Neutrality (War Damage to Property) Act , 1941

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

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

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

the expression “foreign aircraft” means a military aircraft which is neither a State aircraft within the meaning of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1936 (No. 40 of 1936), nor registered in the State under that Act or under a regulation made under that Act;

the expression “foreign ship” means a ship or other vessel which is not a State ship and is not registered in the State under the Merchant Shipping Acts; 1894 to 1939, and includes a ship or vessel of any kind which is exempt from or is incapable of registration under those Acts and is not owned by an Irish citizen or a company registered in the State under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924;

the expression “State ship” means a ship or other vessel which is owned by the State or by a Minister of State;

the word “building” means a house, shop, factory, or other similar permanent structure and includes a part of any such structure;

the word “injury” includes total or partial destruction and, in relation to chattels, includes loss or disappearance;

the expression “the Criminal Injuries Acts” means the enactments relating to compensation for criminal injury specified in the Second Schedule to the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 (No. 15 of 1923);

the expression “the High Court” includes the High Court on Circuit;

the expression “the Court” means the Circuit Court but includes the High Court on appeal from the Circuit Court;

the expression “local authority” means—

(a) in relation to a building situate in a county health district—the board of health for the county health district,

(b) in relation to a building situate in a county borough or the borough of Dun Laoghaire—the corporation of the borough, and

(c) in relation to a building situate in any other borough or any urban district—the council of the borough or urban district;

the expression “district planning authority” means a district planning authority for the purposes of the Town and Regional Planning Acts, 1934 and 1939.

2 Injuries to which this Act applies.

2.—(1) This Act applies to injuries to property which occurred or shall occur (whether before or after the passing of this Act) within the State or the territorial waters thereof on or after the 26th day of August, 1940, and were or are caused—

(a) by any projectile, bomb, or other object or any substance propelled or dropped from a foreign aircraft, or by any projectile, bomb, or other object propelled from a foreign ship, or

(b) by explosion, blast, fire, gas, or other destructive or injurious agency arising out of the propelling or dropping of any such object or substance as aforesaid from a foreign aircraft or the propelling of any such object as aforesaid from a foreign ship, or arising in the course of the removal, dismantling, destruction, or dispersal of, or by reason of any other interference with, any such object or substance, or

(c) by the landing (whether voluntary or involuntary) or falling of any foreign aircraft or the falling of portions of or articles or persons from any such aircraft, or by any explosion, blast, fire, gas, or other destructive or injurious agency brought into operation by or in connection with any such landing or falling, or

(d) by the explosion (whether in the sea or in inland water or on land) of a mine placed in the sea by any foreign ship or any foreign aircraft;

(e) by any explosion or fire arising in the course of the removal, dismantling, or destruction of, or by reason of any other interference with, any mine so placed as aforesaid, or

(f) by a balloon emanating from outside the State or by a mooring rope or other article attached to any such balloon, or

(g) by any thing done to or in relation to any such balloon as aforesaid or any attachment thereto for the purpose of the removal, deflation, release, or destruction of such balloon, or by any other interference with any such balloon or attachment, or by any explosion or fire arising from such balloon in the course of the removal, deflation, release, or destruction thereof or in consequence of any such interference therewith.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-section of this section, this Act shall only apply to injuries to property which occur while the State is not engaged in any war.

3 Persons entitled to compensation under this Act.

3.—(1) Subject to the exceptions made by and the other provisions contained in this Act, every of the following persons shall, on applying therefor in accordance with this Act, be entitled to compensation under this Act in respect of the injury or loss hereinafter mentioned, that is to say:—

(a) every person who has suffered or shall suffer loss by an injury to which this Act applies to his property;

(b) every person who, being the personal representative of a deceased person or a trustee or otherwise in a fiduciary capacity, has suffered or shall suffer loss in his said fiduciary capacity by an injury to which this Act applies to property vested in him in his said fiduciary capacity;

(c) the personal representative of an individual who suffered loss by an injury to which this Act applies to his property during his lifetime;

(d) every person who has suffered or shall suffer loss by reason of an injury to which this Act applies to property charged (otherwise than with a rent) in his favour in any manner or to property on which he has a lien;

(e) every person who, by reason of an injury to which this Act applies to a building, has suffered or shall suffer loss (other than loss by an injury to his property) in respect of which compensation may be awarded under this Act.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-section of this section, no compensation under this Act shall be payable to or recoverable by any local authority in respect of injury to any street, road, bridge, viaduct, sub-way, water-main, water-pipe, sewer, drain, or culvert which such local authority is required by law to provide, maintain, or repair.

(3) Where the personal representative of a deceased person is awarded compensation under this Act in respect of an injury to which this Act applies which occurred to property of such deceased person in his lifetime, the following provisions shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—

(a) such compensation shall be deemed to have formed part of the estate of such deceased person at his death;

(b) if the said property is real estate, the said personal representative shall hold such compensation upon trust for the person who became entitled to the said property under the will or on the intestacy of such deceased person.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a person who has (whether before or after the passing of this Act) received from a government or authority outside the State compensation in respect of an injury to which this Act applies shall not be awarded or paid any compensation under this Act in respect of that injury.

4 Applications to the Minister for compensation under this Act.

4.—(1) Any person who claims to be entitled to compensation under this Act in respect of an injury to which this Act applies may apply in accordance with this section to the Minister for such compensation.

(2) Every application to the Minister under this section in relation to an injury which occurred before the date of the passing of this Act shall be made not later than twelve months after that date and every other application to the Minister under this section shall be made not later than twelve months after the day on which the injury to which the application relates occurred.

(3) Every application to the Minister under this section shall be made in the prescribed form and manner and shall state all such matters and things as shall be prescribed in that behalf or shall be required by the said prescribed form, and in particular shall state an address within the State to which communications from the Minister to the applicant or other person making the application may be sent.

(4) Where the applicant is under any disability or is absent from the State, the application may be made on his behalf by another person.

(5) The prescribed form and manner in which an application to the Minister under this section is to be made may, if the Minister so thinks proper, require that such application shall be in the form of a statutory declaration made by the applicant or, where the application is made by another person on his behalf, by such other person.

(6) Every applicant or other person making an application to the Minister under this section shall furnish such information and particulars in his possession or procurement in relation to the injury which is the subject of the application or in relation to any matter or thing stated in the application as shall be required of him by the Minister.

(7) Every communication from the Minister to an applicant or other person making an application under this section may be sent by post to such applicant or other person at the address stated in that behalf in such application.

(8) Every communication to the Minister from an applicant or other person making an application under this section may be sent by post addressed to the Secretary, Department of Finance, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin.

5 Duty of the Minister in respect of applications to him.

5.—(1) The Minister within twelve months after receiving an application for compensation under this Act duly made to him shall consider such application and either, as he shall think proper,—

(a) make to the applicant an offer in writing of a specified sum of compensation under this Act in respect of the injury to which the application relates, or

(b) inform the applicant in writing that he does not intend to make to the applicant any such offer.

(2) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to every offer of a specified sum of compensation under this Act made by the Minister under the foregoing sub-section of this section that is to say:—

(a) the Minister may, when making the offer, attach thereto such (if any) conditions as he thinks proper in relation to the expenditure of the compensation thereby offered;

(b) the applicant shall be at liberty, in the case of an unconditional offer, to accept or to refuse the offer or, in the case of an offer to which conditions are attached, to accept the offer with and subject to those conditions or to refuse the offer;

(c) if the applicant does not in writing accept or refuse the offer within six months after it is made to him, he shall be deemed to have accepted the offer and, if conditions were attached to the offer, to have accepted it with and subject to those conditions;

(d) if the applicant accepts the offer or is deemed, by virtue of the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section to have accepted it, the Minister shall pay to the applicant, subject to his compliance with such conditions (if any) as were attached to the offer, the specified sum of compensation under this Act which was offered by the offer;

(e) where the applicant accepts or is deemed as aforesaid to have accepted the offer, he shall be estopped from making any further claim or application for compensation under this Act in respect of the injury to which the application leading to the offer related.

(3) Any specified sum of compensation under this Act offered by the Minister under this section may, if the Minister so thinks fit, include a sum in respect of the costs incurred by the applicant in respect of the application to the Minister.

(4) References in this Act to compensation awarded by the Minister shall be construed as referring to compensation payable by the Minister in pursuance of an offer made by him under this section and accepted or deemed to have been accepted by the applicant to whom it was made.

6 Applications to the Circuit Court for compensation under this Act.

6.—(1) Any person who has applied to the Minister under the foregoing provisions of this Act for compensation under this Act in respect of an injury to which this Act applies and either has refused an offer of a specified sum of compensation under this Act made to him by the Minister in respect of the said injury or has been informed by the Minister that the Minister does not intend to make to him any such offer may apply in accordance with this Act to the Circuit Court for compensation under this Act in respect of the said injury.

(2) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in respect of every application to the Circuit Court under this section, that is to say:—

(a) unless and until otherwise provided by rules of court, the application shall be made by civil bill in which the Minister shall be named as the sole defendant and for the issue of which no fiat of the Attorney-General shall be necessary;

(b) the application shall be made not later than three months after whichever of the following dates is applicable, that is to say, the date on which the applicant refused the offer by the Minister of a specified sum of compensation or the date on which the applicant was informed by the Minister that he did not intend to make any such offer;

(c) save if and so far as the Court shall otherwise permit, the evidence at the hearing of the application shall be given viva voce;

(d) every aircraft concerned in the infliction of the injury shall be presumed to be a foreign aircraft until the contrary is shown;

(e) where the injury was caused by or arose (directly or indirectly) from a mine, such mine shall be presumed to have emanated from either a foreign ship or a foreign aircraft until the contrary is shown;

(f) where the injury was caused by or arose (directly or indirectly) from a balloon or an attachment to a balloon, such balloon shall be presumed to have emanated from outside the State until the contrary is shown;

(g) where the injury was caused by or arose (directly or indirectly) from a projectile, bomb, or other object propelled from a ship, such ship shall be presumed to be a foreign ship until the contrary is shown;

(h) the application shall be heard and determined by the judge of the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in the place at which the injury occurred;

(i) the costs of the application and the costs of the appeal (if any) to the High Court shall follow the event, save if and in so far as the Court for cause otherwise orders.

7 The order of the Court on applications to it.

7.—Whenever the Court, on the hearing of an application for compensation under this Act, is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to such compensation, the Court shall award to the applicant compensation under this Act accordingly and shall fix the amount of such compensation in accordance with this Act and shall order that the compensation so awarded and fixed shall be paid to the applicant by the Minister.

8 Compensation for injury to property other than a building.

8.—The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to compensation under this Act (whether awarded by the Minister or by the Court) in respect of an injury to which this Act applies to property other than a building, that is to say:—

(a) no compensation shall be awarded or payable in respect of any of the following chattels, that is to say:—

(i) postage and other adhesive stamps other than any such stamps forming or included in a philatelic collection or kept by the owner as part of his stock-in-trade as a philatelic dealer,

(ii) postal orders and post office money orders;

(b) the aggregate amount of the compensation awarded or payable in respect of watches, jewellery and articles of personal ornament (other than any such articles which were kept by the owner as part of his stock-in-trade or were, when the injury occurred, specifically insured against loss by at least one of the following, viz:—fire, burglary, and theft, whether such insurance did or did not apply to the injury) injured in any one injury shall not exceed five per cent. of the total amount of compensation under this Act awarded in respect of property (other than buildings and other than chattels to which either this paragraph or the next following paragraph of this section applies) injured by that injury;

(c) the aggregate amount of the compensation awarded or payable in respect of coins, legal tender and other government notes, bank notes, and other currency of this or any other country (other than any such articles which were, when the injury occurred, expressly insured against loss by at least one of the following, viz:—fire, burglary, and theft, whether such insurance did or did not apply to the injury) shall not exceed five per cent. of the total amount of compensation under this Act awarded in respect of property (other than buildings and other than chattels to which either this paragraph or the next preceding paragraph of this section applies) injured by that injury or the sum of twenty-five pounds, whichever is the lesser;

(d) the amount of compensation in respect of any chattel which is excluded from either of the two next preceding paragraphs of this section by reason of its being insured in the manner mentioned in that paragraph shall not exceed the sum for which it is so insured;

(e) the amount of the compensation in respect of injury to the following documents shall be fixed in accordance with a scale to be prepared in that behalf by the Minister after consultation with the Attorney-General and the President of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, that is to say:—

(i) muniments of title to land or other property,

(ii) contracts and agreements in writing,

(iii) debentures,

(iv) stock and share certificates and other documents of title to any stock or share,

(v) policies of insurance,

(vi) wills, probates, and letters of administration and official copies thereof,

(vii) official copies of Court orders, affidavits, and other documents relating to legal proceedings;

(f) no compensation shall be awarded or payable in respect of an injury to a ship or other vessel or to the fittings, furniture, or tackle of a ship or other vessel, or to the personal effects of the master or any member of the crew of a ship or other vessel, unless such ship or other vessel is registered in the State under the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1939, or, being exempt from or incapable of registration under those Acts, is owned by an Irish citizen or a company registered in the State under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924.

9 Compensation for injury to a building.

9.—(1) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to compensation under this Act awarded by the Court in respect of an injury to which this Act applies to a building, that is to say:—