Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1952” means the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952;

“car tax” means the duty imposed by the Act of 1952 in respect of a licence taken out under section 1 of that Act in relation to a vehicle referred to in—

(a) subparagraph (a) or (b) of paragraph 1, or

(b) subparagraph (d) of paragraph 6,

of Part I of the Schedule to the Act of 1952 (inserted by the Finance Act, 1991, and amended by section 163 of the Finance Act, 1992), and as chargeable, leviable and payable in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 1952;

“the Central Motor Tax Account” has the meaning assigned to it by the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Order, 1958 (S.I. No. 15 of 1958);

“the Council” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7;

“the Department” means the Department of the Environment;

“driver licence duties” means duties imposed by section 4(1A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1961, and amended by the Finance Act, 1989) of the Act of 1952, and as chargeable, leviable and payable in accordance with that section;

“enactment” includes an instrument made under an enactment;

“estimate of expenses” has the meaning assigned to it by the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955;

“functions” includes powers and duties and a reference to the performance of functions includes, with respect to powers and duties, a reference to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties;

“the Fund” has the meaning assigned to it by section 4;

“local authority” means—

(a) the council of a county,

(b) the corporation of a county or other borough,

(c) the council of an urban district, and

(d) the commissioners of a town;

“local government auditor” means an auditor referred to in section 68 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1941;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;

“Motor Tax Account” has the meaning assigned to it by the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Order, 1958;

“motor vehicle tax” means the duty imposed by the Act of 1952 in respect of a licence taken out under section 1 of that Act, and as chargeable, leviable and payable in accordance with the provisions of that Act;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“urban authority” means the corporation of a borough, other than a county borough, or the council of an urban district.

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection or paragraph is a reference to a subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended,

(c) a reference to any enactment is a reference to that enactment as amended, extended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).

2 Regulations, orders and directions.

2.—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed or for the purpose of enabling any provision of this Act to have full effect.

(2) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act, a regulation or order under this Act may provide for such incidental, consequential, supplementary or transitional provisions as may appear to the Minister to be appropriate for the purposes of this Act or any regulations or order made thereunder.

(3) If in any respect any difficulty arises in bringing any provision of this Act into operation or in relation to the operation of any such provision, the Minister may by regulations do anything which appears to him or her to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of removing that difficulty, for bringing that provision into operation, or for securing or facilitating its operation, and any such regulations may modify any provision of this Act or any other enactment so far as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes aforesaid but no regulations may be made under this subsection in relation to a provision of this Act after the expiration of 2 years from the commencement of that provision.

(4) Regulations or an order made under this Act may—

(a) apply to local authorities generally or to a specified local authority or local authorities,

(b) contain different provisions in relation to different local authorities.

(5) A regulation or order under this Act (other than an order under section 20(3)) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling such a regulation or order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation or order has been laid before it, the regulation or order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(6) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this Act (other than an order under section 20 (3) but including an order under this subsection).

(7) The Minister may give a direction for the purpose of anything mentioned in this Act as being the subject of a direction.

(8) The Minister may give a direction amending or revoking a direction given by him or her under this Act (including a direction under this subsection).

(9) A direction given for the purposes of this Act shall be in writing.

3 Retention of car tax by local authorities.

3.—Notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment but subject to the provisions of this Act, car tax that is collected by a local authority, on or after the commencement of this section, shall, in lieu of being paid into the Central Motor Tax Account, be retained by the authority and enjoyed by it as revenue.

4 Local Government (Equalisation) Fund.

4.—(1) There shall stand established, on the commencement of this section, a fund which shall be known as the Local Government (Equalisation) Fund and is in this Act referred to as “the Fund”.

(2) The Minister shall manage and control the Fund.

(3) The Fund shall consist of such accounts as the Minister may determine.

(4) The said accounts shall be in such form and be prepared in such manner as the Minister may determine.

(5) As soon as may be after the end of each financial year, the Minister shall submit the accounts of the Fund to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and the Minister shall cause a copy of an abstract of the accounts as so audited together with a copy of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(6) This section is subject to the provisions of section 7.

5 Payments into the Fund generally.

5.—(1) In this section “miscellaneous fees and duties” means—

(a) duties imposed by section 21 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1992;

(b) fees payable under the European Communities (Vehicle Testing) Regulations, 1991 (S.I. No. 356 of 1991);

(c) fees payable under the Road Traffic (Licensing of Trailers and Semi-Trailers) Regulations, 1982 (S.I. No. 35 of 1982);

(d) fees payable to a local authority under the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, 1963 (S.I. No. 191 of 1963);

(e) any other fees which prior to the commencement of this section were payable into a Motor Tax Account; and

(f) such fees or other moneys as the Minister may specify by order for the purposes of this subsection.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment, there shall be paid into the Fund by each local authority—

(a) 20 per cent., or such other percentage as the Minister may, from time to time, by order specify in relation to the local authority, of the amount of car tax collected by it in each local financial year,

(b) the amount of motor vehicle tax, other than car tax, collected by it in each such year,

(c) the amount of driver licence duties collected by it in each such year,

(d) the amount of miscellaneous fees and duties collected by it in each such year.

(3) Any moneys that the Minister receives, in each financial year, other than moneys from the Fund or moneys provided by the Oireachtas, in connection with the collection of motor vehicle tax, including in connection with the provision of information from records established and maintained under section 60 of the Finance Act, 1993 (as amended by section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994), shall be paid into the Fund by the Minister.

(4) The Minister may from time to time pay into the Fund, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, such an amount as he or she thinks appropriate.

(5) Any amounts required to be paid into the Fund by this section shall be so paid in such manner and at such times as are specified in a direction given by the Minister for the purposes of this section.

(6) A reference in this section to the collection by a local authority of an amount of any tax, fee or duty referred to in subsection (2) includes a reference to an amount of any such tax, fee or duty collected by it, under a relevant arrangement (within the meaning of section 9), on behalf of another local authority.

(7) A reference in this section to an amount of any tax, fee or duty shall be construed as a reference to the amount of the tax, fee or duty concerned after there has been deducted therefrom any amount under and in accordance with section 11.

(8) Without prejudice to subsection (7), the reference in subsection (2)(a) to an amount of car tax shall be deemed to exclude a reference to so much of that amount as would not have been liable to be collected by the local authority concerned but for the making by it of a decision under subsection (2) or (3) of section 9 or, as the case may be, but for the making by another local authority under the said subsection (2) or (3) of a decision which, by virtue of subsection (5) of section 9, has effect in relation to car tax collected by the local authority concerned.

6 Payments out of the Fund generally.

6.—(1) Whenever and so often as the Minister considers that it is appropriate that such a payment be made in respect of expenses incurred or to be incurred by one or more local authorities in performing its or their functions generally, the Minister may pay out of the Fund to that local authority or those local authorities such an amount of moneys as he or she determines for the purposes of defraying, in whole or in part, the expenses incurred or to be incurred by it or them in performing those functions.

(2) The Minister may from time to time pay out of the Fund an amount of moneys equal to the expenses incurred by him or her in taking from time to time steps (which the Minister is hereby empowered to take)—

(a) to promote or secure the making of improvements in the quality of services provided by local authorities,

or

(b) to encourage local authorities to perform their functions in a more economical, efficient and effective manner.

(3) The Minister may from time to time pay out of the Fund such an amount of moneys as he or she determines for the purposes of defraying, in whole or in part, the expenses incurred by him or her, on or after the 1st day of January, 1997, in connection with the collection of motor vehicle tax, including in connection with the provision of information from records established and maintained under section 60 of the Finance Act, 1993 (as amended by section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994).

(4) Any amount of moneys paid out of the Fund under subsection (2) or (3) shall be paid into, or disposed of for the benefit of, the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

(5) Pending the first making of an order under section 7 (4) conferring the functions of the Minister under section 6 (1) on the Council (in subsection (6) referred to as a “section 6 (1) functions order”), the Minister may establish a committee (one or more members of which shall be an officer or officers of a local authority or local authorities) to advise the Minister with respect to the performance by him or her of the said functions and a committee so established may advise the Minister accordingly.

(6) The committee referred to in subsection (5) shall stand dissolved on the commencement of a section 6 (1) functions order.

(7) This section is subject to the provisions of section 7.

7 Local Government (Equalisation) Council.

7.—(1) There shall stand established, on the commencement of this section, a body which shall be known as the Local Government (Equalisation) Council and is in this Act referred to as “the Council”.

(2) The Council shall—

(a) be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and power to sue and to be sued in its corporate name,

(b) consist of such and so many members as the Minister determines.

(3) The members of the Council shall be appointed by the Minister; a person shall not be eligible for appointment as such a member unless he or she is a member or ex-member or an officer or ex-officer of a local authority, an officer of the Minister or a person whom the Minister considers otherwise possesses qualifications or experience that make him or her suitable for appointment as such a member.

(4) The Minister may by order confer on the Council one or more of the following functions of the Minister, namely—

(a) the functions under subsections (2) and (5) of section 4,

(b) the functions under subsection (1) of section 6,

(c) so much of the functions under subsections (2) and (3) of section 6 as relate to the payment out of the Fund of an amount of moneys referred to in either of the said subsections,

(d) the functions under subsections (2) and (3) of section 10,

(e) the functions under subsection (1) of section 11,

and any such function or functions so conferred on the Council shall, for so long as the order remains in force, be performable by the Council and not by the Minister.

(5) The Minister may, by a direction given by him or her for the purposes of this subsection, require the Council to prepare and furnish to the Minister a report in relation to any matter concerning the operation of the Fund (and such a report may include recommendations of the Council in relation to that matter).

(6) An order under subsection (4) that confers on the Council the functions of the Minister under subsection (5) of section 4 may provide that the Council shall, in performing the said functions, submit, for audit, the accounts referred to in the said subsection (5) to a person other than the Comptroller and Auditor General, being a person whom the Minister is satisfied possesses such qualifications as will enable him or her properly to conduct such an audit, and, for so long as an order under subsection (4) provides as aforesaid, each reference in subsection (5) of section 4 to the Comptroller and Auditor General shall be construed as a reference to such a person.

(7) An order under subsection (4) that confers on the Council the functions referred to in paragraph (c) of that subsection may provide that the said functions shall be performed by the Council subject to such conditions as are specified in the order, being conditions requiring the payment out of the Fund, in such amounts and at such times as are specified in a direction given by the Minister for the purposes of those conditions, of moneys referred to in subsection (2) or (3) of section 6.

(8) Without prejudice to subsections (4) and (5), the Minister may, if he or she so thinks fit, by order confer on the Council such functions in relation to the acquisition, use or disposal by local authorities of the resources necessary for the performance of their functions as he or she considers appropriate.

(9) The Minister may by order provide for such one or more of the following as he or she considers appropriate, namely—

(a) the terms of office of members of the Council,

(b) the payment to such members (at such rates as are determined, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by the Minister) of remuneration or allowances for expenses,

(c) the removal of such members from office,

(d) the quorum of such members necessary for any decision at a meeting of the Council to be properly taken,

(e) the payment out of the Fund of moneys for the purpose of meeting any remuneration or allowances for expenses referred to in paragraph (b),

(f) the employment by the Council of staff or the supply to it by the Minister or a local authority of the services of staff of the Department or the authority, as the case may be,

(g) the keeping by the Council of accounts,

(h) transitional provisions in relation to cases where an order under subsection (4) is made, amended or revoked,

(i) provisions enabling the Council to perform effectively its functions,

(j) any matters consequential on, or incidental to, the foregoing.

(10) The Minister may, from time to time, give to the Council a general directive in writing as to policy regarding the performance by it of any of its functions and the Council shall in performing its functions have regard to any such directive.

(11) Nothing in subsection (10) shall be construed as enabling the Minister to exercise any power or control in relation to the performance, in particular circumstances, by the Council of any of its functions.

8 Closing of Central Motor Tax Account and payment into the Fund of amounts of rate support grant.

8.—(1) In this section “rate support grant” means a grant made under section 9 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act, 1978, as inserted by section 46 of the Local Government Act, 1994.

(2) The Minister shall cause the Central Motor Tax Account to be closed with effect from the commencement of section 3 and all balances remaining to the credit of that account immediately before such commencement to be paid into the Fund.

(3) A local authority shall pay into the Fund, on or before the date specified in that behalf in the direction concerned, such an amount of the rate support grant made to it in the local financial year which commenced on the 1st day of January, 1997, as is specified in a direction given by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection.

9 Local variation of car tax rates.