Labourers Act , 1936

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health;

the expression “the Principal Acts” means the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1931, as amended by the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932 (Number 19 of 1932);

the expression “the Act of 1891” means the Local Registration of Title (Ireland) Act, 1891;

the word “cottage” means a cottage provided under the Principal Acts, and includes the plot (if any) provided in connection with such cottage;

the word “holding” includes a parcel of untenanted land within the meaning of the Land Purchase Acts, and also includes, where the context so admits, part of a holding;

the expression “state land” means any land which belongs to Saorstát Eireann by virtue of Article 11 of the Constitution;

the expression “board of health” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1934;

the word “owner” when used in relation to a cottage purchased from a board of health under this Act, shall, where the context so admits, be construed as including the legal personal representatives of an owner;

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

2 “The appointed day.”

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

(2) In this Act the expression “the appointed day” means the day appointed by the Minister to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act.

3 Extension of definition of agricultural labourer.

3.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 93 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, and of proviso (iii) to sub-section (1) of section 1 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1919, a person shall not be prevented from being an agricultural labourer within the meaning of the Principal Acts solely by reason of the fact that he is in occupation of more than one quarter of an acre of land.

(2) In this Act (other than this section) the expression “agricultural labourer” means an agricultural labourer within the meaning of the Principal Acts as amended by this section.

4 Partial repeal of section 1 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1919.

4.—Proviso (i) (being the proviso commencing with the words “the rents” and ending with the words “Local Government Board”; and) to section 1 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1919, is hereby repealed.

5 Transfer of cottages from county councils to boards of health.

5.—Where a cottage, the ownership of which was, by virtue of section 3 of the Local Government Act, 1925, (No. 5 of 1925), transferred from a rural district council to a county council, has not, before the date of the passing of this Act, been transferred, under sub-section (3) of section 10 of the said Act, to the board of health in whose county health district such cottage is situate, such cottage shall on the said date and without any conveyance or assignment become and be vested in such board of health for all the estate and term or interest for which the same immediately before the said date was vested in such county council, and such board of health shall as soon as may be take all steps necessary to have their title to such cottage registered under the Act of 1891.

6 Cesser of application of section 34 of the Land Act, 1927, to certain cottages.

6.—(1) Section 34 of the Land Act, 1927 (No. 19 of 1927) shall cease to have effect in relation to any parcel of land to which this section applies except where particulars in respect of such parcel have, before the date of the passing of this Act, been lodged with the Irish Land Commission in pursuance of section 40 of the Land Act, 1923 (No. 42 of 1923).

(2) This section applies to every parcel of land which—

(a) was taken on lease under the Principal Acts, and

(b) was, at the time it was so taken, agricultural or pastoral or partly agricultural and partly pastoral within the meaning of the Land Purchase Acts, and

(c) was, immediately before the date of the passing of this Act, held under such lease.

7 Vesting in boards of health of fee simple reversion in certain lands held under lease.

7.—Where immediately before the appointed day any land (not being state land or land to which section 34 of the Land Act, 1927 (No. 19 of 1927), as amended by the immediately preceding section, applies) is held by a board of health for the purposes of the Principal Acts on lease, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the interest (in this section referred to as the lessor's interest) of the lessor under such lease and any other interest in such land superior to the lessor's interest shall, on the appointed day and without any conveyance or assignment, become and be vested in such board of health, to the intent that such land shall on the appointed day become and be vested absolutely in such board of health in fee simple, free from incumbrances, but subject to any tenancies therein of persons occupying such land as tenants to such board of health;

(b) the board of health shall pay to the person, who was immediately before the appointed day entitled to the lessor's interest and also to any person who immediately before the appointed day was entitled to any interest in such land superior to the lessor's interest, compensation in respect of the vesting of such interests under this section in like manner as if such interests were land which had been acquired for the purposes of the Principal Acts by such board of health by means of a compulsory purchase order made under section 20 of the Housing (Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932 (No. 19 of 1932), and coming into operation on the appointed day, and the provisions of every enactment relating to land so acquired (including provisions relating to moneys lodged in Court) shall apply accordingly;

(c) such board of health shall be liable to pay to the person entitled to the lessor's interest immediately before the appointed day any rent accrued due under such lease before the appointed day;

(d) such board of health shall on every day (being a day which falls on or after the appointed day and before the date of assessment of compensation and which would have been a gale day under such lease but for the vesting of the lessor's interest in such board of health) pay to the person who was entitled to the lessor's interest immediately before the appointed day a sum equal to the rent which would have been payable on such day but for such vesting, and in calculating the amount of compensation in respect of the lessor's interest regard shall be had to any payments made under this paragraph;

(e) such board of health shall as soon as may be after the appointed day send to the registering authority under the Act of 1891 the said lease and a map showing the situation of such land, and on receipt thereof the title of such board of health to the ownership of such land in fee simple shall be registered under the Act of 1891.

8 Future acquisition of land for purposes of the Principal Acts.

8.—Where any land, which is neither state land, nor a holding under the Land Purchase Acts, nor land vested in the Irish Land Commission under the said Acts, is acquired for the purposes of the Principal Acts by a board of health on or after the date of the passing of this Act, such land shall be acquired by such board of health in fee simple freed and discharged from all superior interests.

9 Lands held under the Land Purchase Acts.

9.—(1) Where on the date of the passing of this Act any land is held by a board of health for the purposes of the Principal Acts or after the said date any land is acquired by a board of health for the said purposes and such land is a holding under the Land Purchase Acts or is vested in the Irish Land Commission under the said Acts, such board of health shall with all convenient speed take such steps as may be requisite to have such land vested in such board in fee simple freed and discharged from all liability for any purchase annuity or other payment to the Irish Land Commission.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a board of health shall not make under this Act an order vesting in the tenant thereof a cottage situate on land which is a holding under the Land Purchase Acts or vested in the Irish Land Commission under the said Acts until such land is vested in such board of health in accordance with this section.

10 Registration of title of boards of health in certain cases.

10.—Where the title to any land vested in a board of health for the purposes of the Principal Acts and acquired before the passing of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906, has not been registered under the Act of 1891, such board of health shall take all necessary steps to have their title to such lands so registered.

11 Purchase schemes generally.

11.—(1) For the purposes of this Act the expression “purchase scheme” when used in relation to a cottage or cottages situate in a county health district means a scheme setting out terms of purchase (by means of the payment of a terminable annuity) under this Act for such cottage or cottages.

(2) Every purchase scheme—

(a) shall be in the prescribed form, and

(b) shall, in relation to each cottage to which it applies, specify—

(i) the amount of the terminable annuity to be paid in respect of such cottage as the consideration for the purchase thereof,

(ii) the number of years during which such annuity is to be paid,

(iii) whether such annuity is to be paid in weekly, monthly, quarterly or half-yearly instalments of equal amount or is to be paid in one sum annually,

(iv) such other particulars (if any) as may be prescribed.

(3) In this Act the following expressions when used in relation to a cottage to which a purchase scheme for the time being in force applies shall have the following meanings, that is to say:—

(a) the expression “the annuity” means the terminable annuity specified in such scheme in relation to such cottage;

(b) the expression “the appointed number of years” means the number of years, specified in such scheme, during which the annuity is to be payable;

(c) the expression “instalment of the annuity” means in the case of an annuity payable in one sum annually, such annuity or, in any other case such fraction of the annuity as is appropriate according as the annuity is, by the terms of such scheme, to be paid in weekly, monthly, quarterly or half-yearly instalments.

12 Preparation and submission of purchase schemes.

12.—(1) Not later than six months after the appointed day the board of health of every county health district shall, in relation to every cottage in such county health district which is not situate on state land, prepare and submit to the Minister in accordance with this Act a purchase scheme.

(2) Where—

(a) a purchase scheme for a county health district has come into force, and

(b) either—

(i) the board of health for such county health district has provided an additional cottage (not being a cottage situate on state land) under the Principal Acts, or

(ii) such scheme has ceased to apply to a cottage which was vested in a purchasing tenant under this Act by reason of possession of such cottage having been recovered by such board under this Act,

such board of health shall within twelve months prepare and submit to the Minister a purchase scheme in relation to such cottage.

(3) Where—

(a) a purchase scheme which applies to a cottage in a county health district has come into force, and

(b) a person, who is the tenant of such cottage and who has not purchased such cottage under this Act, ceases to be such tenant,

the board of health of such county health district shall, if the Minister so directs, forthwith prepare and submit to the Minister a new purchase scheme in relation to such cottage.

(4) Where—

(a) a purchase scheme for a county health district has come into force, and

(b) any cottage to which such scheme applies has not been purchased under this Act,

the board of health for such county health district may, with the consent of the Minister, prepare and submit to the Minister a new purchase scheme in relation to such cottage.

(5) Where a purchase scheme in relation to any cottages has been prepared and submitted to the Minister by a board of health and the Minister has, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the next following section, required such board of health to prepare and submit to him a new purchase scheme in relation to such cottages, such board of health shall with all convenient speed comply with such requirement.

(6) Where the board of health for a county health district makes a purchase scheme under this section the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) such board of health shall, before submitting such scheme to the Minister, publish once at least in each of two successive weeks in a newspaper circulating in such county health district a notice in the prescribed form of the making of such scheme;

(b) before the first publication of such notice such board of health shall cause copies of such purchase scheme to be made available for public inspection at the prescribed times and places;

(c) any person interested in such purchase scheme may at any time within three weeks after the date of the second publication of such notice send to the Minister objections to such purchase scheme.

13 Approval, etc., of purchase schemes.

13.—(1) Where a purchase scheme in relation to any cottages is submitted by a board of health to the Minister under the immediately preceding section the Minister may, after consideration of any objection which may have been sent to him before the expiration of three weeks from the publication of the second of the notices relating to such scheme referred to in the said section, do any one of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) make an order approving of such purchase scheme without modification,

(b) make an order modifying such purchase scheme in such manner (whether by addition, omission or variation) as he thinks fit and approving of such purchase scheme as so modified,

(c) require a new purchase scheme in relation to such cottages to be prepared and submitted to him by such board of health.

(2) Where a purchase scheme in relation to any cottages is deemed under sub-section (4) of this section to have been submitted to the Minister by a board of health, the Minister may either—

(a) make an order modifying such purchase scheme in such manner (whether by addition, omission or variation) as he thinks fit and approving of such purchase scheme as so modified, or

(b) require a new purchase scheme to be prepared and submitted to him by such board of health.

(3) Every order made by the Minister under this section approving of a purchase scheme shall be laid (together with the purchase scheme) before Dáil Eireann as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling such order is passed by Dáil Eireann within the next three weeks (omitting from the reckoning any week in which Dáil Eireann has not sat at all) after the week in which such order is laid before Dáil Eireann such order shall be annulled accordingly.

(4) Where an order approving of a purchase scheme is annulled under the immediately preceding sub-section, a purchase scheme in the same terms as the terms of such first-mentioned purchase scheme as so approved shall be deemed to have been submitted to the Minister by the board of health by whom such first-mentioned purchase scheme was prepared.

14 Coming into force of purchase schemes.

14.—(1) Whenever the Minister has made an order approving of a purchase scheme the Minister shall, in case such order has not been annulled by a resolution passed by Dáil Eireann under the immediately preceding section, make an order declaring the day on which such scheme shall come into force, and such scheme shall come into force on the day so appointed.

(2) Whenever the Minister makes an order under this section declaring the day on which a purchase scheme comes into force, the board of health by whom such purchase scheme was prepared shall cause copies of such order and such purchase scheme to be made available for public inspection at the prescribed times and places and shall within the prescribed time cause to be published at least once in each of two successive weeks in a newspaper circulating in the county health district of such board of health notice of the making of such order and of the times and places at which copies of such order and such purchase scheme are available for public inspection.

15 Cesser of application of purchase scheme on coming into force of new purchase scheme.

15.—Where a new purchase scheme which applies to a cottage comes into force, any previous purchase scheme, which applied to such cottage and which was in force immediately before such new purchase scheme comes into force, shall cease to apply to such cottage.

16 Applications for purchase of cottages.

16.—(1) Where:—

(a) a purchase scheme which applies to a cottage in a county health district is in force, and

(b) such cottage is occupied by a person who is a qualified person, and

(c) no rent is due in respect of such cottage,

such person may send an application to the board of health for such county health district for the transfer to him of the interest of such board of health by means of a vesting order made under this Act.

(2) Each of the following persons shall, for the purposes of this section, be a qualified person in relation to a cottage, that is to say:—

(a) a person—

(i) who is the tenant of such cottage, and

(ii) who either is an agricultural labourer or was, when he first became tenant, an agricultural labourer;

(b) a person—

(i) who is the widow, child or other relative of a person who, at the date of his death, was tenant of such cottage and who either was, at the date of his death, an agricultural labourer or was, when he first became tenant, an agricultural labourer, and

(ii) who was at the date of the death resident in such cottage, and

(iii) who is declared by the board of health, in whose county health district such cottage is situate, to be a qualified person.

(3) Every application under this section shall be in the prescribed form and shall contain the prescribed particulars.

17 Vesting orders and statutory conditions applicable to cottages.

17.—(1) Where:—

(a) a purchase scheme in relation to a cottage in a county health district is in force, and

(b) an application is made to the board of health for such county health district by a person, who claims to be entitled under the immediately preceding section to make such application, for the transfer to such person of the interest of such board of health in such cottage, and