TRANSPORT ACT, 1955

AN ACT TO AMEND THE TRANSPORT ACT, 1950, AND TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISION IN RELATION TO RAILWAYS. [6th December, 1955.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

“the Act of 1950” means the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950),

“the Board” means Córas Iompair Éireann;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

2 Borrowing powers of the Board.

2.—(1) Section 28 of the Act of 1950 is hereby amended as follows:

• (a) by the substitution, in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) (which imposes a limit on temporary borrowing) of one million, five hundred thousand pounds for one million pounds;

• (b) by the substitution, in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) (which imposes a limit on borrowing for capital purposes) of twelve million pounds for seven million pounds.

• (2) There may be attached to the consent of the Minister to the borrowing of money under subsection (2) of section 28 of the Act of 1950 the condition that the money shall be utilised only for the purpose of a programme of capital works approved by the Minister.

3 State guarantee of temporary borrowing.

3.—Subsection (1) of section 30 of the Act of 1950 is hereby amended by the substitution, in paragraph (b) (which imposes a limit on the guarantee by the Minister for Finance of temporary borrowing) of one million pounds for five hundred thousand pounds.

4 Compensation for redundancy owing to substitution of diesel for steam traction.

4.—(1) In this section—

“person to whom this section applies” means an officer or servant of the Board who, at the date of the passing of this Act, was employed by the Board in a permanent capacity or who was, except for casual interruptions of employment, employed by the Board during the whole of the three years ending immediately before that date;

“redundancy” means redundancy arising as a consequence of the substitution of diesel for steam traction.

• (2) Where the Board is unable to offer alternative employment in its service to a person to whom this section applies and whose retention in its service is unnecessary on the ground of redundancy and his services are dispensed with, he shall be paid by the Board compensation calculated in the manner set out in the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1950.

• (3) Where a person to whom this section applies is transferred by the Board on the ground of redundancy from one position in its service to another and he thereby suffers a worsening of his conditions of service as an officer or servant of the Board within the meaning of section 37 of the Act of 1950, which shall apply for the purposes of this section, he shall be paid by the Board compensation consisting of a lump sum of such amount as is reasonable.

• (4) Sections 41, 42 and 43 of the Act of 1950 (which relate to the determination of compensation under that Act) shall apply to compensation under this section.

5 Repayable advance of £2,462,369 to be treated as non-repayable grant.

5.—The sum of two million, four hundred and sixty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty-nine pounds, being the total of repayable advances to the Board for capital expenditure which, having been included in a Supplementary Estimate approved by Dáil Éireann on the 30th day of November, 1949, were granted by the Central Fund Act, 1950 (No. 8 of 1950), and appropriated for that purpose by the Appropriation Act, 1950 (No. 20 of 1950), shall be treated as a non-repayable grant.

6 Abandonment of certain railway lines.

6.—Section 110 of the Transport Act, 1944 (No. 21 of 1944), section 21 of the Act of 1950 and section 26 of the Great Northern Railway Act, 1953 (No. 17 of 1953), (which provide for the abandonment of certain railway lines) shall extend to the following railway lines:

• (a) a railway line all the services on which were permanently discontinued before the passing of the Railways Act, 1933 (No. 9 of 1933), and

• (b) a light railway or tramway constructed under the Tramways (Ireland) Acts, 1860 to 1900.

7 Cesser of liability to maintain accommodation works other than bridges, etc.

7.—(1) An order for the abandonment of a railway line shall not affect the liability of the railway company to maintain any works (other than bridges, arches or culverts over or under the railway line) of the kind mentioned in section 68 of the Railways' Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845.

• (2) The railway company may by notice in writing given to the owner and (if a different person) the occupier of land for the accommodation of whom any such works were made terminate its liability as from the date (not being less than one month after the date of the notice nor earlier than the date upon which the abandonment order comes into force) specified in the notice, and the company shall pay to any such owner or occupier compensation for all such injury or damage (if any) as he may sustain by reason of the cesser of such liability.

• (3) Subsections (4) and (5) of section 21 of the Act of 1950 shall apply in relation to compensation payable by any railway company under this section and references therein to “the Board” shall accordingly be read as including references to that company.

• (4) A notice under this section may be given to a person in any of the following ways:

• (a) by delivering it to him,

• (b) by leaving it at the address where he ordinarily resides,

• (c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to him at the address where he ordinarily resides, or

• (d) by posting it at or near the land concerned.

• (5) Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 110 of the Transport Act, 1944, and paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 21 of the Act of 1950 are hereby repealed.

8 Powers of railway company over abandoned railway line.

8.—Where a railway company is authorised to abandon any railway line the power given by any enactment to sell land under and adjoining the line by private treaty to the owner of the land on both sides of the line may be exercised in favour of any owner of land on either side of the line; and to remove doubts it is hereby declared that such land or any part thereof may, in lieu of being sold, be retained and that any land so retained may be leased, let or utilised for any of the purposes of the company.

9 Short title.

9.—This Act may be cited as the Transport Act, 1955.