Pigs and Bacon(Amendment) Act , 1961

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1937.” means the Pigs and Bacon Act, 1937;

“the Act of 1939” means the Pigs and Bacon (Amendment) Act, 1939;

“the Act of 1956” means the Pigs and Bacon (Amendment) Act, 1956;

“the Commission” means the Pigs and Bacon Commission;

“the Principal Act” means the Pigs and Bacon Act, 1935.

(2) The Pigs and Bacon Acts, 1935 to 1956, and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

2 Commencement.

2.—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.

3 Amendment of section 65 of the Principal Act.

3.—Section 65 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (1) after “any person” of “, other than the Pigs and Bacon Commission or a person exporting bacon on its behalf,”.

4 Amendment of section 30 of the Act of 1937.

4.—Section 30 (inserted by the Act of 1956) of the Act of 1937 is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion after “bacon” in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of “or of a particular type of bacon or specified quantities of particular types of bacon, defined in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order,”,

(b) the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of the said paragraph (b), namely:

“(ii) appoint in respect of that period an external-sales quota of bacon or of a particular type or particular types of bacon (defined in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order) which shall be related, in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order, to the quantity or quantities of bacon or of a particular type or types of bacon (defined in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order) produced at licensed premises in a particular period, or

(iii) appoint in respect of that period an external-sales quota of bacon or of a particular type or particular types of bacon (defined in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order) which shall be related, in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order, to the number or numbers of pigs or of a particular type or types of pig (defined in such manner as the Commission thinks fit and specifies in the order) slaughtered at licensed premises in a particular period, and”,

(c) the insertion in paragraph (c) after “bacon” of “except such part (if any) thereof as may be specified in the order”, and

(d) the insertion of the following subsection, namely:

“(2) When appointing any external-sales quota of bacon under paragraph (b) of the preceding subsection of this section, the Commission shall have regard to the following matters, namely:

(a) the capacity of the markets (both home and export) for bacon,

(b) the supply of pigs available or likely to be available to licensees for slaughter,

(c) the stock of bacon on hands,

(d) the desirability of continuity in the supply of bacon to export markets, and

(e) such other matters as the Commission considers relevant.”.

5 Amendment of section 33 of the Act of 1937.

5.—(1) Section 33 (inserted by the Act of 1956) of the Act of 1937 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of “than the quantity required by the certificate to be exported from” for “than the external-sales sub-quota for” in paragraph (b) of subsection (1),

(b) the substitution of “five pounds” for “two pounds” and of “of the quantity required by the certificate to be exported from” for “of the external-sales sub-quota for” in the said subsection (1), and

(c) the substitution of “five pounds” for “two pounds” in subsection (2).

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in any case where the external-sales sub-quota certificate referred to in the said section 33 was served before the commencement of this section.

6 Amendment of section 2 of the Act of 1939.

6.—Section 2 of the Act of 1939 is hereby amended by the insertion in the definition of “authorised officer of the Commission” in subsection (1) after “person” of “(other than a member of the Commission)”.

7 Amendment of section 4 of the Act of 1939.

7.—Section 4 of the Act of 1939 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3), namely:

“(3) (a) The Commission shall consist of seven members, namely a chairman (in this Act referred to as the Chairman) and six ordinary members (in this Act referred to as ordinary members).

(b) The ordinary members shall comprise—

(i) two persons each of whom is—

(I) a person nominated to be an ordinary member by a body or bodies declared by the Minister by order to be the nominating body or nominating bodies for the purposes of this subparagraph (being a body or bodies that he considers to be representative of the interests of pig producers) 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) not less than twenty-one days before the day on which the term of office of that person as an ordinary member, if he became an ordinary member, would commence, or

(II) a person nominated to be an ordinary member under paragraph (c) of this subsection,

(ii) three persons each of whom is—

(I) a person nominated to be an ordinary member by a body or bodies declared by the Minister by order to be the nominating body or nominating bodies for the purposes of this subparagraph (being a body or bodies that he considers to be representative of the interests of curers of bacon) 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) not less than twenty-one days before the day on which the term of office of that person as an ordinarymember, if he became an ordinary member, would commence, or

(II) a person nominated to be an ordinary member under paragraph (c) of this subsection and

(iii) one person nominated by the Minister who is an officer of the Minister.

(c) If in any year, owing to the failure of a body or bodies referred to in subparagraph (i) or subparagraph (ii), as the case may be, of paragraph (b) of this subsection to nominate a person or to comply with the provisions of the said subparagraph (i) or (ii), as the case may be, the required number of persons is not nominated under those subparagraphs, the Minister shall, before the day on which the term of office of persons nominated as ordinary members under the said paragraph (b) in that year commences, nominate a person or persons, as the case may be, to be an ordinary member or ordinary members and the person or persons so nominated shall—

(i) in case the failure was of a body or bodies referred to in the said subparagraph (i), be a person or persons whom the Minister considers to be representative of the interests of pig producers, and

(ii) in case the failure was of a body or bodies referred to in the said subparagraph (ii), be a person or persons whom the Minister considers to be representative of the interests of curers of bacon.

(d) The Minister may by order revoke or amend an order under this subsection including an order under this paragraph.”.

8 Chairman of the Commission.

8.—The following section is hereby substituted for section 5 of the Act of 1939, namely:

“5.—(1) (a) The Minister shall before the appointed day appoint a person to be the Chairman and thereafter as occasion requires the ordinary members shall appoint a person to be the Chairman.

(b) The ordinary members shall determine the procedure for the selection of a person for appointment as Chairman, and if the ordinary members do not determine the procedure or if a person is not selected in accordance with the procedure, the Chairman shall be selected by means of an election held among the ordinary members at a meeting of the ordinary members and the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (h) of subsection (1) of section 43 of the Local Government Act, 1941, shall apply in relation to the election as if the reference in the said paragraph (a) to a member or members were a reference to a person or persons and as if the subsequent references in that subsection to members were references to ordinary members.

(c) The chief officer of the Commission shall deliver to the Minister notification in writing of the appointment of a Chairman by the ordinary members together with a statement in writing signed by the person signifying his consent to the appointment.

(2) (a) The Chairman appointed before the appointed day shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, hold office for a period of one year commencing on the appointed day.

(b) Every subsequent Chairman shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, hold office for a period of three years commencing on the day next following the day on which the Chairman who immediately preceded him in the office of Chairman, ceased to hold office.

(3) A person holding the office of Chairman may at any time resign his office by letter addressed, in the case of a resignation occurring during the year commencing on the appointed day, to the Minister, and, in the case of any other resignation, to the chief officer of the Commission, and the resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of the receipt of the letter by the Minister or the chief officer, as the case may be, and the person shall be eligible for re-appointment as Chairman.

(4) (a) The Minister may at any time during the year commencing on the appointed day remove the Chairman from office.

(b) The Minister may, at any time after the expiration of the year commencing on the appointed day, at the request of a majority of the ordinary members, remove the Chairman from office if, in the opinion of the Minister, the Chairman is permanently incapacitated, through ill-health, from performing the duties of his office.

(5) (a) Where the Chairman becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas, he shall, upon his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein, cease to be Chairman.

(b) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein, shall, while so entitled, be disqualified from being Chairman.

(6) The Chairman shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer imprisonment or penal servitude or ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State or absents himself, otherwise than with the permission of the Commission or through illness, during any period of three consecutive months, from every meeting of the Commission held during that period.

(7) (a) Where a casual vacancy occurs in the office of Chairman, the chief officer of the Commission shall, as soon as may be, notify the Minister thereof in writing and the vacancy shall—

(i) in the case of a casual vacancy occurring during the year commencing on the appointed day, be filled by appointment by the Minister, and

(ii) in the case of a casual vacancy occurring after the expiration of the year commencing on the appointed day, be filled by appointment by the ordinary members,

and the person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the period for which his predecessor, if he had continued to be Chairman, would have held office and shall, if he is an ordinary member, be deemed on such appointment to have resigned his office as an ordinary member.

(b) The chief officer of the Commission shall be notified in writing as soon as may be of an appointment under subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of this subsection and the Minister shall be notified in writing by the chief officer of the Commission of an appointment under subparagraph (ii) of the said paragraph (a) and, in each case, the term of office of the person appointed under the said paragraph (a) shall commence on the date of such notification.

(8) Where the term of office of the Chairman expires by the effluxion of time he shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(9) Where immediately before the commencement of section 8 of the Pigs and Bacon (Amendment) Act, 1961, a person holds the office of Chairman, that person shall continue to hold office until the day before the appointed day and shall be deemed to have been appointed by the Minister under subsection (1) of this section before the appointed day to be the Chairman.

(10) (a) Whenever the Chairman is through ill-health or other sufficient cause temporarily incapacitated from performing the duties of his office, the ordinary members shall appoint a person (being one of the ordinary members) to perform during the incapacity the duties of the Chairman and the person so appointed shall during the incapacity have all the powers of the Chairman and be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be the Chairman, and shall also be deemed during the incapacity not to be an ordinary member.

(b) There shall be paid by the Commission to any person appointed under this subsection such remuneration and such allowances for expenses as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, may appoint.

(11) If the person appointed before the appointed day to be the Chairman dies before that day, he shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsection (7) of this section, to have died on the appointed day, and, if a person appointed by the ordinary members to be the Chairman, dies before the commencement of his term of office as Chairman, there shall, on the day on which such term of office would have commenced, be deemed to be a casual vacancy in the office of Chairman

(12) In this Part of this Act ‘appointed day’ means the day appointed by the Minister by order made under this subsection to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Part of this Act.”

9 Ordinary members of the Commission.

9.—The following section is hereby substituted for section 6 of the Act of 1939, namely:

“6 (1) The ordinary members shall, unless they sooner die, resign, become disqualified or are removed from office, hold office for a period of three years commencing, in the case of members nominated before the appointed day, on the appointed day and, in the case of subsequent members, on the day next following the day on which the members who immediately preceded them in office ceased to hold office.

(2) A person who is an ordinary member may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the chief officer of the Commission and the resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of the receipt of the letter by the chief officer and the person shall be eligible for re-nomination as a member.

(3) (a) Where an ordinary member becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas, he shall, upon his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein, cease to be an ordinary member.

(b) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein, shall, while so entitled, be disqualified from being an ordinary member.

(4) An ordinary member shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to sufferimprisonment or penal servitude or ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State or absents himself, otherwise than with the permission of the Commission or through illness, during any period of three consecutive months, from every meeting of the Commission held during that period.

(5) (a) The Minister may at any time remove an ordinary member, being an officer of the Minister nominated by the Minister, from office.

(b) The Minister may at any time remove a person who is an ordinary member from office at the request of the body or bodies that nominated the person as an ordinary member or whose failure to nominate a person or to comply with the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 4 of this Act occasioned the nomination of the person if, in the opinion of the Minister, the member is permanently incapacitated through ill-health, from performing the duties of his office.

(6) (a) Where a casual vacancy occurs among the ordinary members, the chief officer shall, as soon as may be, notify in writing—

(i) the Minister, and

(ii) if the member occasioning the vacancy was nominated under paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 4 of this Act, the body or bodies that nominated or whose failure to nominate a person or to comply with the provisions of the said paragraph (b) occasioned the nomination of the person.

(b) A casual vacancy occurring among the ordinary members shall be filled—

(i) in case the member occasioning the vacancy was an officer of the Minister nominated by the Minister under subparagraph (iii) of the said paragraph (b), by the nomination by the Minister of an officer of the Minister, and

(ii) in case the member occasioning the vacancy was nominated under subparagraph (i) or subparagraph (ii) of the said paragraph (b)—

(I) by the nomination of a person referred to in the subparagraph aforesaid under which the member was nominated, within thirty days after the day on which notification of the vacancy was received by the body or bodies aforesaid from the chief officer of the Commission, and the delivery to the Minister, within forty days after the day on which the notification aforesaid was so received, of notification in writing of the nomination together with a statement in writing signed by the person signifying his consent to the nomination, or

(II) in case the body or bodies entitled to nominate a person to fill a casual vacancy fails or fail to nominate a person or to comply with the provisions of this paragraph, by the nomination by the Minister—

(A) in case the body or bodies aforesaid is or are the body or bodies referred to in the said subparagraph (i), of a person whom the Minister considers to be representative of the interests of pig producers, and

(B) in case the body or bodies aforesaid is or are the body or bodies referred to in the said subparagraph (ii), of a person whom the Minister considers to be representative of the interests of curers of bacon.