Statute of Limitations Act , 1957

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1. Short title and commencement.

1.—(1)This Act may be cited as the Statute of Limitations, 1957.

(2)This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1959.

2. General provisions as to interpretation.

2.—(1)In this Act—

“the Act of 1891” means the Registration of Title Act, 1891;

“action” includes any proceeding (other than a criminal proceeding) in a Court established by law;

“action to recover land” includes—

(a)an action claiming a declaration of title to land,

(b)proceedings by a mortgagee for the delivery of possession of land by a mortgagor,

(c)proceedings under section 13 of the Registration of Title Act, 1942 (No. 26 of 1942), by a person who is registered under the Act of 1891 as the owner of a charge on registered land for possession of the land;

“arbitration”, “arbitration agreement” and “award” have the same meanings as in the Arbitration Act, 1954 (No. 26 of 1954);

“conventional rent” means a rent payable under a lease or other contract of tenancy (whether in writing or not and whether express or implied) and includes the rent payable by a statutory tenant within the meaning of the Rent Restrictions Act, 1946 (No. 4 of 1946), but does not include a fee-farm rent payable under a grant which creates the relationship of landlord and tenant;

“foreshore” means the bed and shore, below the line of high water of ordinary or medium tides, of the sea and of every tidal river and tidal estuary and of every channel, creek, and bay of the sea or of any such river or estuary;

F1[‘judgment mortgage’means a mortgage registered by a judgment creditor under section 116 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009;]

“land” includes corporeal hereditaments and rentcharges, and an interest in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale, but save as aforesaid does not include any incorporeal hereditament;

“mortgage” includes an equitable mortgage and a judgment mortgage and “mortgagor”, “mortgagee” and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“the operative date” means the 1st day of January, 1959;

“other limitation enactment” means any enactment (other than this Act) relating to the limitation of actions;

“personal estate” does not include chattels real;

“personal injuries” includes any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition;

“personal property” does not include chattels real;

“personal representative” means the executor, original or by representation, or the administrator of a deceased person and includes, in relation to land to which the Land Purchase Acts apply, a person who, under those Acts, is, for the purposes of proceedings under those Acts, appointed to be the administrator of the personal estate of a deceased person or nominated to represent a person dead, absent or under a disability;

“registered land” means land the title to which is registered under the Act of 1891;

“rentcharge” means any annuity or periodic sum of money charged upon or payable out of land, and includes—

(a)any annual or periodic payment to the Irish Land Commission, including an annuity in repayment of an instalment mortgage payable into the Church Temporalities Fund, and

(b)any periodic payment which was immediately before the 6th day of December, 1922, collectable under the Crown Lands Acts, 1829 to 1913, being—

(i)a crown rent, or

(ii)a quit rent, or

(iii)a composition rent, or

(iv)any other rentcharge, and

(c)a fee-farm rent, whether the grant under which it arises does or does not create the relationship of landlord and tenant,

but does not include—

(d)a conventional rent, or

(e)interest on a mortgage or charge on land, or

(f)a terminable annuity payable in respect of a loan under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts, 1929 and 1934;

“ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation not propelled by oars;

“State authority” means any authority being—

(a)a Minister of State, or

(b)the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, or

(c)the Irish Land Commission, or

(d)the Revenue Commissioners, or

(e)the Attorney General.

“Trustee.”

(2)(a)In this Act, “trustee” does not include—

(i)a person whose fiduciary relationship arises merely by construction or implication of law and whose fiduciary relationship is not deemed by any rule of law to be that of an express trustee, or

(ii)a personal representative in the capacity of personal representative.

(b)Where—

(i)an interest (in this paragraph referred to as the new interest) in land, which is conveyed to or vested in a purchaser under the Land Purchase Acts, is, under any provision of those Acts or otherwise, a graft or deemed to be a graft on any previous interest in that land or any other land, and

(ii)the new interest is subject to any rights or equities arising from its being such a graft,

then, neither the purchaser nor any person claiming through him shall, by reason only of the matters mentioned in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, be, in respect of the new interest, a trustee for the purposes of this Act.

(c)F2[Where a person is registered as owner of land with a title which is or is deemed to be a possessory title, neither he nor any person claiming through him shall, by reason only of the registration, be, in respect of that land, a trustee for the purposes of theStatute of Limitations, 1957.]

(d)F3[A personal representative in the capacity of personal representative shall not, by reason only ofsection 10, be a trustee for the purposes of theStatute of Limitations, 1957.]

(3)F4[…]

Application of Act to charges for principal sums on registered land.

(4)In the application of this Act to registered land in respect of which a charge for the payment of a principal sum has been created under section 40 of the Act of 1891—

(a)references to a mortgagor shall be construed as references to the registered owner who charged the land,

(b)references to a mortgagee shall be construed as references to the registered owner of the charge,

(c)references to a mortgage shall be construed as references to the instrument of charge,

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

Claiming through a person.

(5)(a)For the purposes of this Act—

(i)a person shall be deemed to claim through another person, if he became entitled by, through, under or by the act of that other person to the right claimed;

(ii)a person whose estate or interest might have been barred by a person entitled to an entailed interest in possession shall be deemed to claim through the person so entitled.

(b)A person becoming entitled to any estate or interest by virtue of a special power of appointment shall not, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to claim through the appointor.

Right of action to recover land to include right to enter into possession, distrain, etc.

(6)In this Act—

(a)references to a right of action to recover land shall include references to a right to enter into possession of the land or, in the case of a rentcharge, to distrain for arrears of the rentcharge;

(b)references to the bringing of an action to recover land shall include references to the making of an entry into possession of the land or, in the case of a rentcharge, to making a distress for arrears of the rentcharge.

Possession and dispossession in the case of rentcharges.

(7)In this Act—

(a)references to the possession of land shall, in the case of a rentcharge, be construed as references to the receipt of the rentcharge, and

(b)references to the date of dispossession or discontinuance of possession of land shall, in the case of a rentcharge, be construed as references to the date of the last receipt of the rentcharge.

(8)In this Act, references to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment.

3. Application to the State.

3.—(1)Save as in this Act otherwise expressly provided and without prejudice to section 7 of this Act, this Act shall apply to proceedings by or against a State authority in like manner as if that State authority were a private individual.

(2)This Act shall not apply to—

(a)any proceedings for the recovery of any sum due in respect of a tax or duty which is for the time being under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners, or interest thereon, or

(b)any proceedings for the recovery of any fine, penalty or forfeiture incurred in connection with any such tax or duty, or

(c)any forfeiture proceedings under the Customs Acts or the Acts which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties.

(3)Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the State to any gold or silver mine.

4. Non-application to proceedings in respect of the forfeiture of a ship.

4.—This Act shall not apply to any proceedings in respect of the forfeiture of a ship or of an interest in a ship under the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 (No. 29 of 1955).

5. Saving for equitable jurisdiction to refuse relief for acquiescence or otherwise.

5.—Nothing in this Act shall affect any equitable jurisdiction to refuse relief on the ground of acquiescence or otherwise.

6. Provisions as to set-off and counterclaim.

6.—For the purposes of this Act, any claim by way of set-off or counterclaim shall be deemed to be a separate action and to have been commenced on the same date as the action in which the set-off or counterclaim is pleaded.

7. Saving for other limitation enactments in respect of actions.

7.—This Act shall not apply to—

(a)any action for which a period of limitation is fixed by any other limitation enactment, or

(b)any action to which a State authority is a party and for which, if that State authority were a private individual, a period of limitation would be fixed by any other limitation enactment.

8. Provisions as to actions barred and pending on the operative date.

8.—Nothing in this Act shall—

(a)enable any action to be brought which was barred before the operative date by any enactment repealed by this Act, except so far as the cause of action or right of action may be revived by an acknowledgment or part payment made in accordance with Part III of this Act, or

(b)affect any action commenced before the operative date or the title to any property which is the subject of any such action.

9. Repeals.

9.—The enactments mentioned in column (2) of the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in column (3) of that Schedule.

PART II. Periods of Limitation for Different Classes of Action.

10. Part II to be subject to provisions of Part III relating to disability, acknowledgment, part payment, fraud and mistake.

10.—The subsequent provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect subject to the provisions of Part III of this Act which provide for the extension of the periods of limitation in the case of disability, acknowledgment, part payment, fraud and mistake.

11. Limitation of actions of contract and tort and certain other actions.

11.—(1)The following actions shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued—

(a)actions founded on simple contract;

(b)actions founded on quasi-contract;

(c)actions to enforce a recognizance;

(d)actions to enforce an award, where the arbitration agreement is not under seal or where the arbitration is under any Act other than the Arbitration Act, 1954 (No. 26 of 1954);

(e)actions to recover any sum recoverable by virtue of any enactment, other than—

(i)a penalty or forfeiture or sum by way of penalty or forfeiture, or

(ii)a debt created by subsection (2) of section 14 or section 125 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, or

(iii)F5[…]

F6[(f) actions under the European Union (Protection of Trade Secrets) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 188 of 2018), other than Regulation 18 of those Regulations.]

(2)(a)F7[Subject to paragraph (c) of this subsection and tosection 3(1) of the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act, 1991, an action founded on tort shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.]

(b)F8[…]

F9[(c) A defamation action within the meaning of the Defamation Act 2009 shall not be brought after the expiration of—

(i) one year, or

(ii) such longer period as the court may direct not exceeding 2 years,

from the date on which the cause of action accrued.]

F10[(d)An action for damages under section 13 (7) of the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980, shall not be brought after the expiration of two years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.]

(3)F11[…]

F12[(3A) The court shall not give a direction under subsection (2)(c)(ii) (inserted bysection 38(1) (a) of the Defamation Act 2009) unless it is satisfied that—

(a) the interests of justice require the giving of the direction,

(b) the prejudice that the plaintiff would suffer if the direction were not given would significantly outweigh the prejudice that the defendant would suffer if the direction were given,

and the court shall, in deciding whether to give such a direction, have regard to the reason for the failure to bring the action within the period specified in subparagraph (i) of the said subsection (2)(c) and the extent to which any evidence relevant to the matter is by virtue of the delay no longer capable of being adduced.

(3B) For the purposes of bringing a defamation action within the meaning of the Defamation Act 2009, the date of accrual of the cause of action shall be the date upon which the defamatory statement is first published and, where the statement is published through the medium of the internet, the date on which it is first capable of being viewed or listened to through that medium.]

(4)An action for an account shall not be brought in respect of any matter which arose more than six years before the commencement of the action.

(5)The following actions shall not be brought after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the cause of action accrued:—

(a)an action upon an instrument under seal, other than an action upon an instrument under seal to recover—

(i)arrears of a rentcharge or of a conventional rent, or

(ii)any principal sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge, or

(iii)arrears of interest in respect of any sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge, or

(iv)arrears of an annuity charged on personal property;

(b)an action to enforce an award, where the arbitration agreement is under seal;

(c)an action to recover a debt created by subsection (2) of section 14 or section 125 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908.

(6)(a)An action shall not be brought upon a judgment after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable.

(b)No arrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of six years from the date on which the interest became due.

(7)(a)In this subsection “penalty” does not include a fine to which any person is liable on conviction of a criminal offence.

(b)An action to recover any penalty or forfeiture, or sum by way of penalty or forfeiture, recoverable by virtue of any enactment shall not be brought after the expiration of two years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

(8)(a)Subsection (1) of this section shall apply to an action to recover seamen’s wages.

(b)Save as provided by paragraph (a) of this subsection, this section shall not apply to any cause of action within the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court which is enforceable in rem.

(9)(a)This section shall not apply to any claim for specific performance of a contract or for an injunction or for other equitable relief.

(b)Paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not be construed as preventing a Court from applying by analogy any provision of this section in like manner as the corresponding enactment repealed by this Act has heretofore been applied.

11A. F13[Limitation of actions for damages for infringements of competition law

11A.(1) An action for damages under subsection (1) of section 14 of the Act of 2002 shall not be brought after the expiration of 6 years from the latest occurring of the following dates:

(a) the date on which the infringement of competition law to which the cause of action relates ceased;

(b) the date on which the person in whom the cause of action vests came to know or could reasonably be expected to have come to know of the acts or omissions that constituted such infringement;

(c) the date on which that person came to know or could reasonably be expected to have come to know that those acts or omissions constituted such an infringement;

(d) the date on which that person came to know or could reasonably be expected to have come to know that the infringement caused harm (within the meaning of the Directive) to that person;

(e) the date on which that person came to know or could reasonably be expected to have come to know the identity of the infringer concerned.

(2) Any period during which—

(a) an investigation under—

(i) Part 4A (inserted bysection 31of theCommunications Regulation (Amendment) Act 2007) of the Act of 2002, or

(ii) paragraph (c) of subsection (1) ofsection 10of theCompetition and Consumer Protection Act 2014,

in relation to an infringement of competition law, or

(b) an investigation by the Commission of the European Union or a foreign competition authority in relation to an infringement of competition law,

is being conducted, shall not, as respects a cause of action relating to that infringement, be reckonable for the purpose of determining the period of 6 years referred to insubsection (1).

(3) Any period during which—

(a) proceedings for an offence consisting of an infringement of competition law,

(b) an action under section 14A (inserted bysection 4of theCompetition (Amendment) Act 2012) of the Act of 2002 in relation to an infringement of competition law, or

(c) any other proceedings in relation to an infringement of competition law to which the competent authority (within the meaning of the Act of 2002) is a party,

is or are pending, shall not, as respects a cause of action relating to that infringement, be reckonable for the purpose of determining the period of 6 years referred to insubsection (1).

(4) Any period during which—

(a) proceedings before the General Court or the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to an infringement of competition law,

(b) proceedings for an offence under the law of a Member State (other than the State) in relation to an infringement of competition law, or