DAIRY PRODUCE MARKETING ACT, 1961

44.—(1) The Board shall purchase at the price which stands fixed for the time being under subsection (2) of this section and is appropriate in relation to the purchase all butter which—

• (a) is offered for sale at that price to the Board by the registered proprietor of a creamery,

• (b) was manufactured in that creamery, and

• (c) is of a kind which conforms with the provisions in relation to creamery butter of the Dairy Produce Acts, 1924 to 1947, and the regulations made thereunder.

• (2) The Government may from time to time fix the price of butter for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section or may fix two or more prices varying in accordance with either or both of the following, that is to say, the quantity of butter sold and the method of packing the butter, and may specify a date or dates as on and from which purchases shall be made at the price or prices so fixed and the Minister shall notify the Board in writing of the price or prices so fixed and the date or dates so specified.

45 Sales of butter in the State by the Board to be at price fixed by the Government.

45.—(1) Whenever the Board sells butter which—

• (a) is intended for consumption in the State, and

• (b) is of a kind which conforms with the provisions in relation to creamery butter of the Dairy Produce Acts, 1924 to 1947, and the regulations made thereunder or is imported butter,

the sale shall be made at the price which stands fixed for the time being under subsection (2) of this section in relation to such sale and is appropriate in relation to the sale.

• (2) The Government may from time to time fix the price of butter for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section or may fix two or more prices varying in accordance with either or both of the following, that is to say, the quantity of butter sold and the method of packing the butter, and may specify a date or dates as on and from which the price or prices so fixed shall apply and the Minister shall notify the Board in writing of the price or prices so fixed and the date or dates so specified.

46 Transfer to the Board of moneys in dairy produce (price stabilisation) fund.

46.—(1) Where, by virtue of an order under subsection (2) of section 2 of the Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) (Amendment) Act, 1938, in relation to section 41 of the Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) Act, 1935, (being the first such order in relation to the said section 41) the said section 41 ceases to be in force, the Minister shall, upon the date of such cesser if there is then any amount standing to the credit of the dairy produce (price stabilisation) fund, cause the whole of such amount to be transferred and paid to the Board out of that fund.

• (2) The Minister may, on or after the establishment day and before the date of the cesser aforesaid, if he so thinks fit and if there is then any amount standing to the credit of the dairy produce (price stabilisation) fund, cause to be transferred and paid to the Board out of that fund such sum or sums as he may determine.

47 Annual report.

47.—(1) As soon as may be after the 31st day of March in each year after the year 1960, the Board shall make a report to the Minister of its proceedings under this Act during the twelve months ending on that date and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

• (2) Whenever the Minister so directs, the annual report shall also include information on such particular aspects of the Board's proceedings under this Act as the Minister may specify.

48 Accounts and audits.

48.—(1) The Board shall keep, in such form as may be approved by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it.

• (2) As soon as may be after the 31st day of March in each year after the year 1960, the Board shall submit its accounts for the twelve months ending on that date, a balance sheet as of that date, and a statement of accounts for the year ending on that date to the Comptroller and Auditor-General and the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall audit the accounts and make a report thereon and on the other documents submitted to him.

• (3) Immediately after audit under this section of the accounts of the Board, the Board shall send to the Minister a copy of the statement of accounts and the balance sheet certified by the Comptroller and Auditor-General and a copy of the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report.

• (4) The Minister shall cause copies of the documents referred to in subsection (3) of this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

49 Furnishing of information to the Minister.

49.—The Board shall furnish to the Minister, at such times and in such form and manner as the Minister may specify, such information regarding its proceedings under this Act as the Minister may request.

50 Dissolution of the Butter Marketing Committee.

50.—(1) The Butter Marketing Committee (in this Act referred to as the Committee), being a central marketing organisation operating under rules approved by the Minister under the Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) Act, 1935, shall on the transfer day be dissolved.

• (2) The Minister may by order made under this section appoint a day, being a day which falls not earlier than the establishment day, to be the transfer day for the purposes of this Act.

51 Preservation of contracts of service entered into by the Committee.

51.—Every contract of service, express or implied, which was entered into by the Committee and is in force immediately before the transfer day shall continue in force on and after the transfer day but shall be construed and have effect as if the Board were substituted therein for the Committee, and every such contract shall be enforceable by or against the Board accordingly.

52 Transfer of property of the Committee to the Board.

52.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, all property whether real or personal (including choses-in-action) which immediately before the transfer day was vested in, or belonged to, or was held in trust for, the Committee and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property shall, on the transfer day and without any conveyance or assignment but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company or authority, become the property of and be vested in or held in trust for or enjoyed by (as the case may require) the Board for all the estate, trust or interest for which the same immediately before the transfer day was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for the Committee.

• (2) All property transferred by this section which, immediately before the transfer day, was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation, company or authority shall, upon the request of the Board made on or after the transfer day be transferred in the books by the bank, corporation, company or authority into the name of the Board.

• (3) On and after the transfer day every chose-in-action transferred by this section to the Board may be sued upon, recovered or enforced by the Board in their own name and it shall not be necessary for the Board to give notice to the person bound by such chose-in-action of the transfer effected by this section.

• (4) Subsection (1) of this section shall, in so far as it operates to transfer land, have effect, for the purposes of the Conveyancing Act, 1881, as a conveyance of land.

53 Transfer of liabilities of the Committee to the Board.

53.—Every debt and other liability (including unliquidated liabilities arising from torts or breaches of contract) which immediately before the transfer date was owing and unpaid or has been incurred and is undischarged by the Committee shall, on the transfer day, become and be the debt or liability of the Board and shall be paid or discharged by and may be recovered from or enforced against the Board accordingly.

54 Preservation of continuing contracts of the Committee.

54.—Every bond, guarantee, mortgage or other security of a continuing nature made or given by the Committee to any person, or by any person to the Committee, and in force immediately before the transfer day, and every contract or agreement in writing made between the Committee and another person and not fully executed and completed before the transfer day shall, notwithstanding the dissolution of the Committee, continue in force on and after the transfer day but shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Board were substituted therein for the name of the Committee, and the security, contract, or agreement shall be enforceable by or against the Board accordingly.

55 Continuance of pending legal proceedings to which the Committee is a party.

55.—In every action, suit or proceedings which is pending immediately before the transfer day in any court or tribunal and to which the Committee is a party, the Board shall on the transfer day become and be a party in the place of the Committee and such action, suit or proceedings, as the case may be, shall be continued between the Board and the other parties thereto accordingly and no such action, suit or proceedings shall abate or be discontinued or prejudicially affected by reason of the dissolution of the Committee.

56 Exemption from stamp duty.

56.—Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895, shall not apply to the vesting in the Board of the property of the Committee.

57 Prohibition of export and import of milk and milk products.

57.—(1) The Minister may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, by order prohibit, save under and in accordance with a licence issued under this Act, the exportation from the State of milk and milk products.

• (2) The Minister may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, by order prohibit, save under and in accordance with a licence issued under this Act, the importation into the State of milk and milk products.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, an order under that subsection may relate to the exportation generally or to any specified country or countries or by any specified method or methods of milk and milk products or any specified class or kind (defined in such manner and by reference to such things as the Minister thinks fit) of milk or milk product.

• (4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, an order under that subsection, may relate to the importation generally or from any specified country or countries or by any specified method or methods of milk and milk products or any specified class or kind (defined in such manner and by reference to such things as the Minister thinks fit) of milk or milk product.

• (5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, orders under those subsections may make provision for such matters as appear to the Minister necessary for securing the due enforcement of the orders.

• (6) The Minister may by order revoke or amend an order under subsection (1) or (2) of this section or under this subsection.

• (7) On the application of a person made in such form and containing such particulars as the Minister may direct, the Minister may, if he thinks fit, issue to such person a licence to import or a licence to export, either generally or from or to, as the case may be, a specified country or countries, milk and milk products or any specified class or kind of milk or milk product of which such exportation or importation, as the case may be, is prohibited by an order under subsection (1) or (2) of this section.

• (8) Whenever the Minister issues a licence under this section he may attach to the licence such conditions as he shall think proper and shall specify in the licence.

• (9) The Minister may revoke a licence issued under this section.

• (10) A person who, for the purpose of obtaining for himself or any other person a licence under this section, makes any statement or representation which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds and, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

• (11) In this section references to exportation and importation include reference to exportation and importation by the Board and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

58 Amendment of Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) (Amendment) Act, 1938.

58.—(1) In this section “the Act of 1938” means the Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) (Amendment) Act, 1938.

• (2) Section 1 of the Act of 1938 is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of “the suspendable provisions” of the following definition:

“‘the suspendable provisions’ means the provisions of the Dairy Produce (Price Stabilisation) Acts, 1935 to 1956, other than sections 1 to 3 of this Act”.

• (3) An order under section 2 or section 3 of the Act of 1938 may relate to one or more than one of the suspendable provisions, and where an order does not relate to all the suspendable provisions, the references in those sections to the suspendable provisions shall, in relation to the order, be construed as references to the provision or provisions, as the case may be, to which the order relates and the said sections shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

• (4) Section 3 of the Act of 1938 is hereby amended by—

• (a) the insertion in subsection (3) after “reviving order” of “in relation to section 11 of the Principal Act”, and

• (b) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

• “(4) Whenever the Minister makes a reviving order in relation to any paragraph or paragraphs (other than paragraph (a)) of subsection (1) of section 17 of the Principal Act, he may by such order fix a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of that paragraph or those paragraphs, as the case may be, and references to the appointed day in that paragraph or those paragraphs, as the case may be, shall, in relation to any period during which the suspend able provisions are in force by virtue of the order, be construed as references to the day so fixed.”

59 Amendment of Dairy Produce (Amendment) Act, 1941.

59.—Section 1 of the Dairy Produce (Amendment) Act, 1941, is hereby amended by the insertion in the definition of “authorised body” after means of “An Bord Bainne or”.

60 Prosecution of offences.

60.—(1) An offence under section 40 or 41 of this Act may be prosecuted by the Board.

• (2) An offence under any provision of this Act, other than the said sections 40 and 41 may be prosecuted by the Minister.

61 Offences in relation to bodies corporate and unincorporated bodies.

61.—(1) Where an offence under any section of this Act is committed by a body corporate or by a person purporting to act on behalf of a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any default on the part of, any person being, in the case of a body corporate, a director thereof, or, in the case of an unincorporated body, a member of the committee of management or other controlling authority thereof, that person shall also be guilty of the offence.

• (2) Any summons or other document required to be served for the purpose or in the course of proceedings under this Act on a body corporate may be served by leaving it at or sending it by registered post to the registered office of that body or, if there be no such office in the State, by leaving it at, or sending it by registered post to, the body at any place in the State at which it conducts its business.

62 Fees on licences.

62.—(1) There shall be payable to the Minister in respect of a licence under section 57 of this Act such (if any) fee as the Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time direct, and the fee 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 said Minister.

• (2) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of a fee payable under this section to the Minister.

63 Laying of orders and regulations before Houses of the Oireachtas.

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

64 Expenses.

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

65 Short title

65.—This Act may be cited as the Dairy Produce Marketing Act, 1961.