Air Navigation and Transport (Amendment) Act 1998

PART I Preliminary and General

1 Short title, collective citation, collective construction and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Air Navigation and Transport (Amendment) Act, 1998.

(2) The Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1988, and this Act may be cited together as the Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1998, and shall be construed together as one Act.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister, 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, except where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1919” means the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919;

“the Act of 1946” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946;

“the Act of 1950” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950;

“the Act of 1963” means the Companies Act, 1963;

“the Act of 1988” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1988;

“the Act of 1993” means the Irish Aviation Authority Act, 1993;

“aerodrome” has the same meaning as it has in the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1936;

“aircraft” means a machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air, other than the reactions of the air against the earth's surface;

“airport” means the aggregate of the lands comprised within an aerodrome and all land owned or occupied by an airport authority, including aircraft hangars, roads and car parks, used or intended to be used in whole or in part for the purposes of or in connection with the operation of such aerodrome;

“airport authority” means the person owning, whether in whole or in part, or managing, either alone or jointly with another person, an airport;

“airport charges” means—

(a) charges levied in respect of the landing, parking or taking off of aircraft at an aerodrome including charges for airbridge usage but excluding charges in respect of air navigation and aeronautical communications services levied under section 43 of the Act of 1993,

(b) charges levied in respect of the arrival at or departure from an airport by air of passengers, or

(c) charges levied in respect of the transportation by air of cargo, to or from an airport,

as may be appropriate;

“authorised officer” means—

(a) a member of the Garda Síochána,

(b) in relation to a State airport—

(i) a person, or a person belonging to a class of persons, authorised in writing by the company to perform the functions conferred on an authorised officer by or under this Act or the Act of 1988, or

(ii) unless and until the Minister otherwise determines under subsection (4) of section 48, a person who immediately prior to the commencement of this section was an authorised officer within the meaning of paragraph (b) of the definition of authorised officer in section 15(1) of the Act of 1950 (as amended by section 25 of the Act of 1988), or

(c) in relation to an airport in the State, other than a State airport, a person, or a person belonging to a class of persons, authorised in writing by the Minister to perform the functions conferred on an authorised officer by or under this Act or the Act of 1988;

“authorised person” means a person appointed in writing by the company to perform the functions conferred on authorised persons by or under this Act;

“the Authority” means the Irish Aviation Authority;

“the Chief Executive” means the chief executive of the company appointed under section 29;

“the company” means Aer Rianta, cuideachta phoiblí theoranta;

“the Companies Acts” means the Act of 1963 and every enactment which is to be construed with it as one Act;

“contravene” in relation to a provision of this Act includes, where appropriate, to fail or refuse to comply with that provision and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“Eurocontrol” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1993;

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

“land” includes land covered by water;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Public Enterprise;

“operator”, in relation to an aircraft, means a person engaged, or proposing to engage, in the operation of aircraft who is for the time being responsible for the management of the aircraft;

“pilot in command”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person who for the time being is lawfully in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this Act;

“the Principal Act” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1936;

“record” includes, in addition to a record in writing—

(a) a disc, tape, sound-track or other device in which information, sounds or signals are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other instrument) of being reproduced in legible or audible form,

(b) a film, tape or other device in which visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other instrument) of being reproduced in visual form, and

(c) a photograph;

“registered owner”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person who is registered as the owner of the aircraft in the register established under section 9 or 10 of the Act of 1946, section 58 of the Act of 1993, or a corresponding register established in a state other than the State;

“road” has the same meaning as it has in the Roads Act, 1993;

“road authority” has the same meaning as it has in the Roads Act, 1993;

“State airport” means an airport in the State that, on or after the vesting day, is owned, in whole or in part, or managed, either alone or jointly with another person, by the company;

“State authority” means—

(a) a Minister of the Government, or

(b) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;

“subsidiary” means a subsidiary within the meaning of section 155 of the Act of 1963;

“superannuation benefit” means a pension, gratuity or other allowance payable on resignation, retirement or death;

“terminal services” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1993;

“the vesting day” means the day appointed under section 10 to be the vesting day;

“water right” means a right of impounding, diverting or abstracting water.

(2) A reference in this Act to a Part, section or Schedule is a reference to a Part or section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(3) A reference in this Act to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(4) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment.

(5) Every provision of, or instrument under, this Act or any other enactment relating to a function of the company shall apply in respect of a function of a subsidiary that corresponds to the first-mentioned function in the same manner as it applies to the first-mentioned function.

3 Regulations, orders and directions.

3.—(1) Every order or regulation made under this Act (other than an order made under section 1(3), section 10, section 25, or paragraph 2 or 7 of the Second Schedule) 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 21 days on which that House sits 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 thereunder.

(2) (a) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made by him or her under this Act, (other than an order under section 1(3) or section 10) including an order under this paragraph.

(b) The Minister may by direction amend or revoke a direction given by him or her under this Act, including a direction under this paragraph.

(c) An order or direction under this subsection shall be made or given in the like manner and its making or giving shall be subject to the like (if any) consents and conditions as the order or direction that it is amending or revoking.

(3) Where it is proposed to make an order under section 25 or an order amending or revoking such an order, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made unless a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

4 Disposal of moneys received by Minister.

4.—Moneys received by the Minister for Finance under this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

5 Expenses.

5.—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.

6 Repeals.

6.—(1) The enactments mentioned in the First Schedule shall stand repealed as on and from the vesting day to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

(2) In so far as any instrument made or other thing whatsoever done under any provision of an enactment repealed by this Act could have been made or done under a corresponding provision of this Act, it shall not be invalidated by the repeal of that provision but, if in force immediately before that provision was repealed, shall have effect as if made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act.

7 Offences and penalties.

7.—(1)(a) A person guilty of an offence under section 26, 37, 39, 42, 47, 48, 49, 50 or 51 shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £100,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both,

(b) A person guilty of an offence under any other provision of this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.

(2) On conviction on indictment for an offence under this Act the court may, in addition to any other penalty, order any aircraft, apparatus, equipment or other thing used to commit the offence to be forfeited.

(3) An order under subsection (2) shall not come into effect until the ordinary time for instituting an appeal against the conviction or order concerned has expired or where such an appeal is instituted, until it or any further appeal is finally decided or abandoned or the ordinary time for instituting any further appeal has expired.

(4) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, shall apply in relation to an offence under this Act that is not being prosecuted summarily as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3)(a) of that section, there were specified therein the penalties provided for in subsection (1)(a)(i), and the reference in subsection (2)(a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for by subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(5) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of such body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that officer or person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

8 Proceedings.

8.—(1) Summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the company.

(2) Summary proceedings for an offence under section 34 may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.

(3) Notwithstanding section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted within 12 months from the date on which the offence was committed.

(4) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court shall, unless it is satisfied that there are special and substantial reasons for not so doing, order the person to pay to the company the costs and expenses, measured by the court, incurred by the company in relation to the investigation or prosecution of the offence.

(5) References in section 382 of the Act of 1963 to a “company” shall, for the purposes of this Act, be construed as including references to a body corporate (whether or not a company within the meaning of that section) charged on indictment with an offence under this Act.

PART II Share Capital and Financial Provisions

9 Share capital of company.

9.—(1) The authorised share capital of the company shall be such amount as may be determined from time to time by the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister, divided into shares of £1 each.

(2) Shares in the share capital of the company shall not be issued without the consent of the Minister for Finance given after consultation with the Minister.

10 Issue of shares by company to Minister for Finance.

10.—(1) The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the vesting day for the purposes of this Act as soon as practicable following the commencement of this Act.

(2) The company shall, as soon as may be after the vesting day, in consideration of—

(a) the surrender to the company by the Minister for Finance of all shares held by him or her in the share capital of the company, and

(b) the surrender to the company by the Minister for Finance and the persons who hold shares in trust for him or her in the share capital of the company, of all shares held in trust for the Minister for Finance in the share capital of the company,

issue to the Minister for Finance, without payment by him or her, such number of fully paid-up shares in the share capital of the company as are equal in nominal value to the value of the assets of the company less the liabilities of the company specified in the balance sheet of the company on the vesting day.

(3) The Minister for Finance may, subject to this Act, exercise in respect of the shares of the company held by him or her all of the rights and powers of a holder of such shares and, where a right or power is exercisable by attorney, exercise it by his or her attorney.

(4) The Minister for Finance may, from time to time as occasion requires, for the purpose of compliance with so much of the Companies Acts as requires that there shall always be a minimum number of members of the company, transfer to any person one of his or her shares in the share capital of the company.

11 Obligation of certain shareholders to hold shares in trust.

11.—(1) A person to whom a share in the share capital of the company is transferred under section 10(4) shall hold that share in the company in trust for the Minister for Finance and transfer, as and when required by the Minister for Finance, the share to the said Minister or to a person nominated in that behalf by the said Minister, but shall not transfer or alienate his or her share in the share capital of the company other than in accordance with this subsection.

(2) Where a member of the company dies or otherwise ceases to be a member of the company, the share in the share capital of the company held by such member shall, without the necessity of a transfer, vest in the Minister for Finance.

12 Payment of dividends, etc. into Exchequer.

12.—(1) All amounts representing dividends or other moneys received by the Minister for Finance in respect of shares held by him or her in the share capital of the company, shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

(2) All amounts representing dividends or other moneys received by a person in respect of a share held by him or her, in the share capital of the company, transferred to him or her under subsection (4) of section 10 shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

13 Borrowing by company and subsidiaries.

13.—(1) The company or a subsidiary of the company may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, and upon such terms and conditions as may be approved by the Minister for Finance, raise or borrow money (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State), by means of the issue of debentures or otherwise.

(2) The company or a subsidiary of the company may borrow money temporarily (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State) but the aggregate at any one time of moneys borrowed under this subsection shall not exceed such amount as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by direction specifies.

(3) The terms upon which the company or a subsidiary of the company may borrow moneys may include provisions charging all or part of the moneys borrowed and any related financial obligation, including interest thereon, upon all property, of whatever kind, being the assets for the time being of such body, or upon any particular property, and provisions establishing the priority of such charges among themselves.

(4) For the purposes of this section moneys borrowed in a currency other than the currency of the State shall be deemed to be the equivalent in the currency of the State of the actual moneys borrowed, such equivalent being calculated according to the rate of exchange, at the time of the borrowing for that currency and the currency of the State.

(5) The aggregate at any one time of moneys borrowed under this section shall not exceed £250 million.

(6) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and after consultation with the company, by order vary the amount specified in subsection (5).

PART III Transfer of Property and Carrying out of Works by Company

14 Transfer of land and other property.

14.—(1) On the vesting day, all lands which immediately before that day were—

(a) vested in the Minister and used or intended to be used in connection with—

(i) a function of the Minister corresponding to a function conferred on the company by section 16, or