TRANSPORT (RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE) ACT, 2001

47D. F93[Supplemental powers for the Board.

47D.—(1) Before determining an application for a railway order, the Board may, at its absolute discretion and at any time—

• (a) request further submissions or observations from the applicant, any person who made submissions or observations in relation to the application or any other person who may, in the opinion of the Board, have information which is relevant to the determination of the application,

• (b) without prejudice to section 41, make any information relating to the application available for inspection, notify any person or the public that the information is so available and, if it considers appropriate, invite further submissions or observations to be made to it within such period as it may specify, or

• (c) hold meetings with the applicant or any other person where it appears to the Board to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of—

• (i) determining the application, or

• (ii) resolving any issue with the applicant or any disagreement between the applicant and any other party, including resolving any issue or disagreement in advance of an oral hearing.

• (2) Where the Board holds a meeting in accordance with subsection (1)(c), it shall keep a written record of the meeting and make that record available for inspection.

• (3) The Board, or an employee of the Board duly authorised by the Board, may appoint any person to hold a meeting referred to in subsection (1)(c).

• (4) The Board may, if it is provisionally of the view that it would be appropriate to grant the railway order concerned were certain alterations (specified in the notification referred to in this subsection) to be made to the terms of the application in respect of it or the proposed order, notify the applicant that it is of that view and invite the applicant to make to the terms of the application or the proposed order alterations specified in the notification and, if the applicant makes those alterations, to furnish to it such information (if any) as it may specify in relation to the proposed application or order, in the terms as so altered, or, where necessary, a revised F90[environmental impact assessment report] in respect of it.

• (5) If the applicant makes the alterations to the terms of the application or proposed order specified in a notification given to the applicant under subsection (4), the terms of the application or order as so altered shall be deemed to be the application or order for the purposes of this Part.

• (6) The Board shall, where the applicant has made the alterations to the terms of the application or proposed order specified in a notification given to the applicant under subsection (4), require the applicant—

• (a) to publish in one or more newspapers circulating in the area or areas in which the proposed railway works would be situate F91[, and make available electronically in such manner as may be appointed by the Board,] a notice stating that the applicant has, pursuant to an invitation of the Board, made alterations to the terms of the application or order (and the nature of those alterations shall be indicated) and, if it be the case, that information in relation to the terms of the application or order as so altered or a revised F90[environmental impact assessment report] in respect of the development has been furnished to the Board, indicating the times at which, the period (which shall not be less than 3 weeks) during which and the place, or places, where a copy of the information or the F90[environmental impact assessment report] may be inspected free of charge or purchased on payment of a specified fee (which fee shall not exceed the reasonable cost of making such copy) and that submissions or observations in relation to that F92[information or report] may be made to the Board before the expiration of the indicated period, and

• (b) to send to the planning authority and each person to which a notice was served pursuant to section 40(1)(c) or (e), and to every (if any) occupier and every (if any) owner of land referred to in the order (being, if the terms of it have been so altered, the order as so altered)—

• (i) a notice of the furnishing to the Board of the F92[information or report] referred to in paragraph (a), and

• (ii) a copy of that F92[information or report],

and to indicate to that authority or other person that submissions or observations in relation to that F92[information or report] may be made to the Board before the expiration of a period (which shall be not less than 3 weeks) beginning on the day on which the notice is sent to the authority or other person by the applicant.

• F91[(6A) The Board shall make—

• (a) any information, submission, observation, record or alteration to the terms of an application proposed by the Board under subsection (4), that contains significant data in relation to the likely effects on the environment of the proposed railway works,

• (b) any notice, any information in relation to the terms of an application or order as altered and any revised environmental impact assessment report, referred to in subsection (6)(a),

available electronically on the Board’s website.]

• (7) The Board shall, in deciding whether to grant the railway order to which the application concerned relates, have regard to any information submitted on foot of a notice under subsection (4), including any revised F90[environmental impact assessment report], or any submissions or observations made on foot of a request under subsection (1) or a notice under subsection (6).]

F94[Direction of payment of costs by Board.

47DD.—(1) Where the Board determines an application made under section 37 (amended by section 49 of the Act of 2006) it may at its absolute discretion direct the payment of such sums as it considers reasonable by the applicant to the Board towards the costs incurred by the Board of—

• (a) conducting consultations under section 47B,

• (b) compliance by the Board with a request by an applicant for an opinion of the Board under section 39(3) (amended by section 49 of the Act of 2006), or

• (c) determining an application made under section 37 aforesaid,

and, in such amount as the Board considers to be reasonable, state the sum to be paid and direct the payment of that sum, to any planning authority that incurred costs during the course of consideration of that application and to any other person as a contribution to the costs incurred by that person during the course of consideration of that application (each of which sums the Board may, by virtue of this subsection, require to be paid), and the applicant shall pay such sums.

• (2) A reference to costs in subsection (1) shall be construed as a reference to such costs as the Board in its absolute discretion considers to be reasonable costs, but does not include a reference to so much of the costs there referred to as have been recovered by the Board by way of a fee charged under section 144 of the Act of 2000.

• (3) A notice of a determination of an application under section 37 shall be furnished to the applicant as soon as may be after the determination but shall not become operative until any requirement under subsection (1) in relation to the payment by the applicant of a sum in respect of costs has been complied with.

• (4) Where an applicant for permission fails to pay a sum in respect of costs in accordance with a requirement made under subsection (1) to the Board, the authority or any other person concerned (as may be appropriate) may recover the sum as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.]

47E. F96[Objective of the Board in relation to railway orders.

47E.—(1) It shall be the duty of the Board to ensure that—

• (a) consultations held under section 47B are completed, and

• (b) a decision under section 43 on an application for a railway order is made,

as expeditiously as is consistent with proper planning and sustainable development and, for that purpose, to take all such steps as are open to it to ensure that, in so far as is practicable, there are no avoidable delays at any stage in the holding of those consultations or the making of that decision.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) and subject to subsections (3) to (6), it shall be the objective of the Board to ensure that a decision under section 43 on an application for a railway order is made—

• (a) within a period of 18 weeks beginning on the last day for making submissions or observations in accordance with the notice referred to in section 40(1)(b), or

• (b) within such other period as the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, having consulted with the Minister, may prescribe by regulations either generally or in respect of a particular class or classes of matter.

• (3) Where it appears to the Board that it would not be possible or appropriate, because of the particular circumstances of the matter with which the Board is concerned, to determine the matter within the period referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) as the case may be, the Board shall, by notice in writing served on the applicant, the Minister, any planning authority involved and any other person who submitted submissions or observations in relation to the matter before the expiration of that period, inform the Minister, the authority and those persons of the reasons why it would not be possible or appropriate to determine the matter within that period and shall specify the date before which the Board intends that the matter shall be determined.

• (4) Where a notice has been served under subsection (3), the Board shall take all such steps as are open to it to ensure that the matter is determined before the date specified in the notice.

• (5) The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, having consulted the Minister, may by regulations vary the period referred to in subsection (2)(a) either generally or in respect of a particular class or classes of applications for railway orders, where it appears to him or her to be necessary, by virtue of exceptional circumstances, to do so and, for so long as the regulations are in force, this section shall be construed and have effect in accordance therewith.

• (6) Where the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, having consulted with the Minister, considers it to be necessary or expedient that a certain class or classes of application for a railway order that are of special strategic, economic or social importance to the State be determined as expeditiously as is consistent with proper planning and sustainable development, he or she may give a direction to the Board that priority be given to the determination of applications of the class or classes concerned, and the Board shall comply with such a direction.

• (7) The Board shall include in each report made under section 118 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 F97[or under section 522 of the Act of 2024] a statement of the number of matters which the Board has determined within a period referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) and such other information as to the time taken to determine such matters as the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government may direct.]

47F. F98[Construction of certain references and transitional provision.

47F.—(1) References to the Minister in a railway order, being an order made before the amendment of this Act by the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006, shall be construed as references to the Board.

• (2) Notwithstanding the amendments of this Act made by the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006, any thing commenced under this Part but not completed before the commencement of those amendments may be carried on and completed after the commencement of those amendments as if those amendments had not been made.

• (3) The reference in subsection (2) to any thing commenced under this Part includes a reference to—

• (a) an application that has been made under section 37 (being that section in the terms as it stood before the commencement of the amendments referred to in that subsection),

• (b) an application that has been made under subsection (7) of section 43 (being that section in the terms as it stood before the commencement of those amendments), and

• (c) any step (including the holding of a public inquiry) that has been taken in the making of a decision in relation to an application referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or any step that has been taken on foot of the making of such a decision.

• (4) For the avoidance of doubt, any questioning, after the commencement of the amendments referred to in subsection (2), by the procedures of judicial review under the Order (within the meaning of section 47) of the validity of any thing referred to in subsection (2) completed after that commencement, or being carried on after that commencement, shall be done in accordance with the provisions of this Part as amended by the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006.]

47G. F99[Transitional and saving provisions relating to Act of 2024.

47G.—(1) Notwithstanding the repeal of sections 135, 143 or 146 of the Act of 2000 effected by section 6 of the Act of 2024, those sections of the Act of 2000 shall continue to apply and have effect on and after that repeal in relation to an oral hearing referred to in section 42 in respect of an application for a railway order made under section 37 but not determined before the repeal.

• (2) Notwithstanding the repeal of paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (4) of section 37 of the Act of 2000 by section 6 of the Act of 2024, those paragraphs and any regulations made under that paragraph (e) shall continue to apply and have effect on and after that repeal for the purposes of section 47A(2)(b)(ii).]

48. Power of railway undertaking to carry out railway works and to enter land.

48.—(1) (a) Upon the commencement of a railway order, the railway undertaking may, for the purposes of carrying out the works allowed under that order—

• (i) enter on any land the subject of the order and carry out on the land railway works authorised by the order,

• (ii) enter on any other land and occupy it or otherwise make use of it for the purpose of carrying out the works aforesaid,

• (iii) enter on any land for the purpose of carrying out any maintenance or improvement of the railway concerned,

• (iv) enter on any land and attach to any wall, house or other building any bracket, cable or wire or other fixture required for the construction, operation or maintenance of the railway concerned,

• (v) enter on any land and underpin or otherwise strengthen any house or other building affected or likely to be affected by the works or the railway aforesaid,

and do on any such land all such other things as are, in its opinion, ancillary to, or reasonably necessary for, the purposes aforesaid.

• (b) Before exercising any power under paragraph (a), the railway undertaking shall either—

• (i) obtain the consent of any owner or occupier of the land concerned, or

• (ii) give to any owner or occupier of the land concerned not less than 14 days notice in writing stating its intention to enter on the land, the purposes for which the entry is intended to be made and that he or she may apply in accordance with paragraph (c) to the District Court for an order prohibiting entry.

• (c) A person to whom a notice has been given under this subsection may, not later than 14 days after the giving of the notice, apply, on notice to the railway undertaking, to the judge of the District Court having jurisdiction in the district court district in which the land is situated for an order prohibiting the entry and, upon the hearing of the application, the judge may, if he or she so thinks proper, either prohibit the entry or specify conditions to be complied with by the person making the entry.

• (d) Where a judge of the District Court prohibits under this subsection a proposed entry onto land, it shall not be lawful for any person to enter onto the land under paragraph (a), and where a judge of the District Court specifies under this subsection conditions to be complied with by a person entering onto land, every person who enters onto the land under paragraph (a) shall comply with the conditions so specified.

• (2)
• (a) Where, in the opinion of the railway undertaking—

• (i) the exercise of a power conferred on it by subsection (1) is urgently required for the purpose of preventing or minimising injury, loss or damage to persons or property, and

• (ii) it is not reasonably possible to comply, in relation to such exercise, with paragraph (b) of that subsection,

the railway undertaking may exercise the power without having complied in relation to such exercise, with that paragraph.

• (b) Before exercising a power by virtue of this subsection, the railway undertaking shall give to any owner or occupier of the land notice of its intention to enter on the land, and of the purposes for which the entry is intended to be made.

• (c) Where, in the opinion of the railway undertaking, it is not reasonably possible to comply with paragraph (b), the railway undertaking may exercise the power concerned without having complied therewith and, as soon as may be thereafter, shall give to any owner or occupier of the land concerned a notice in writing specifying the powers exercised and the purposes of such exercise.

• (3)
• (a) Where an owner or occupier of land (other than a person whose land is acquired under section 45) suffers loss, injury or damage or incurs expenditure in consequence of the exercise by the railway undertaking of a power conferred on it by this section, the railway undertaking shall pay to him or her compensation in respect of the loss, injury, damage or expenditure and the amount of the compensation shall, in default of agreement, be determined by arbitration under and in accordance with the Lands Clauses Acts (other than sections 38 to 67 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845) and, for the purposes of those Acts, the railway undertaking shall be deemed to be the promoter of the undertaking and this Part and the railway order concerned shall be deemed to be the special Act; and, for the purposes of such determination, those Acts shall apply with any other necessary modifications and are incorporated (except insofar as they are inconsistent with and subject to any amendments or modifications, express or implied, thereof effected by this Act) with this Part.

• (b) In assessing the compensation payable to a person under paragraph (a), regard shall be had to any benefit to any property of the person that arises or may reasonably be expected to arise from the exercise of the power concerned.

49. Lopping of trees.

49.—(1) The Agency, CIÉ, or a railway undertaking may lop, remove or cut any tree, shrub or hedge which obstructs or interferes with—

• (a) surveys or inspections under section 36,

• (b) railway works authorised by a railway order,

• (c) the maintenance, operation or improvement of railway works or cables or other railway apparatus,

• (d) the operation of a railway,

• (e) the laying and erection of electric wires, or

• (f) the safe passage of the railway vehicles including the safety of any passengers on board such vehicles on a railway line.

• (2) Subject to subsection (4), before lopping or cutting any tree, shrub or hedge under this section, the Agency, CIÉ, or railway undertaking shall serve on the owner or occupier of the land or, in the case of a public road, on the road authority charged with the maintenance of such road on which such tree, shrub or hedge is standing, notice in writing of its intention to do so and, after the expiration of 28 days from the date of such service, the Agency, CIÉ, or railway undertaking, may lop or cut any tree, shrub or hedge if the owner or occupier has not already done so.

• (3) Where an occupier or owner of land cuts or lops any tree, shrub or hedge under this section, the expense incurred by him or her in so doing shall be paid to him or her on demand by the Agency, CIÉ, or railway undertaking, and the amount of such expenses shall be recoverable from the Agency, CIÉ, or railway undertaking, in default of agreement, as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (4) If a railway undertaking, for reasons of safety, needs to fell or lop any tree, shrub or hedge, the conditions in subsections (2) do not apply.

• (5) Where a railway undertaking fells or lops any tree, shrub or hedge under subsection (4), it shall give written notice to the owner or occupier of the land concerned informing them of such felling or lopping and the reasons for so doing.

• (6) The requirement for a tree felling licence under section 37 of the Forestry Act, 1946, does not apply to the Agency, CIÉ, or railway undertaking for the purposes of a railway development under this Part.

50. Breaking up of roads, etc.

50.—(1) Upon the commencement of a railway order, the railway undertaking shall thereupon be authorised for the purpose of carrying out railway works or the operation, maintenance, repair or improvement of a railway or for any purpose incidental to the purposes aforesaid to—

• (a) open, break up and, if necessary, alter the level or route of any public road, or

• (b) construct a new road.

• (2) The railway undertaking shall not open, break up or alter the level or route of any public road or construct a new road without the prior consent in writing (which shall not be unreasonably withheld) of the road authority in whose functional area the road is situate or, in the case of a new road, to be situate.

• (3) A consent under subsection (2) may be given by the road authority subject to such conditions, restrictions or requirements as it thinks fit and specifies in the consent and the railway undertaking shall comply with such conditions, restrictions or requirements (if any).

51. Safety of railways.

51.—F100[…]

52. Service of notices.

52.—(1) On request from an applicant or railway undertaking, and if the Minister is satisfied in relation to a notice required to be served under this Part that—

• (a) reasonable grounds exist for dispensing with the service of the notice, and

• (b) the dispensing with the service of the notice will not cause injury or damage to any person,

he or she may dispense with the service of the notice and every such dispensation shall have effect according to the terms thereof.

• (2) Where a notice is required or authorised by or under this Part to be served on a person, it shall be addressed to him or her and shall be served on or given to him or her in any one of the following ways—

• (a) where it is addressed to him or her by name, by delivering it to him or her,

• (b) by leaving it at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address,

• (c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter, or by any other form of recorded delivery service specified by the Minister, addressed to him or her at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address, or

• (d) where the address at which he or she ordinarily resides cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry and the notice is so required or authorised to be served in respect of any land or premises, by delivering it to some person over 16 years of age resident or employed on such land or premises or by affixing it in a conspicuous position on or near such land or premises.

• (3) Where a notice is required by or under this Part to be served on an owner or occupier of any land or premises and the name of the owner or of the occupier, as the case may be, cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, it may be addressed to “the owner” or “the occupier”, as the case may require, without naming him or her.

• (4) A person who, at any time during the period of 12 weeks after a notice is affixed under subsection (2) (d), removes, damages or defaces the notice without lawful authority is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €2,000 (£1,575.13) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.

• (5) For the purposes of this section, a company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 2001) shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business.

53. Obstruction.

53.—A person who obstructs or interferes with or assists a person to obstruct or interfere with any person in the performance of a function conferred on that person under this Part is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €2,000 (£1,575.13) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.

PART 4 On-street Regulation of Light Railway

54. Speed limits.

54.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), a speed limit applying under Part IV (as amended by the Road Traffic Act, 1968 and the Act of 1994) of the Act of 1961 in respect of a public road shall apply to a light rail vehicle.

• (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the Minister may make regulations prescribing in respect of any specified public road or parts of a public road the speed which shall be the speed limit on such road or roads for a light rail vehicle, and any such regulations shall be road regulations for the purposes of section 95(1) of the Act of 1961.

• (3) Before making regulations under subsection (2), the Minister shall give notice to—

• (a) a local authority and the commissioners of any town in the area concerned, of the proposed regulations relating to public roads in the area and shall consider any representations made in writing to the Minister by such local authority or commissioners within the period (not being less than 28 days after the date of service of the notice) specified in the notice, and

• (b) the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána of the proposed regulations and shall consider any representations made in writing to the Minister by the Commissioner within the period (not being less than 28 days after the date of service of the notice) specified in the notice.

• (4) The Minister shall not make regulations under subsection (2) relating to national roads or motorways (within the meaning of the Act of 1993) without the prior consent of the National Roads Authority.

• (5) A person who drives a light rail vehicle at a speed exceeding a speed limit applying in respect of a public road—

• (a) under the Act of 1961 as applied by this section, or

• (b) prescribed in regulations made under subsection (2),

is guilty of an offence.

• (6) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F101[€1,600].

55. Driving while unfit or under influence of intoxicant.

55.—F102[…]

56. Prohibition on person disqualified for holding driving licence from driving light rail vehicle on public road.

56.—(1) A person who is disqualified under the Act of 1961 for holding a driving licence (within the meaning of section 22 of the Act of 1961) shall not drive a light rail vehicle on a public road.

• (2) A person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F103[€5,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or to both.

57. Compulsory insurance of light rail vehicles.

57.—F104[…]

58. Minimum qualifications and competencies required by driver of light rail vehicle.

58.—The Minister may make regulations prescribing the minimum qualifications and competencies required by the driver of a light rail vehicle.

59. Duty to give information to member of Garda Síochána.

59.—(1) Where a member of the Garda Síochána alleges to a person driving a light rail vehicle that the member suspects that such person has committed an offence under this Part, or under the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1995, the member may require such person to give his or her name and address to the member and may, if such person refuses or fails to give his or her name and address or gives a name or address which the member has reasonable grounds for believing to be false or misleading, arrest such person without warrant.

• (2) Where a person, when his or her name and address is required of him or her under this section, refuses or fails to give his or her name and address or gives a name or address which is false or misleading, such person is guilty of an offence.

• (3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F105[€1,600].

60. Unauthorised taking or interference with light rail vehicle.

60.—(1) A person shall not use or take possession of a light rail vehicle without the consent of the railway undertaking concerned.

• (2) A person shall not, without lawful authority or reasonable cause, interfere or attempt to interfere with a light rail vehicle or get on or into or attempt to get on or into a light rail vehicle.

• (3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence.

• (4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F106[€5,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

• (5) Where a member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under this section, he or she may arrest the person without warrant.

61. Restriction on application of regulations made under section 11 of Act of 1961.

61.—Regulations made under section 11 of the Act of 1961 shall not apply to a light rail vehicle.

62. Amendment of section 35(2)(d) of Act of 1994.

62.—Section 35(2) of the Act of 1994 is amended by the insertion after paragraph (d) of the following paragraph:

• “(dd) prohibiting or restricting pedestrians from using a specified road or specified parts of a road upon which there is a light railway (within the meaning of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act, 2001).”.

63. Excavation or closure of public roads.

63.—(1) A person shall not excavate a public road or part thereof on which there is a light railway without the prior written consent of the road authority concerned and subject to any conditions contained in any such consent.

• (2) Before giving its consent under subsection (1), a road authority shall obtain the written views of the Agency and shall consider any written objections or representations made by the Agency and not withdrawn.

• (3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F107[€5,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.

• (4) Where a road authority proposes to excavate or close under section 75 of the Act of 1993 a public road or part thereof on which there is a light railway it shall obtain the written views of the Agency and shall consider any written objections or representations made by the Agency and not withdrawn before carrying out any such excavation or closure.

PART 5 Miscellaneous

64. Trespass on railway.

64.—(1) A person who trespasses on a railway, that has been built pursuant to a railway order, and that is not on a public road or trespasses on any land, machinery or equipment used for the purposes of the railway, is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F108[€1,600].

• (2) Where a person is charged with an offence under this section in respect of a trespass—

• (a) the fact that he or she had not received a personal warning shall not be a ground of defence,

• (b) he or she shall not, in any case, be convicted of the offence unless the railway undertaking proves to the satisfaction of the Court that, at the date of the trespass there was affixed at the station of the railway undertaking nearest to the place where the trespass is alleged to have been committed a prominent notice in legible characters warning persons not to trespass on the railways of the railway undertaking.

• (3) A person lawfully crossing a railway of a railway undertaking by means of any accommodation works maintained in pursuance of section 68 of the Railways Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, does not commit an offence under this section.

65. Unlawful use of railway.

65.—A person who uses or attempts to use, on a railway that has been built pursuant to a railway order, a vehicle with flange wheels or wheels suitable only for use on the rails of a railway without the written consent of the railway undertaking is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F109[€5,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

66. F110[Bye-laws.

66.—(1) Bye-laws may be made—

• (a) by the Agency, in relation to a railway, or

• (b) with the consent of the Agency, by a railway undertaking in relation to a railway it operates or under its control,

in relation to any one or more of the following matters—

• (i) the general regulation, subject to any statutory provisions in that behalf, of—

• (I) the travelling upon or use of a railway, (including a requirement to travel with a valid ticket or pass and the issue of such), or

• (II) the working of railway transport services by a railway undertaking,

• (ii) the prevention of the commission of nuisances in or upon a railway,

• (iii) the prevention of damage to railway infrastructure,

• (iv) the removal from or the prohibition of the use on a railway of any vehicle or thing which is or may become a danger to life, health, the operation or maintenance of a railway or would otherwise interfere with the proper operation of a railway,

• (v) the regulation of parking of vehicles on or adjacent to a railway,

• (vi) the safe custody and return or disposal of any property found on a railway,

• F111[(via) the detention, storage, release and disposal of vehicles,]

• (vii) the repair, improvement, extension and development of a railway,

• (viii) subject to any statutory provisions in that behalf, the regulation of works that would affect the operation or maintenance of a railway or would otherwise interfere with the proper operation of a railway.

• (2) Bye-laws under this section may contain such incidental, subsidiary and ancillary provisions as the Agency or the railway undertaking making the bye-laws, considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of the bye-laws.

• (3) The Agency, or, as the case may be, a railway undertaking may provide for reasonable charges in respect of matters provided for in bye-laws made by it under this section.

• (4) Whenever, after the passing of the Railway Safety Act 2005, the Agency or a railway undertaking proposes to make bye-laws under this section, the following provisions have effect—

• F112[(a) the National Roads Authority or the undertaking, as the case may be, shall, publish notice of the proposal—

• (i) on its website, and

• (ii) in at least 2 national newspapers circulating within the State or in the area to which the bye-laws relate,]

• (b) the notice shall include—

• (i) a statement of the purposes for which the bye-laws are to be made,

• F112[(ii) an intimation that—

• (I) a copy of the draft bye-laws is open for public inspection at the principal offices in the State of the National Roads Authority or the undertaking, as the case may be, and

• (II) that the draft bye-laws are published on the National Roads Authority’s or the undertaking’s, as the case may be, website, and]

• (iii) an intimation that any person may submit to the Agency or the undertaking, as the case may be, objections to the draft bye-laws at any time during the period of 30 days commencing on the date of the first publication of the notice,

• (c) the Agency or the undertaking, as the case may be, shall, during that period of 30 days, keep a copy of the draft bye-laws open for public inspection during ordinary office hours at its principal offices,

• (d) any person who objects to the draft bye-laws may submit his or her objection to the Agency or the undertaking, as the case may be, in writing at any time during that period of 30 days and the Agency or the undertaking, as the case may be, shall consider the objections, and

• (e) on the completion of that period of 30 days, the Agency or the undertaking, as the case may be, shall as it thinks proper, refrain from making the bye-laws or make the bye-laws either without modification or with modification as it thinks proper.

• F113[(4A) The National Roads Authority or the undertaking shall publish on its website bye-laws made by it under this section. The failure to publish such bye-laws is not a defence to a contravention of or failure to comply with such bye-laws.]

• (5) Such details of bye-laws under this section shall be displayed on a railway, where practicable, in conspicuous places in such manner as—

• (a) the Agency, where the bye-laws are made by it, or

• (b) a railway undertaking, where the bye-laws are made by it, subject to any general direction of the Agency,

considers best adapted for giving information to the public. The absence of any such display is not a defence to a contravention of or failure to comply with such bye-laws.

• (6) Bye-laws under this section shall not be made without the consent of the Minister.

• (7) Every bye-law made under this section, after the passing of the Railway Safety Act 2005, shall be laid, where they are made by the Agency, by the Agency and where they are made by a railway undertaking, by the railway undertaking, before each House of the Oireachtas, as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the bye-law is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the bye-law is laid before it, the bye-law shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to anything previously done under it.

• (8) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with a bye-law under this section is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,000.

• (9) The liability of an offender to a fine under subsection (8) does not prejudice the recovery of any fare, tariff or fee payable by him or her to the Agency or a railway undertaking for any damage caused by him or her to property of the Agency or a railway undertaking.]

66A. F114[Immobilisation, removal, etc. of unlawfully parked vehicles.

66A.—(1) Where an authorised officer finds on or adjacent to a railway a vehicle which he or she believes—

• (a) is parked in contravention of bye-laws made under section 66,

• F115[(aa) is parked without payment of the charge imposed for its parking in a parking facility provided by the Agency,]

• (b) is or may become a danger or a nuisance to persons, or

• (c) would otherwise interfere with the proper operation of a railway,

he or she or a person acting under his or her direction may—

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

• (ii) move it from the place where he or she finds it (whether or not he or she has fixed an immobilisation device to it) to another place and, if he or she considers it necessary, fix an immobilisation device to it in that other place.

• (2) 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.

• (3) Subject to subsection (4), 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 or her direction.

• (4)
• (a) An immobilisation device fixed to a vehicle under this section shall be removed or a vehicle moved under this section shall be released, only—

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

• (ii) for the purpose of the removal of the vehicle under section 97 of the Act of 1961, or

• (iii) for the purpose of moving the vehicle under subsection (1).

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

• (c) An immobilisation device fixed to a vehicle under this section shall be removed from it or a vehicle moved under this section shall be released, 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.

• (5) 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 is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,000.

• (6) Charges may be prescribed for the purposes of this section for the removal of an immobilisation device or the release of a vehicle.

• (7) A person who—

• (a) obstructs or impedes an authorised officer, or a person acting under his or her direction, in the performance of his or her duties 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,

is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €2,000.

• (8) 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 or the Defence Forces, in the performance of his or her duties, in an emergency situation.

• (9) In 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;

"prescribed" means prescribed in regulations made by the Agency with the consent of the Minister;

"vehicle" has the same meaning as in the Act of 1961.]

66B. F116[Powers of authorised officers.

66B.—(1) If an authorised officer reasonably suspects that a person—

• (a) is contravening or has contravened or is failing or has failed to comply with a bye-law made under section 66,

• (b) is committing or has committed on a railway an offence under section 64 or 65,

• (c) is assaulting or has assaulted or is causing or has caused deliberate harm to another on a railway,

• (d) is causing or has caused wanton or deliberate damage to railway infrastructure,

• (e) has contravened section 118 or 132 of the Railway Safety Act 2005,

• (f) is obstructing or has obstructed or is impeding or has impeded an authorised officer in the exercise of his or her duties under this section, section 66A, 66C, or under any bye-law made under section 66,

• (g) on any railway is intoxicated or is committing or has committed an offence under section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, or

• (h) if requested by an authorised officer to cease such contravention or action or to so comply, fails to comply with the request,

he or she may—

• (i) using such reasonable force as the circumstances require, remove or escort the person from the railway or any part of it,

• (ii) in circumstances where the authorised officer considers it to be justified, arrest the person without warrant, or

• (iii) require the person to give his or her name and address and, if the person fails or refuses to do so or gives a name that the authorised officer reasonably suspects is false or misleading, arrest that person without warrant,

and, if he or she is not a member of the Garda Síochána, deliver, as soon as practicable, the person, if arrested, into the custody of a member of the Garda Síochána to be dealt with according to law.

• (2) A person who fails or refuses to give his or her name or address when required under subsection (1), or gives a name or address which is false or misleading, is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,000.

• (3) The Agency, or a railway undertaking with the consent of the Agency, may appoint such and so many persons as it considers necessary to be authorised officers for the purposes of this section, section 66A, 66C or any bye-law made under section 66.

• (4) An authorised officer, who is not a member of the Garda Síochána, is not entitled to exercise a power under this section unless he or she has received training and instruction, which, in the opinion of the Agency is such as will provide guidance to him or her in the exercise of the power.

• (5) The Agency or a railway undertaking, as the case may be, shall endorse on the warrant it furnishes to an authorised officer under subsection (6) a statement to the effect that the officer has received the training and instruction referred to in subsection (4).

• (6) An authorised officer, who is not a member of the Garda Síochána, shall, on his or her appointment under this section, be furnished by the Agency or a railway undertaking, as the case may be, with a warrant of his or her appointment as an authorised officer.

• (7) An authorised officer, who is not a member of the Garda Síochána, when exercising a power under this section shall be in uniform provided or authorised—

• (a) where he or she is appointed by the Agency, by the Agency, or

• (b) where he or she is appointed by a railway undertaking, by the railway undertaking.

• (8) The arrest of a person under this section does not prejudice the re-arrest of the person by a member of the Garda Síochána.

• (9) An authorised officer, who is not a member of the Garda Síochána, may be referred to—

• (a) where he or she is appointed by the Agency, by the Agency, or

• (b) where he or she is appointed by a railway undertaking, by the railway undertaking,by such title as it decides.

• (10) In this section a reference to the committal of an offence or an act includes a reference to an attempt to commit the offence or the act.

• (11) In this section "authorised officer" means a person appointed under this section or a member of the Garda Síochána whose attendance is requested by an authorised officer or by the Agency or a railway undertaking.]

66C. F117[Fixed payment notice.

66C.—(1) Where—

• (a) an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 64 (1), 66 (8) (for a contravention or failure to comply with a bye-law made under that section), 66A(5) or (6), or 66B(2) or section 118 or 132 of the Railway Safety Act 2005, or

• (b) a member of the Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 54(5),

he or she may serve the person with a notice ("fixed payment notice") in the prescribed form stating that—

• (i) the person is alleged to have committed the offence,

• (ii) the person may during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice make to the Agency or the railway undertaking concerned, as the case may be, at the address specified in the notice a payment of €100, or in lieu of that amount such other amount standing prescribed for the time being, accompanied by the notice, and

• (iii) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

• (2) Where a fixed payment notice is given under subsection (1)—

• (a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the Agency or the railway undertaking concerned, as the case may be, at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in it and accompanied by the notice,

• (b) the Agency or the railway undertaking concerned may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money so paid, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any circumstances by the person who made it, and

• (c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

• (3) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made lies on the defendant.

• (4) In this section "prescribed" means prescribed in regulations made by the Minister.]

66D. F118[Parking charges

66D.—The Agency may provide parking facilities on land adjacent to a railway and fix charges in respect of the parking of vehicles on such land.]

67. Powers of arrest under Part.

67.—(1) If a member of the Garda Síochána reasonably suspects that a person has committed an offence under this Part, he or she may—

• (a) arrest that person without warrant, or

• (b) require him or her to give his or her name and address and, if the person fails or refuses to do so or gives a name or address that the member reasonably suspects to be false or misleading, the member may arrest that person without warrant.

• (2) A person who fails or refuses to give his or her name or address when required under subsection (1), or gives a name or address which is false or misleading, is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F119[€1,600].

68. Prosecutions for offences under Part.

68.—Proceedings for an offence under this Part may be brought and prosecuted by the Agency, CIÉ, or railway undertaking operating the railway to which the offence relates.

69. Application of Railways Acts.

69.—The Regulation of Railways Acts, 1840 to 1889, and any other Act relating to railways shall, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, apply to railway undertakings and any railway constructed under this Act.

70. Amendment to section 43 of Act of 1993.

70.—Section 43 of the Act of 1993 is amended by the substitution for subsection (2A) (inserted by section 3 of the Roads (Amendment) Act, 1998) of the following subsection:

• “(2A) Notwithstanding subsection (2) and section 46(4), direct access from any adjoining land to a motorway or from the motorway to such land may be granted by a road authority to the Railway Procurement Agency, an applicant or a railway undertaking (within the meaning of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act, 2001) in respect of a railway (within the meaning of that Act)—

  • (a) authorised by a railway order under section 43 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act, 2001, or

  • (b) the subject of an application for a railway order under section 37 of that Act,

  subject to such conditions as the road authority may decide, and, accordingly, any such access shall not be a contravention of subsection (2) or section 46(4).”.

71. Subsidiary of CIÉ.

71.—(1) Such functions of CIÉ as it may determine may be performed by a subsidiary and, accordingly, CIÉ may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, for the purpose of such performance, acquire or form and establish one or more subsidiaries.

• (2) The memorandum and articles of association of a subsidiary shall be in such form as may be determined by CIÉ with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

• (3) The Minister may give a direction in writing to CIÉ on any matter relating to a subsidiary or the policies, programmes or activities of a subsidiary and CIÉ shall comply or, as may be appropriate, secure compliance with the direction.

• (4) A direction under this subsection in relation to the disposal of any assets or surpluses of a subsidiary shall not be given without the consent of the Minister for Finance.

• (5) In this section, “subsidiary” means a subsidiary (within the meaning of section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963) of CIÉ.

72. Amendment to section 11 of Transport (Re-organisation of Córas Iompair Éireann) Act, 1986.

72.—(1) Section 11 of the Transport (Re-organisation of Córas Iompair Éireann) Act, 1986, is amended—

• (a) in subsection (2) (a), by the substitution for “6” of “9”, and

• (b) by the deletion of subsection (4),

and the said paragraph, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

• (2) CIÉ shall, as soon as may be, amend the articles of association of the three companies formed pursuant to section 6 of the Transport (Re-organisation of Córas Iompair Éireann) Act, 1986, to give effect to the amendment affected by subsection (1).

TABLE

• (a) the number of directors (including the chairman) shall not be more than 9;

Footnotes