Dublin Transport Authority (Dissolution) Act , 1987

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1961” means the Road Traffic Act, 1961;

“the Act of 1974” means the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act, 1974;

“the Act of 1986” means the Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986;

“the Authority” means Iompras Bhaile Átha Cliath;

“functions” includes powers, duties and obligations and references to the performance of functions includes, as respects powers, duties and obligations, references to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties and obligations;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Tourism and Transport.

(2) In this Act a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any subsequent enactment.

2 Dissolution of Authority.

2.—The Authority is hereby dissolved.

3 Transfer of certain property and liabilities of Authority.

3.—(1) The following shall be and hereby are transferred to the Minister:

(a) all property and rights held or enjoyed immediately before the commencement of this Act by the Authority,

(b) all liabilities incurred before such commencement by the Authority that had not been discharged before such commencement,

and, accordingly, without any further conveyance, transfer or assignment—

(i) the said property, real and personal, shall on such commencement vest in the Minister for all the estate, term or interest for which, immediately before such commencement, it was vested in the Authority but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the property and capable of being performed,

(ii) the said rights shall, as on and from such commencement, be enjoyed by the Minister,

(iii) the said liabilities shall, as on and from such commencement, be the liabilities of the Minister.

(2) All moneys, stocks, shares and securities transferred to the Minister by this section which, immediately before the commencement of this Act, are standing in the name of the Authority shall, upon the request of the Minister, be transferred into his name.

(3) Every right and liability transferred by subsection (1) of this section to the Minister may, on or after the commencement of this Act, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the Minister in his own name and it shall not be necessary for the Minister to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by that subsection of the transfer.

4 Preservation of certain continuing contracts and adaptation of references to Authority in certain documents.

4.—(1) Every bond, guarantee or other security of a continuing nature made or given by or on behalf of the Authority to any person or given by any person to and accepted by or on behalf of the Authority and every contract or agreement in writing made between the Authority and any other person (other than a member of the staff of the Authority) and in force but not fully executed and completed immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue in force on and after such commencement and shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Minister were substituted therein for that of the Authority and shall be enforceable by or against the Minister.

(2) References to the Authority contained immediately before the commencement of this Act in the memorandum and articles of association of any company (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963), shall, on and after such commencement, be construed as references to the Minister.

(3) Every scheme made by the Authority under paragraph 17 of the Schedule to the Act of 1986 and approved of by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for the Environment and with the consent of the Minister for Finance and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, notwithstanding section 13 of this Act, continue in force, and may be amended or revoked by a scheme made by the Minister under this section, with the like approval, consultation and consent as aforesaid and references in any such scheme in force before such commencement to the Authority shall be construed as references to the Minister and section 3 of this Act shall apply accordingly to it.

5 Pending legal proceedings.

5.—Where, immediately before the commencement of this Act, any legal proceedings are pending in any court or tribunal and the Authority is a party to the proceedings, the name of the Minister shall be substituted in the proceedings for that of the Authority and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

6 Exemption from stamp duty.

6.—Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895 shall not apply to the vesting in the Minister of any property or right transferred by this Act.

7 Amendment of section 82 of Road Traffic Act, 1961.

7.—Section 82 of the Act of 1961 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (9) (inserted by the Road Traffic Act, 1968):

“(9) (a) If a person refuses or omits to pay to the owner, driver or conductor of a public service vehicle a sum payable by the person to such owner, driver or conductor, as the case may be, in respect of the hire of, or the fare for the person's carriage in, the vehicle, the person shall, if so requested by such owner, driver or conductor, as the case may be, give him his name and address.

(b) Where a person refuses or fails to comply with a request under paragraph (a) of this subsection or, following such a request, gives a name or address that the owner, driver or conductor concerned has reasonable grounds for believing to be false or misleading, the owner, driver or conductor, as the case may be, aforesaid may detain the person until the arrival of a member of the Garda Síochána.

(c) A member of the Garda Síochána may request—

(i) a person who has refused or failed to comply with a request under paragraph (a) of this subsection,

(ii) a person who, following a request under that paragraph, has given to the owner, driver or conductor concerned a name or address that the latter has reasonable grounds for believing to be false or misleading,

or

(iii) a person detained pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection,

to give to the member his name and address and, if the person refuses or fails to give his name and address or gives a name or address that the member has reasonable grounds for believing to be false or misleading, the member may arrest the person without warrant and, if the person has refused or failed to give his name and address or has given a name or address that is false or misleading, the person shall be guilty of an offence.”.

8 Conferral of certain powers under Road Traffic Act, 1961 on Commissioner of Garda Síochána.

8.—(1) The powers of the Authority under sections 84, 85, 89, 90, 93 (9) and 95 of the Act of 1961 (being powers that were transferred from the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána to the Authority bysections 38, 37, 32, 33, 39 (1) (b) and 35, respectively, of the Act of 1986) are hereby conferred on the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána.

(2) Any bye-laws, temporary rules or directions under a provision aforesaid of the Act of 1961 in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue in force after such commencement, and may be amended or revoked, as if they had been made or given by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána under that provision.

(3) (a) A sign or a traffic sign standing provided under the said section 93 (9) or 95 before the commencement of this Act in the functional area of the Authority shall be deemed to have been provided pursuant to a request or requirement, or with the consent, made or, as the case may be, given by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána under the said section 93 (9) or 95, as the case may be.

(b) Any request, requirement or consent under the said section 93 (9) or 95 that is in force immediately before such commencement shall continue in force, as if it had been made or, as the case may be, given by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána under the said section 93 (9) or 95, as the case may be.

9 Amendment of Part VIII of Road Traffic Act, 1961.

9.—The Act of 1961 is hereby amended by the insertion in Part VIII of the following sections after section 101:

“Control of vehicles by bollards and ramps.

101A.—(1) In this section—

‘bollard’ means a pole, post or similar device inserted into or affixed vertically or nearly vertically to the surface of a roadway or footway;

‘ramp’ means an artificial hump in or on the surface of a roadway;

‘reserved function’ means—

(a) with respect to the council of a county or an elective body for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1985, a reserved function for the purposes of those Acts,

(b) with respect to the corporation of a county borough, a reserved function for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough.

(2) A road authority may, in the interest of the safety of road users, provide in its functional area either permanently or for such period as it considers appropriate—

(a) bollards on a roadway or footway for the purpose of preventing or restricting the use of a public road by mechanically propelled vehicles or animal-drawn vehicles,

(b) ramps on a roadway for the purpose of restricting the speed of mechanically propelled vehicles on a public road.

(3) A road authority may remove bollards or ramps provided by it under this section.

(4) (a) Where a road authority proposes to provide a bollard or ramp under this section or remove a bollard or ramp provided permanently under this section, it shall—

(i) give notice of the proposal in the prescribed manner and the notice shall indicate

(I) in case the proposal relates to the provision of the bollard or ramp, the period for which it will be provided,

(II) that objections may be made to the proposal and any such objections shall be made in writing to the road authority concerned during a specified period, not being less than one month from the date of the giving of the notice, and

(III) that a person making an objection who wishes to state his objection orally, may so request in writing,

(ii) consider any written objection made to it and not withdrawn in relation to the proposal,

(iii) afford to any person making an objection and who so requests in writing an opportunity to state his objection before a person or persons appointed by the road authority who shall consider his objection and report thereon to the authority,

(iv) consult with the Commissioner who shall furnish any observations on the proposal to the road authority within two months of the consultation.

(b) The road authority, having considered any objections to the proposal and any report or observations under paragraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) of this section, shall make a decision in relation to the proposal and shall—

(i) give notice of its decision in the prescribed manner, and

(ii) notify any objectors in writing of the decision.

(5) The making of a decision under subsection (4) of this section and the consideration of objections under that subsection shall be reserved functions.

(6) (a) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of enabling this section to have full effect.

(b) Regulations under this subsection may, in particular but without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of this subsection—

(i) specify the manner in which notice of a proposal under paragraph (a), or a decision under paragraph (b), of subsection (4) of this section shall be given,

(ii) specify requirements in relation to the provision of bollards and ramps under this section and in relation to the bollards and ramps to be so provided, including (without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) regulations specifying standards of manufacture, construction and installation of bollards and ramps,

(iii) require the provision of lighting and specified traffic signs at and in the vicinity of bollards and ramps so provided, and

(iv) specify classes of public roads on which bollards or ramps may, or shall not, be provided.

(c) A road authority shall comply with any regulation for the time being in force under this section.

(7) Any regulations under section 32 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986, that are in force immediately before the commencement of the Dublin Transport Authority (Dissolution) Act, 1987, shall continue in force after such commencement, and may be amended or revoked, as if they had been made under this section.

(8) A bollard or ramp provided under this section shall be deemed to be a structure forming part of the public road concerned and necessary for the safety of road users.

(9) (a) A person who, without lawful authority, removes or damages or attemptsto remove or damage a ramp or bollard provided under this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(b) An offence under this subsection may be prosecuted by the road authority in whose functional area the acts constituting the offence were done.

(10) A road authority shall not provide a bollard or ramp save under and in accordance with this section.

Immobilisation, removal etc. of unlawfully parked vehicles.

101B.—(1) In this section—

‘authorised person’ means a person, or a member of a class of persons, prescribed for the purposes of this section;

‘immobilisation device’ means any device or appliance designed or adapted for fixing to a vehicle for the purpose of preventing it from being driven or otherwise put in motion;

‘vehicle’ means a mechanically propelled vehicle.

(2) Where an authorised person finds on a public road a vehicle that is parked in contravention of any prohibition or restriction imposed under section 90 of this Act, he or a person acting under his direction may—

(a) fix an immobilisation device to the vehicle while it remains in the place where he finds it, or

(b) move it from the place where he finds it (whether or not he has fixed an immobilisation device to it) to another place and fix an immobilisation device to it in that other place.

(3) When fixing an immobilisation device to a vehicle, there shall also be affixed to the vehicle a notice in the prescribed form—

(a) indicating that the device has been fixed to the vehicle and warning that an attempt should not be made to drive it or otherwise put it in motion until the device is removed,

(b) specifying the steps to be taken to secure such removal, and

(c) giving such other information (if any) as may be prescribed.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), an immobilisation device that has been fixed to a vehicle under this section may be removed only by an authorised person or a person acting under his direction.

(5) (a) An immobilisation device fixed to a vehicle under this section shall be removed only—

(i) if the person seeking its removal shows to the satisfaction of any authorised person that he is the owner of the vehicle or is authorised by its owner to seek such removal and pays the prescribed charge,

(ii) for the purpose of the removal of the vehicle under section 97 of this Act, or

(iii) for the purpose of moving the vehicle under subsection (2) of this section.

(b) Where the owner of a vehicle that is parked and to which an immobilisation device has been fixed under this section shows to the satisfaction of any authorised person that the vehicle was so parked while being used by a person other than the owner and that such use was not authorised by the owner, the authorised person shall waive the prescribed charge and he or a person acting under his direction shall remove the immobilisation device from the vehicle.

(c) An immobilisation device fixed to a vehicle under this section shall be removed therefrom as soon as is reasonably practicable after the payment of the prescribed charge or after the waiver of such charge, as the case may be.

(6) A notice affixed to a vehicle under this section shall not be removed or interfered with by a person other than the owner of the vehicle or a person authorised by such owner to use the vehicle and a person who contravenes this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.

(7) A person who—

(a) obstructs or impedes an authorised person, or a person acting under his direction, in the performance of his functions under this section, or

(b) without being authorised to do so under this section, removes or attempts to remove from a vehicle an immobilisation device fixed to it under this section,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) (a) An immobilisation device shall not be fixed under this section to an ambulance, a fire brigade vehicle or any vehicle used by a member of the Garda Síochána in the performance of his duties as such member.

(b) This section shall not apply to a vehicle on which there is prominently displayed a valid permit for a disabled driver under bye-laws or temporary rules under section 90 of this Act.

(9) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Justice, make regulations for the purpose of enabling full effect to be given to this section and such regulations may, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, specify requirements in relation to:

(a) the type of immobilisation device to be used,

(b) the form of a notice under subsection (3) of this section,

(c) the amount of the charge under subsection (5) of this section and the manner in which and the person to whom such charge shall be paid.

(10) Any regulations under section 34 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986, that are in force immediately before the commencement of the Dublin Transport Authority (Dissolution) Act, 1987, shall continue in force after such commencement, and may be amended or revoked, as if they had been made under this section.

Control of access to and egress from construction sites by vehicles.

101C.—(1) A road authority may, after consultation with the Commissioner, make bye-laws providing for the regulation and control of access to and egress from construction sites generally or a specified class of construction site or a specified construction site by vehicles or a specified class of vehicle.

(2) Bye-laws under this section may, in particular but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section—

(a) specify the times and days during which such access and egress as aforesaid is permitted,

(b) specify the number of vehicles permitted to have such access and egress during specified periods, and

(c) require vehicles or a specified class of vehicle to be cleaned before leaving a construction site or a specified class of construction site or a specified construction site.

(3) A person who contravenes a bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence.