Dairy Produce Marketing Act , 1961

1 Commencement.

1.—This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Board” means An Bord Bainne established by this Act;

“butter”, “creamery”, “creamery business”, “creamery butter” and “cream-separating business” have, respectively, the meanings they have in the Dairy Produce Act, 1924;

“butter levy” means the levy on creamery butter provided for under section 37 of this Act;

“butter stocks levy” means the levy on stocks of butter provided for under section 38 of this Act; “the Committee” has the meaning assigned to it by section 50 of this Act;

“the Company” means the Dairy Disposal Company, Limited;

“cream-separating station” means a premises registered under the Dairy Produce Act, 1924, in the register of cream-separating stations;

“establishment day” means the day appointed to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act by order of the Minister made under section 3 of this Act;

“functions”, in relation to the Board, includes powers and duties, and references to the performance of functions include references to the exercise of powers and the performance of duties;

“the Fund” means the Dairy Produce Fund established by section 29 of this Act;

“milk” means milk in liquid form and includes whole milk, skimmed or separated milk, buttermilk, or whey, in liquid form;

“milk levy” means the levy on milk provided for under section 36 of this Act;

“milk product” includes any substance which is made wholly or partly from milk or a product or by-product of milk and which is—

(a) butter, cream, raw cheese, processed cheese, condensed milk, dried or powdered milk, chocolate crumb or casein, or

(b) a substance which is for the time being declared by regulations made by the Minister under subsection (2) of this section to be a milk product;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture;

“nomination day” means a day appointed to be a nomination day for the purposes of this Act under section 7 of this Act;

“registered proprietor” means, when used in relation to a creamery, the person carrying on the creamery business in that creamery, and when used in relation to a cream-separating station, means the person carrying on the cream-separating business in that station;

“registered proprietor of premises” means the person carrying on in premises registered under Part III of the Dairy Produce Act, 1924, the business in respect of which they are registered;

“returning officer” means in relation to a ballot under this Act, the person who, by virtue of section 12 of this Act, is the returning officer for that ballot;

“society” means a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1936;

“the transfer day” means the day appointed to be the transfer day for the purposes of this Act by order of the Minister made under section 50 of this Act.

(2) (a) The Minister may by regulations declare that any substance (other than a substance specifically mentioned in paragraph (a) in the definition of “milk product” in subsection (1) of this section) made wholly or partly from milk or from a product or by-product of milk shall be a milk product for the purposes of this Act.

(b) Whenever and so long as regulations under this subsection declaring a substance to be a milk product for the purposes of this Act are in force, that product shall be a milk product for those purposes.

3 Establishment day.

3.—The Minister may by order made under this section appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

4 Establishment and general duty of the Board.

4.—(1) There shall, by virtue of this section, be established on the establishment day a board to be styled and known as An Bord Bainne to perform the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal (which shall be judicially noticed) and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of land.

(3) It shall be the general duty of the Board to endeavour to improve and develop the marketing of milk products outside the State and achieve such flexibility in the marketing aforesaid and in its development as will ensure that, in so far as is possible, milk is put to the most profitable uses and the producers of milk obtain reasonable returns thereon.

5 Functions of Board.

5.—(1) The Board shall, in addition to the functions assigned to it by any other provision of this Act, have the following general functions, namely:

(a) to export, or provide for the exportation of, milk and milk products of such class or kind as the Minister may from time to time specify in writing to the Board either, as the Minister may specify from time to time in writing to the Board, generally or to such country or countries as may be so specified by the Minister, and

(b) to promote, facilitate, encourage, assist (financially or otherwise), co-ordinate and develop the exportation of milk and milk products by such means as the Board considers necessary or desirable.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Board may do all or any of the following:

(a) acquire, by purchase or otherwise, store, dispose of, by sale or otherwise, import and export milk and milk products,

(b) engage in the business of wholesale and retail dealing in milk and milk products—

(i) outside the State, and

(ii) with the consent in writing of the Minister and until such time (if any) as the consent is withdrawn in writing by the Minister, in the State,

(c) conduct, or provide for the conducting of, investigations, surveys, analyses, studies and reports in relation to markets, potential markets and market conditions for milk and milk products in the State and outside the State,

(d) conduct, or provide for the conducting of, periodic comprehensive reviews, surveys and studies of trade in milk and milk products in the State and outside the State,

(e) carry out, or provide for the carrying out of, and assist, financially or otherwise, experimental and development work and investigations in relation to the provision of new and improved types of milk products, packing for milk and milk products and methods of presentation for marketing of milk and milk products,

(f) provide, or arrange for the provision of, publicity in any form or medium in the State and outside the State for the purpose of encouraging the increased consumption and use of milk and milk products and promoting increases in the quantities of milk and milk products exported from the State,

(g) establish, equip and operate, and provide for the establishment, equipment and operation of, and assist, financially or otherwise, in the operation of, showrooms, information bureaux, and similar establishments, in the State and outside the State, designed to promote the increased consumption and use of milk and milk products and to promote increases in the quantities of milk and milk products exported from the State,

(h) publish and distribute, or provide for the publication and distribution of, pamphlets, notices, bulletins, journals, magazines and such other similar matter as it thinks fit, in the State and outside the State, for the purpose of encouraging the increased consumption and use of milk and milk products and promoting increases in the quantities of milk and milk products exported from the State,

(i) undertake, promote, or provide for the undertaking and promotion of, and assist in, financially or otherwise, any activity which, in the opinion of the Board, is or is likely to result in, directly or indirectly, increases in the quantities of milk and milk products exported from the State.

6 Assignment of additional functions to the Board.

6.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time by order—

(a) assign to the Board such additional functions as he thinks fit in relation to milk or to milk products,

(b) make such provision as he considers desirable or necessary in relation to matters ancillary to or arising out of the assignment of functions to the Board under this Act or the performance by the Board of those functions.

(2) The Minister may by order revoke or amend an order under this section (including an order under this subsection).

7 Nomination year and nomination day.

7.—(1) The nomination years for the purposes of this Act shall be—

(a) the year in which the establishment day falls, and

(b) each fourth successive year thereafter.

(2) The Minister may by regulations made under this section prescribe a day in each nomination year to be, for the purposes of this Act, the nomination day in that nomination year.

8 Constitution of the Board.

8.—(1) The Board shall consist of nine members of whom one shall be the chairman and the others shall be ordinary members.

(2) The members of the Board shall comprise—

(a) three persons nominated under section 9 of this Act to be members of the Board,

(b) one person nominated under section 10 of this Act to be a member of the Board,

(c) one person being—

(i) a person who is nominated to be a member of the Board by the licensed manufacturers of cheese and as respects whose nomination notification in writing is delivered to the Minister (together with a statement in writing signed by the person signifying his consent to the nomination) before the nomination day in the nomination year in which the nomination is made, or

(ii) if in any nomination year the licensed manufacturers of cheese do not, before the nomination day in that year, nominate a person and deliver to the Minister the notification and statement in relation to the person referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, a person nominated by the Minister whom the Minister considers to be representative of those manufacturers,

(d) one person being—

(i) a person who is nominated to be a member of the Board by the licensed manufacturers of milk powder and as respects whose nomination notification in writing is delivered to the Minister (together with a statement in writing signed by the person signifying his consent to the nomination) before the nomination day in the nomination year in which the nomination is made, or

(ii) if in any nomination year the licensed manufacturers of milk powder do not, before the nomination day in that year, nominate a person and deliver to the Minister the notification and statement in relation to the person referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, a person nominated by the Minister whom the Minister considers to be representative of those manufacturers,

(e) one person being—

(i) a person who is nominated to be a member of the Board by the licensed manufacturers of chocolate crumb and as respects whose nomination notification in writing is delivered to the Minister (together with a statement in writing signed by the person signifying his consent to the nomination) before the nomination day in the nomination year in which the nomination is made, or

(ii) if in any nomination year the licensed manufacturers of chocolate crumb do not, before the nomination day in that year, nominate a person and deliver to the Minister the notification and statement in relation to the person referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, a person nominated by the Minister whom the Minister considers to be representative of those manufacturers,

(f) one person nominated by the Minister whom the Minister considers to be representative of the Company, and

(g) one officer of the Minister nominated by the Minister.

(3) The first members of the Board shall be nominated before the establishment day.

(4) In each nomination year after the nomination year in which the establishment day falls the members of the Board shall be nominated before the 1st day of October in that year.

(5) In this section “the licensed manufacturers” means, when used in relation to cheese, milk powder or chocolate crumb, all persons carrying on the manufacture of cheese, milk powder or chocolate crumb, as the case may be, in premises acquired, established or maintained under and in accordance with licences granted under the Creamery Act, 1928, to those persons or their predecessors in title.

9 Nomination of three persons as members of the Board by certain co-operative societies.

9.—(1) During the period of one month ending immediately before the nomination day in any nomination year societies that are the registered proprietors of creameries or cream-separating stations situate in the county of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laoighis, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford or Wexford may, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, propose persons for nomination as members of the Board, but a society shall not propose more than one person under this subsection in any nomination year.

(2) During the period of one month ending immediately before the nomination day in any nomination year, societies that are the registered proprietors of creameries or cream-separating stations situate elsewhere in the State than in the counties specified in subsection (1) of this section may, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, propose persons for nomination as members of the Board, but a society shall not propose more than one person under this subsection in any nomination year.

(3) During the period of one month ending immediately before the nomination day in any nomination year, societies that are the registered proprietors of creameries or cream-separating stations situate anywhere in the State may, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, propose persons for nomination as members of the Board, but a society shall not propose more than one person under this subsection in any nomination year.

(4) A proposal in any nomination year under any of the foregoing subsections shall be made in writing by any six societies specified in the subsection under which the proposal is made (and, in the case of a proposal under subsection (3) of this section, shall contain an indication that it is made under that subsection) and shall be delivered to the returning officer (together with a statement in writing signed by the person proposed signifying his consent to the proposal) during the period of one month ending immediately before the nomination day in that year.

(5) If one person only stands proposed under subsection (1) of this section on the nomination day in any nomination year, that person shall be deemed to be nominated as a member of the Board under this section by the societies specified in that subsection.

(6) If more persons than one stand proposed under subsection (1) of this section on the nomination day in any nomination year, a ballot shall be held in which each society specified in that subsection shall be entitled to vote for one of the persons standing proposed as aforesaid, and—

(a) in case one person secures more votes than any other person in the ballot, that person shall be deemed to be nominated as a member of the Board under this section by the societies specified in that subsection, and

(b) in case two or more persons secure the same number of votes in the ballot, the returning officer shall determine by lot which of those persons shall be nominated as a member of the Board, and the person so determined shall be deemed to be nominated a member of the Board under this section by the societies specified in that subsection.

(7) (a) The provisions of subsections (5) and (6) of this section shall apply in relation to the nomination of persons proposed under subsection (2) of this section in like manner as they apply in relation to the nomination of persons proposed under subsection (1) of this section.

(b) The provisions of subsections (5) and (6) of this section shall apply in relation to the nomination of persons proposed under subsection (3) of this section in like manner as they apply in relation to persons proposed under subsection (1) of this section.

(8) A person deemed to be nominated as a member of the Board under this section by the societies specified in subsection (3) of this section shall endeavour to acquaint himself with, and keep the Board informed of, the special interests of the societies aforesaid in relation to the production of fresh cream.

10 Nomination of person as member of the Board by suppliers of milk to creameries owned by University College, Cork, the Dairy Disposal Company, Limited, or its associated companies.

10.—(1) During the period of one month ending immediately before the nomination day in any nomination year suppliers of milk to creameries or cream-separating stations of which the registered proprietors are University College, Cork, the Company, the Condensed Milk Company of Ireland (1928), Limited, or the Newmarket Dairy Company (1932), Limited, may, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, propose persons for nomination as members of the Board, but a person shall not propose more than one person under this subsection in any nomination year.

(2) A proposal in any nomination year under subsection (1) of this section shall be made in writing by any twenty persons each of whom supplied milk during the month ending immediately before the commencement of the period of one month referred to in the said subsection (1) to any such creamery or cream-separating station and shall be delivered to the returning officer (together with a statement in writing signed by the person proposed signifying his consent to the proposal) during the period of one month ending immediately before the nomination day in that year.

(3) If on the nomination day in any nomination year one person only stands proposed under this section, that person shall be deemed to be nominated as a member of the Board under this section.

(4) If on the nomination day in any nomination year more persons than one stand proposed under this section, a ballot shall be held in which each person entitled under this section to nominate a person in that nomination year for membership of the Board shall be entitled to vote for one of the persons standing proposed as aforesaid, and

(a) in case one person secures more votes than any other person in the ballot, that person shall be deemed to be nominated as a member of the Board under this section, and