Local Authorities (Combined Purchasing) Act , 1939

1 Short title and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Local Authorities (Combined Purchasing) Act, 1939.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day as shall be fixed for that purpose by an order made by the Minister.

2 Definitions.

2.—(1) In this Act—

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

the expression “the Act of 1925” means the Local Authorities (Combined Purchasing) Act, 1925 (No. 20 of 1925);

the expression “official contractor” means a person appointed or deemed to have been appointed under this Act to be an official contractor for the purposes of this Act;

the expression “standard price” means, in relation to any commodity, the price which the official contractor concerned stated, in his application for appointment as official contractor in respect of such commodity, to be the price at which he was willing to supply such commodity as such official contractor.

(2) Each of the following persons and bodies shall be a local authority for the purposes of this Act, that is to say:—

(a) the council of a county, county borough, borough, or urban district, a board of guardians, the commissioners of a town, and a port sanitary authority, and

(b) a person appointed by or under statute to perform the functions or any of the functions of any such body as is mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section, and

(c) a committee or joint committee or board or joint board (whether corporate or unincorporate) of or appointed by one or more of the bodies and persons mentioned in either of the preceding paragraphs of this sub-section, and

(d) any council, committee, or other body which, immediately before the passing of this Act, was, by virtue of any Act other than the Act of 1925, a local authority for the purposes of the Act of 1925, and

(e) any council, committee, or other body which is for the time being declared by an order made by the Minister under this Act to be a local authority within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act.

(3) Any goods or articles which are required by a local authority for the purposes of the exercise or performance of any of its powers or duties shall be a commodity for the purposes of this Act, and the word “commodity” shall in this Act be construed accordingly.

3 Power of Minister to extend the application of this Act.

3.—(1) The Minister may by order declare that any particular council, committee or other body is and shall be a local authority within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Minister may at any time by order revoke or amend any order previously made by him under this section, including an order made under this sub-section.

4 Repeal of the Act of 1925.

4.—(1) The Act of 1925 is hereby repealed as on and from the commencement of this Act.

(2) Every person who is, immediately before the commencement of this Act, an official contractor appointed under the Act of 1925 for the purposes of that Act shall, upon the commencement of this Act, become and be an official contractor for the purposes of this Act and shall be deemed to have been appointed to be such official contractor under this Act, but as of the date and for the commodity and period and upon the terms as of, for, and upon which he was appointed under the Act of 1925.

5 General duty of Minister in relation to supplies.

5.—It shall be the duty of the Minister to take all such steps as may be desirable to enable local authorities to obtain jointly from one or more suitable contractors such supplies of any commodity as may be required by them in the performance of their duties.

6 Appointment of official contractor.

6.—(1) The Minister may, from time to time, give public notice in such manner as he thinks proper that he will, within a specified time, receive applications from persons desiring to be appointed to be official contractor for the supply, during a period specified in such notice, of a commodity or of all or any of two or more commodities similarly specified, to local authorities.

(2) Subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section of this section, every application, made in pursuance of public notice given by the Minister under this section, for appointment as official contractor shall be made in writing in the prescribed form and manner and shall contain the prescribed particulars, which shall include—

(a) a statement of the price at which the applicant is willing to supply the commodity or commodities specified in such application during the period and to the local authorities stated in such notice,

(b) a statement showing in the prescribed manner the quality which the applicant is willing to supply of such commodity or each of such commodities, and,

(c) a statement that the applicant is willing to conform in respect of such commodity or commodities with the prescribed conditions of supply.

(3) Whenever, owing to the nature of the commodity, the custom of the trade, or any other circumstances, it is not practicable for applications for appointment as official contractor in respect of a particular commodity to be made in conformity in all respects with the provisions of the next preceding sub-section of this section, the Minister may, by regulations made by him under this Act or by special authorisation given by him in each particular case, allow such applications to be made in such form as he shall think most suitable to the circumstances of the case and shall specify in such regulations or special authorisation.

(4) Upon the expiration of the time limited by a public notice given by the Minister under this section, the Minister shall (subject to the provisions of this Act) consider every application made by any person in pursuance of such notice and received by the Minister within the said time, and the Minister may, if he so thinks fit, thereupon appoint any such person to be an official contractor to all local authorities or to such class of or to such particular local authorities as the Minister shall think proper for the supply of the commodity or commodities specified in the application of such person during the period stated in such notice.

(5) Save as is otherwise provided by this Act, every application under this section for appointment as an official contractor shall be irrevocable and every applicant under this section for such appointment, shall, if he is appointed in accordance with his application, be bound to accept such appointment.

(6) The Minister may require any person who has applied under this section for appointment as an official contractor to give to the Minister, by deposit, bond, surety, or otherwise as the Minister shall direct, security for the due performance by such person (if he is appointed as such official contractor) of the duties and obligations under such appointment, and the Minister may require such security to be given either before and as a condition precedent to consideration of such application or immediately before or after appointment as such official contractor and as a condition (precedent or subsequent, as the case may be) of such appointment.

(7) The appointment under this section of a person to be an official contractor shall not constitute or imply any contract or agreement between the Minister and such person.

(8) More than one official contractor may be appointed under this section in pursuance of any particular public notice given by the Minister under this section, and any person may be appointed under this section to be an official contractor in respect, of any commodity or commodities notwithstanding that he holds an appointment as official contractor in respect of any other commodity or commodities.

(9) Every appointment under this section of an official contractor shall be notified by the Minister to the person so appointed and shall also be published by the Minister in such manner as he thinks proper.

7 Conditions as to place of manufacture and terms of employment.

7.—(1) The Minister may by order provide that every application for appointment as official contractor for the supply of a commodity specified in such order shall be accompanied by an undertaking by the applicant that, in the event of his appointment,—

(a) such commodity when supplied by him in pursuance of such appointment shall be manufactured or produced in Ireland, and

(b) if he manufactures or produces such commodity at any time during the period of his appointment, the wages paid and the conditions of employment observed by him in such manufacture or production shall be not less favourable to his employees than those required in the execution of contracts with a Minister of State.

(2) Whenever an order has been made under this section in relation to applications for appointment as an official contractor, no application for appointment as such official contractor shall, so long as such order remains in force, be considered unless it is accompanied by the undertaking mentioned in such order.

(3) If any official contractor fails to carry out an undertaking entered into by him in pursuance of an order under 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 ten pounds.

(4) The Minister shall exercise the powers conferred on him by this section in so far as it appears to him from time to time to be practicable so to do.

(5) The Minister may by order at any time revoke an order made under the first sub-section of this section.

(6) In this section the word “Ireland” does not include any area which is not within the area and extent of application of the laws enacted by the Oireachtas.

8 Inspection of manufacture or production of commodities.

8.—(1) The Minister may by order provide that every application for appointment as official contractor for the supply of a commodity specified in such order shall be accompanied by an undertaking by the applicant that, in the event of his appointment and of his manufacturing or producing such commodity at any time during the period of his appointment, he will permit such manufacture or production to be inspected by the Minister.

(2) Whenever an order has been made under this section in relation to applications for appointment as an official contractor, no application for appointment as such official contractor shall, so long as such order remains in force, be considered unless it is accompanied by the undertaking mentioned in such order.

(3) The Minister may by order at any time revoke an order made under the first sub-section of this section.

(4) Whenever an official contractor has entered into an undertaking to permit the manufacture or production by him of a commodity to be supplied by him as such official contractor to be inspected by the Minister, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) an officer of the Minister may enter any premises in which the manufacture or production of such commodity, or any part or process of such manufacture or production, is carried on by such official contractor, and may so enter such premises at any time when such manufacture or production or such part or process thereof is being carried on, and may on such entry inspect and examine such premises and the plant and equipment thereof, and inspect and observe all or any of the processes of such manufacture or production carried on in such premises, and examine and observe the means employed and method used in testing such commodity in such premises;

(b) an officer of the Minister making an inspection under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section in any premises may take and carry away without payment samples of the commodity manufactured or produced wholly or partly in such premises and of any component or constituent of such commodity, and may take such samples at any stage in such manufacture or production;

(c) an officer of the Minister who has entered any premises under this section may there inspect and examine all such books and records the examination and inspection of which appear to such officer to be reasonably necessary for the proper inspection of the manufacture or production of the commodity manufactured or produced wholly or partly in such premises, and may there make and take away copies of the whole or any part of any such documents;

(d) such official contractor shall afford to any officer of the Minister entering under this section any premises of such contractor all reasonable facilities for the doing of all or any of the things which such officer is empowered by this sub-section to do in such premises, and in particular shall produce to such officer all books and records the production of which shall be demanded by such officer under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section.

(5) Every official contractor who shall wilfully obstruct or impede an officer of the Minister in the exercise, in or in relation to any premises of such contractor, of any of the powers conferred on an officer of the Minister by the next preceding sub-section of this section or who shall fail or refuse to do anything which such official contractor is required by the said sub-section to do shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding two pounds for every day during which such offence is continued.

(6) Every person (other than the official contractor whose premises are concerned) who shall wilfully obstruct or impede an officer of the Minister in the exercise of any of the powers conferred by this section on an officer of the Minister shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(7) In this section the expression “officer of the Minister” means an officer of the Minister authorised by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred by this section on an officer of the Minister, but the Minister may, if and whenever he so thinks proper, authorise and empower any person who is not an officer of the Minister (whether such person is or is not in the service of the Government) to exercise, in respect of any particular official contractor and either generally or on a particular occasion, the powers conferred by this section on an officer of the Minister, and whenever the Minister so authorises and empowers any such person such person shall, to the extent and for the purposes to and for which he is so authorised and empowered, be deemed to be an officer of the Minister within the meaning of this section.

9 Revocation of appointment of official contractor.

9.—(1) An official contractor may at any time apply to the Minister for the revocation of his appointment as such contractor, and thereupon the Minister may, if he is satisfied that such revocation will not occasion additional expense to the local authorities for the supply of commodities to whom such contractor was appointed to be an official contractor, revoke by order such appointment, but may, if he so thinks proper, postpone by such order the taking effect of such revocation to such subsequent date as may be necessary in his opinion to avoid the occasioning of such additional expense as aforesaid.

(2) Whenever the Minister is satisfied that an official contractor has failed to carry out a contract deemed by virtue of this Act or by virtue of the Act of 1925 to have been entered into by him with a local authority, or has failed to observe and perform an undertaking entered into by him in pursuance of this Act or has failed to fulfil any other obligation imposed on him by this Act, the Minister may, subject to the provisions of this section, by order revoke the appointment of such official contractor.

(3) Before revoking under the next preceding sub-section of this section the appointment of an official contractor, the Minister shall give to such official contractor one week's notice in writing of his intention to revoke such appointment and shall consider such (if any) representations as may be made to him by such official contractor in respect of such revocation before the expiration of such notice.

(4) The following provisions shall have effect in respect of the revocation under this section of the appointment of an official contractor otherwise than on his own application, that is to say:—

(a) such revocation shall take effect as on and from such date (not being prior to the date of the order effecting such revocation) as shall be stated in that behalf in such order;

(b) where the official contractor to whom such revocation relates was an official contractor by virtue of two or more appointments in respect of different commodities, such revocation shall relate to the appointment as official contractor in respect of which the failure occasioning such revocation took place, but may, if the Minister so thinks proper and so states in the order effecting such revocation, extend to all such appointments or to such and so many of such appointments as the Minister shall think proper and shall specify in such order;

(c) no such revocation shall prejudice or affect any contract deemed by virtue of this Act or by virtue of the Act of 1925 to have been entered into between the official contractor to whom such revocation relates and a local authority before the day on which such revocation takes effect, or release such official contractor or such local authority from their respective obligations under such contract.

(5) Whenever the appointment of an official contractor is revoked under this section, such official contractor shall, on the day on which such revocation takes effect, cease to be an official contractor by virtue of the appointment so revoked, but such revocation shall not terminate or affect any other appointment of such official contractor to be an official contractor unless such revocation is extended thereto by the order effecting such revocation.

10 Purchases by local authorities from official contractors.

10.—(1) Any local authority requiring for the performance of their duties a supply of any commodity, for which an official contractor has been appointed in respect of such local authority, may send in the prescribed form and manner to an official contractor for that commodity in respect of such local authority an order for the quantity of such commodity so required by them, and thereupon such local authority and such official contractor shall be deemed to have entered into an enforceable contract to take and supply respectively the quantity so notified of such commodity at the standard price and of the quality which such official contractor stated in his application for appointment that he was willing to supply and in accordance with the prescribed conditions of supply for such commodity.