or more of the said respective periods do or do not overlap) such two or more adult workmen shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be one adult workman who was at work on such agricultural land during the whole of the qualifying period.

(4) Where an adult workman was at work, during the whole of the qualifying period, partly on agricultural land situate in the rating area of the council of a county and partly on agricultural land situate in another county and the same person is rated for the service of the current financial year in respect of all such agricultural land, such person may be granted employment allowance by such council in respect of such adult workman as if such adult workman had, during the whole of the qualifying period, been at work exclusively on the agricultural land situate in the rating area of such council if, but only if, such person had not been granted employment allowance in respect of such adult workman by any other council.

(5) Every claim for employment allowance under this section shall be made in writing to the council in whose rating area the agricultural land to which such claim relates is situate, and shall be in such form as such council shall require, and shall be sent to such council at such time and in such manner that it is received by such council on or before the 30th day of June, 1934, or such later date (prior to the making of the rate in respect of which such employment allowance is claimed) as such council, with the consent of the Minister, shall fix.

(6) Every person who makes a claim for employment allowance under this section shall, in addition to the information and particulars contained in such claim, furnish to the council to whom such claim is made all such further or other information and particulars relevant to such claim as shall be demanded of him by such council or any poor rate collector or other officer of such council.

(7) It shall be the duty of every poor rate collector, if and when so required by the county council by whom he is employed, to examine and check every claim made to such council for employment allowance under this section in relation to agricultural land situate wholly or partly in the area for which he is such rate collector, and to make such inquiries as may be necessary for the purpose of such examination and checking, and to report to such council as to the validity and correctness of every such claim.

(8) Every doubt, question, and dispute which shall arise, in relation to a claim under this section for employment allowance, or as to whether a person was or was not an adult workman within the meaning of this section or as to whether a person was or was not at work on any particular land, or as to the period during which he was so at work shall be determined by the council to whom such claim is made, and the determination of such doubt, question, or dispute by such council shall be final and conclusive.

(9) Every person who in or in connection with a claim by himself or another person for employment allowance or for the purpose of obtaining employment allowance for himself or another person makes, after the passing of this Act, any statement which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect 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, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.

8 Application of the remainder of the agricultural grant.

8.—(1) In this section, the expression “the remaining valuation” in relation to a tenement of agricultural land (being a hereditament or tenement which consists wholly or partly of agricultural land (in this sub-section referred to as the first-mentioned agricultural land) situate in the rating area of the council of a county) means the amount (if any) by which the valuation of the first-mentioned agricultural land exceeds—

(a) if no employment allowance is made under this Act in respect of the first-mentioned agricultural land—the specified valuation of the agricultural land contained in such tenement, or

(b) if any employment allowance is made under this Act in respect of the first-mentioned agricultural land—the aggregate of the specified valuation of the agricultural land contained in such tenement and the valuation upon which such employment allowance was calculated.

(2) If the portion of the agricultural grant payable under this Act to the council of a county exceeds the amount necessary for making all the primary allowances and employment allowances required by this Act to be made by such council and the payments (if any) required by this Act or by section 50 of the Act of 1898 as applied by this Act to be made by such council to councils of urban districts, such council shall make, in accordance with this Act, to every person rated for the service of the current financial year in respect of a tenement of agricultural land which is situate in the rating area of such council and has a remaining valuation, an allowance (in this Act referred to as the supplementary allowance) calculated on such remaining valuation and at whichever of the following rates is the lesser, that is to say:—

(a) the primary allowance rate, and

(b) the rate in the pound on the total amount of the remaining valuations of all such tenements as aforesaid having a remaining valuation to which the sum applicable under this section to the making of supplementary allowances by such council is equivalent.