PETROLEUM AND OTHER MINERALS DEVELOPMENT ACT, 1960

58 Disposal of moneys received as consideration.

58.—All moneys received by the Minister (whether in the nature of a fine or lump sum, or in the nature of rent or other periodical payment) as consideration for any sale, lease, licence or permit made or granted by him under this Part or as compensation under section 28 of this Act, shall, as and when received, be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

59 Collection and disposal of fees.

59.—(1) All fees payable under this Part, whether to the Minister or the Board, shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall from time to time direct and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

• (2) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees payable under this Part.

60 Regulations in relation to applications for licences under Part II, fees thereon, and size and shape of areas for which those licences may be granted.

60.—Regulations may provide for all or any of the following matters—

• (a) the manner in which and the persons by whom application for licences under this Part may be made,

• (b) the fees to be paid on any of those applications,

• (c) the conditions to be complied with by applicants for those licences,

• (d) the furnishing by every applicant for any of those licences of evidence as to his character, financial standing and technical qualifications and the giving by him of security for the fulfilment of his obligations under the licence,

• (e) the size and shape of areas for which those licences may be granted.

61 General provisions as to regulations.

61.—(1) The Minister may make regulations—

• (a) for any purpose for which regulations are provided for by any of the provisions of this Part, and

• (b) for prescribing any matter or thing referred to in this Part as prescribed.

• (2) Where the Minister proposes to make any regulation under this Part, he shall before doing so—

• (a) cause a draft of the proposed regulation to be made,

• (b) publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the State, a notice which shall state—

• (i) that a draft of the proposed regulation has been prepared and may be inspected at the office of the Minister in Dublin at specified times,

• (ii) the provision of this Act under which it is proposed to make the proposed regulation,

• (iii) that the Minister will consider any representations in relation to the proposed regulation which are made to him not later than such date as the Minister thinks proper and specifies in the notice.

• (3) Every regulation made under this Part shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution annulling such regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which such House has sat after such regulation is laid before it, such regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such regulation.

62 Prosecution of offences.

62.—Any offence under any section contained in this Part may be prosecuted by the Minister.

63 Expenses.

63.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Part shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

64 Repeal of Petroleum (Production) Act, 1918.

64.—The Petroleum (Production) Act, 1918, is hereby repealed.

65 Saving for powers and duties of the Revenue Commissioners under the enactments relating to customs and excise.

65.—The provisions of this Part of this Act shall be without prejudice to the powers and duties of the Revenue Commissioners under any enactment in force, whether passed before or after this Act, for the management, collection or protection of the revenue of customs and excise.

66 Deductions from compensation of debts due to the State.

66.—Where the amount of any compensation which is payable under this Act by the Minister to any person is determined by an award, and a debt is due and owing by that person to any Minister of State or to the Central Fund, the Minister may deduct the amount of the debt from such compensation, and may direct that the amount so deducted be (as the case may require) either paid to the appropriate Minister of State or paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

PART III. Amendment of the Minerals Development Act, 1940.

67 Interpretation (Part III).

67.—(1) In this Part—

“mining facilities permit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 75 of this Act;

“mining facilities (State land) permit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 76 of this Act;

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

“petroleum” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of this Act;

“the Principal Act” means the Minerals Development Act, 1940.

• (2) This Part shall be construed as one with the Principal Act.

68 Collective citation of the Principal Act and Part III.

68.—The Principal Act and this Part may be cited together as the Minerals Development Acts, 1940 and 1960.

69 Cesser of application of provisions of the Principal Act, with certain exceptions, to petroleum.

69.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the provisions of the Principal Act shall cease to apply in respect of petroleum.

• (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, section 42 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 81 of this Act, and the other provisions (including provisions as to compensation) of the Principal Act, which relate to the imposition of restrictions on the working of minerals under land on which a building is erected or intended to be erected shall continue to apply in relation to the working of petroleum under any such land.

70 Provisions in relation to prospecting licences and State mining leases granted under the Principal Act and leases granted under section 11 of the Mines and Minerals Act, 1931, as respects petroleum.

70.—(1) Any prospecting licence granted under section 7 of the Principal Act and any State mining lease made under section 26 of the Principal Act shall be deemed not to have conferred any rights in relation to petroleum unless the licence was issued or the lease was made on or after the 1st day of January, 1959, and expressly related to petroleum.

• (2) Any lease granted under section 11 of the Mines and Minerals Act, 1931, shall be deemed not to have conferred any rights in relation to petroleum.

71 Power of Minister to sell State minerals.

71.—The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance sell State minerals.

72 Amendment of section 6 of the Principal Act.

72.—There shall be inserted in section 6 of the Principal Act the following new paragraph—

• “(aa) a right to remove temporarily or permanently superincumbent or adjacent strata and surface for the purposes of open-cast mining;”.

73 Amendment of section 7 of the Principal Act.

73.—(1) Section 7 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

• (a) in subsection (1), “subject to subsection (2) of this section” shall be substituted for “subject to giving the notice required by this section”,

• (b) there shall be substituted for subsections (2) and (3), the following new subsection—

• “(2) The Minister shall not exercise, in respect of any land, either the right conferred on him by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section or the power conferred on him by paragraph (b) of the said subsection unless, at least twenty-one days before exercising that right or that power, as the case may be,—

  • (a) he has published, in one or more newspapers circulating in the locality, notice of his intention to do so, and

  • (b) he has deposited in the office of the Geological Survey, Dublin and in one or more places in the locality, a map showing the boundaries of such land.”.

• (2) A prospecting licence granted under section 7 of the Principal Act may be granted in relation to either all minerals or specified minerals.

74 Amendment of section 10 (1) of the Principal Act.

74.—Subsection (1) of section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

• (a) “or to mineral deposits or to water supplies or a nuisance” shall be inserted after “land”,

• (b) “or nuisance” shall be inserted after “damage” where the latter word thirdly occurs.

75 Mining facilities permits.

75.—(1) The Minister may upon the grant of a State mining lease or at any time during the term granted by the lease, grant to the lessee a permit (in this Part referred to as a mining facilities permit) to use any land or ancillary right which has been acquired by the Minister under a mining facilities acquisition order made under section 19 of the Principal Act.

• (2) Every mining facilities permit shall be granted on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, shall determine.

• (3) It shall be a condition of the grant of a mining facilities permit that the person to whom it is granted repays to the Minister the cost incurred by the Minister in acquiring the land or ancillary right to which the permit relates and the compensation payable by the Minister for such acquisition.

76 Mining facilities permit in respect of State land.

76.—(1) In this section “State land” has the same meaning as in the State Property Act, 1954 (No. 25 of 1954).

• (2) Whenever the Minister is of opinion that it is necessary, for the efficient or convenient exploitation of minerals to which a State mining lease applies, that the lessee should be granted the right to use any State land, the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance may grant to the lessee a permit (in this Act referred to as a mining facilities (State land) permit) to use such land.

• (3) Whenever the Minister is of opinion that it is necessary, for the efficient or convenient working of minerals to which a State mining lease applies, that the lessee should be granted any ancillary right in relation to State land, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, grant to the lessee a permit (in this Act also referred to as a mining facilities (State land) permit) to exercise that ancillary right.

• (4) Every mining facilities (State land) permit shall be granted on such terms and conditions as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

• (5) A person to whom a mining facilities (State land) permit is granted shall as consideration therefor pay to the Minister such sum as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

77 Compensation for damage or nuisance caused by exercise of rights under a mining facilities permit or a mining facilities (State land) permit.

77.—(1) Whenever damage to the surface of any land or to mineral deposits or to water supplies or a nuisance is caused either directly or indirectly by the exercise by the holder of a mining facilities permit or a mining facilities (State land) permit of the rights conferred by the permit, such holder shall be liable to pay compensation for such damage or nuisance, and the provisions of Part VII of the Principal Act shall apply in respect of such compensation.

• (2) Compensation payable under subsection (1) of this section by the holder of a mining facilities (State land) permit shall be paid to the Minister.

78 Disposal of moneys received by the Minister under section 75, 76 or 77.

78.—All moneys received by the Minister under section 75, 76 or 77 of this Act shall, as and when received, be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

79 Amendment of section 25 (1) of the Principal Act.

79.—Subsection (1) of section 25 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

• (a) “or to mineral deposits or to water supplies or a nuisance” shall be inserted after “land”,

• (b) “or nuisance” shall be inserted after “damage” where the latter word thirdly occurs.

80 Amendment of section 31 (3) of the Principal Act.

80.—Subsection (3) of section 31 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

• (a) “or to mineral deposits or to water supplies or a nuisance” shall be inserted after “land” where the latter word firstly occurs,

• (b) “or nuisance” shall be inserted after “damage” where the latter word secondly and fourthly occurs.

81 Amendment of section 42 of the Principal Act.

81.—(1) For the purposes of subsection (1) of section 42 of the Principal Act a person having a right to lay pipelines for the transport of petroleum over or under any land shall be deemed to be a person having an interest in that land.

• (2) In subsection (5) of section 42 of the Principal Act, the word “work” shall be construed as including a pipeline for the transport of petroleum.

82 Amendment of section 47 (3) of the Principal Act.

82.—In subsection (3) of section 47 of the Principal Act, the words “or a right to remove temporarily or permanently superincumbent or adjacent strata and surface for the purposes of open-cast mining” shall be inserted after the words “adjacent strata up to such surface”.

83 Amendment of section 64 of the Principal Act.

83.—In section 64 of the Principal Act, “shall be entitled, by counsel or solicitor or in person,” shall be substituted for “and no others shall be entitled.”

84 Amendment of section 66 of the Principal Act.

84.—The following section shall be inserted in the Principal Act in lieu of section 66—

“66.—(1) (a) Where compensation is assessed by the Board in respect of land which is subject, but not in conjunction with other land, to a land purchase annuity, the Land Commission may, if they so think fit, request the Board—

• (i) if the amount of such compensation is equal to or less than the redemption price of such annuity and the arrears (if any) of such annuity—to order by its award payment to the Land Commission of the whole or such part of the compensation as the Land Commission request, or

• (ii) if the amount of such compensation exceeds the redemption price of such annuity and the arrears (if any) of such annuity—to order by its award payment to the Land Commission of so much of the compensation, not exceeding the amount of the said redemption price and arrears (if any) as the Land Commission request,

and the Board shall comply with such request.

• (b) Where any award in relation to land which is subject, but not in conjunction with other land, to a land purchase annuity provides under paragraph (a) of this subsection for the payment of any moneys to the Land Commission, such moneys shall upon receipt thereof be applied by the Land Commission in accordance with the following provisions, that is to say—

  • (i) in case there are any arrears of such annuity and the amount of such moneys does not exceed such arrears—in or towards discharge of such arrears,

  • (ii) in case there are any arrears of such annuity and the amount of such moneys exceeds such arrears—

    • (I) so much of such moneys as is equal to such arrears shall be applied in discharge of such arrears, and

    • (II) the balance of such moneys shall be applied in or towards redemption of such annuity,

  • (iii) in case there are no arrears of such annuity—in or towards redemption of such annuity.

• (2)

  • (a) Where compensation is assessed by the Board in respect of land (in this paragraph referred to as the affected land) which is subject, in conjunction with other land, to a land purchase annuity and the Land Commission apportion the annuity between the affected land and the other land, the Land Commission, may, if they so think fit, request the Board—

    • (i) if the amount of such compensation is equal to or less than the redemption price of such annuity as is apportioned to the affected land and the arrears (if any) of such annuity—to order by its award payment to the Land Commission of the whole or such part of the compensation as the Land Commission request, or

    • (ii) if the amount of such compensation exceeds the said redemption price and the arrears (if any) of such annuity—to order by its award payment to the Land Commission of so much of the compensation, not exceeding the amount of the said redemption price and the arrears (if any) of the annuity, as the Land Commission request,

    and the Board shall comply with such request.

  • (b) Where an award in relation to land (in this paragraph referred to as the affected land) which is subject, in conjunction with other land, to a land purchase annuity provides for the payment under paragraph (a) of this subsection of any moneys to the Land Commission, such moneys shall upon receipt thereof be applied by the Land Commission as follows—

    • (i) in case there are any arrears of such annuity and the amount of such moneys does not exceed such arrears—in or towards discharge of such arrears,

    • (ii) in case there are any arrears of such annuity and the amount of such moneys exceeds such arrears—

      • (I) so much of such moneys as is equal to such arrears shall be applied in discharge of such arrears, and

      • (II) the balance of such moneys shall be applied in or towards redemption of so much of the annuity as is apportioned to the affected land,

    • (iii) in case there are no arrears of the annuity—in or towards redemption of so much of such annuity as is apportioned to the affected land.”

85 Repeal of section 71 (4) of the Principal Act.

85.—Subsection (4) of section 71 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.

86 Amendment of section 72 of the Principal Act.

86.—In section 72 of the Principal Act, the words “the Minister is notified before payment of such compensation that” shall be deleted.

87 Amendment of section 73 of the Principal Act.

87.—Section 73 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

• (a) by the deletion in subsection (1) of “and the Board may in any case disallow the costs of counsel”,

• (b) by the substitution for subsection (2) of the following new subsection—

• “(2) The Board may, with the consent of the parties concerned, fix the amount of costs ordered to be paid or, in default of such consent, may refer the costs to a Taxing-Master for taxation.”

88 Amendment of section 75 of the Principal Act.

88.—There shall be inserted in section 75 of the Principal Act the following new subsection—

• “(2A) Every person who keeps in pursuance of sub-section (2) of this section a journal of a shaft or borehole shall, if so requested by the Minister, furnish to him a copy of the journal and a site map, which site map shall be returned by the Minister.”