Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011

“Requirements as to documents of identity and supply of information.

11.— (1) Every person (other than a person under the age of 16 years) landing in the State shall be in possession of a valid passport or other equivalent document, issued by or on behalf of an authority recognised by the Government, which establishes his or her identity and nationality.

• (2) Every person landing in or embarking from the State shall furnish to an immigration officer, when requested to do so by that officer—

  • (a) the passport or other equivalent document referred to in subsection (1), and

  • (b) such information in such manner as the immigration officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the performance of his or her functions.

• (3)

  • (a) A person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence.

  • (b) In proceedings brought against a person for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence for the person to prove that, at the time of the alleged offence, he or she had reasonable cause for not complying with the requirements of this section to which the offence relates.

• (4) This section does not apply to any person (other than a non-national) coming from, or embarking for, a place in the State, Great Britain or Northern Ireland.

• (5) In this section and section 12, ‘non-national’ means a person who is neither—

  • (a) an Irish citizen, nor

  • (b) a person who has established a right to enter and be present in the State under the European Communities (Aliens) Regulations 1977 (S.I. No. 393 of 1977), the European Communities (Right of Residence for Non-Economically Active Persons) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 57 of 1997) or the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006 and 2008.”,

• (b) by the substitution of the following section for section 12:

“Requirements as to production of documents.

12.— (1) Every non-national present in the State (other than a non-national under the age of 16 years) shall produce on demand—

• (a) a valid passport or other equivalent document, issued by or on behalf of an authority recognised by the Government, which establishes his or her identity and nationality, and

• (b) in case he or she is registered or deemed to be registered under this Act, his or her registration certificate.

• (2)

  • (a) A non-national who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence.

  • (b) In proceedings brought against a person for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence for the person to prove that, at the time of the alleged offence, he or she had reasonable cause for not complying with the requirements of this section to which the offence relates.

• (3) In this section ‘on demand’ means on demand made at any time by the Minister, any immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, for the purposes of establishing that the presence in the State of the non-national concerned is not in contravention of section 5.”,

and

• (c) by the substitution of the following section for section 19:

“Fees.

19.— (1) (a) There shall be paid to the Minister by the non-national concerned in respect of the making of an application for, or the giving of, a permission, or both, such fee (if any) as may be prescribed with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (b) There shall be paid to the registration officer concerned by the non-national concerned in respect of the issue of a registration certificate such fee (if any) as may be prescribed with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (c) There shall be paid to the Minister by the non-national concerned in respect of the issue of a travel document such fee (if any) as may be prescribed with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (2) The Minister may refuse to—

  • (a) consider an application for a permission,

  • (b) give a permission, or

  • (c) issue a travel document,

  if the appropriate fee, prescribed under paragraph (a) or (c) of subsection (1), has not been paid.

• (3) The registration officer concerned may refuse to issue a registration certificate if the appropriate fee, prescribed under subsection (1)(b), has not been paid.

• (4) A fee payable under this section may be recovered by the person to whom it is payable from the person by whom it is payable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (5) Regulations under subsection (1)(a) may prescribe different fees to be paid in different circumstances or in respect of different permissions (including permissions to which different conditions are attached under section 4(6)).

• (6) Regulations under this section may provide for the waiver in specified circumstances of any prescribed fees, including fees payable by—

  • (a) adult persons unable without undue hardship to arrange for their payment for themselves and their dependants,

  • (b) applicants within the meaning of the Act of 1996, and

  • (c) persons in respect of whom a declaration (within the meaning of that Act) is in force.

• (7) In this section, ‘travel document’ means a document (other than a document to which section 4(1) of the Refugee Act 1996 refers) issued solely for the purpose of providing the holder with a document which can serve in lieu of a national passport.”.

PART 12 Amendment of Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009

35. Definition (Part 12).

35.— In this Part “Act of 2009” means the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009.

36. Amendment of section 27(1) of Act of 2009.

36.— Section 27(1) of the Act of 2009 is amended by the substitution of “may release or contract not to exercise the power by deed or in any other way in which the power can be released” for “may release or contract not to exercise the power by deed or in any other way in which the power could be created”.

37. Amendment of section 35 of Act of 2009.

37.— Section 35 of the Act of 2009 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

• “(1) An easement or profit à prendre may be acquired at law by prescription—

  • (a) on registration of a court order under this section, or

  • (b) in accordance with section 49A of the Act of 1964.”.

38. Amendment of section 38 of Act of 2009.

38.— Section 38 of the Act of 2009 is amended, in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “within 12 years” for “within 3 years”.

39. Amendment of section 39 of Act of 2009.

39.— Section 39 of the Act of 2009 is amended by the insertion, after subsection (1), of the following new subsection:

• “(1A) Subsection (1) does not affect the exercise by the Property Registration Authority of the power to modify or cancel any entry in accordance with section 69(4) of the Act of 1964.”.

PART 13 Amendment of Registration of Title Act 1964

40. Definition (Part 13).

40.— In this Part “Act of 1964” means the Registration of Title Act 1964.

41. Amendment of Act of 1964 (insertion of section 49A).

41.— The Act of 1964 is amended by the insertion, after section 49, of the following new section:

“Registration of easements and profits à prendre in certain cases.

49A.— (1) Where any person claims to be entitled to an easement or profit à prendre and the relevant requirements set out in sections 33 to 38 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 have been met, that person may apply to the Authority and the Authority, if satisfied that there is such an entitlement to the easement or profit à prendre concerned, may cause it, as appropriate, to be—

• (a) registered as a burden under section 69(1)(jj),

• (b) entered in the register pursuant to section 82 or, in the case of a profit à prendre in gross, in the register of ownership maintained under section 8(b)(i).

• (2) Subsection (1) applies only in relation to claims in respect of which—

  • (a) the land benefited by the easement or profit à prendre, to which other land is subject, is registered land, or

  • (b) the claim is made as part of an application for first registration of that land.”.

42. Amendment of section 69 of Act of 1964.

42.— Section 69(1) of the Act of 1964 is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (j):

• “(jj) any easement or profit à prendre where the Authority is satisfied, pursuant to section 49A, that there is an entitlement to such an easement or profit à prendre;”.

PART 14 Taxing-Masters

43. Appointment of Taxing-Masters.

43.— (1) The Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following for paragraph 8:

“8. The Taxing-Masters’ Office shall be under the management of such Taxing-Master as the Government may designate, and there shall be transacted in that Office the business of the Taxing-Masters other than such business as is required by law to be transacted by a Taxing-Master in person.”.

• (2) The Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following for paragraph 18:

“18. (1) No person shall be appointed to be a Taxing-Master unless at the time of his or her appointment that person—

• (a) has practised as a solicitor for a period of not less than 10 years,

• (b) has practised as a barrister for a period of not less than 10 years, or

• (c) has practised as a legal costs accountant for a period of not less than 10 years.

• (2) In subparagraph (1), legal costs accountant means a person who has regularly participated in the preparation and presentation of bills of costs of solicitors for taxation and has regularly attended before a Taxing-Master on the taxation of such bills of costs.

• (3) In computing the periods referred to in subparagraph (1)—

  • (a) in the case of a solicitor, periods during which that person has practised as a barrister or a legal costs accountant may be aggregated with that person’s practice as a solicitor,

  • (b) in the case of a barrister, periods during which that person has practised as a solicitor or a legal costs accountant may be aggregated with that person’s practice as a barrister,

  • (c) in the case of a legal costs accountant, periods during which that person has practised as a solicitor or barrister may be aggregated with that person’s practice as a legal costs accountant.

• (4) In applying subparagraph (3) no period of time may, as respects any person, be counted more than once.

• (5) A person appointed to be a Taxing-Master shall be appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister.

• (6) Notwithstanding any other enactment, a person appointed pursuant to this paragraph—

  • (a) shall, subject to clauses (b) and (c), hold office for a period not exceeding 5 years,

  • (b) shall be required to retire on attaining the age of 70 years,

  • (c) shall not be eligible for re-appointment or to have the term of appointment extended.”.

• (3) Subsection (2) applies only as respects the appointment of a Taxing-Master made after the coming into operation of this section.

PART 15 Tribunals of Inquiry

44. Interpretation (Part 15).

44.— In this Part—

“relevant material”, in relation to a tribunal, means all material which is evidence received by, or a document created by or for, the tribunal whatsoever (including any document which is incomplete or in draft form only);

“responsible Minister”, in relation to a tribunal, means the Minister of the Government to whom the appropriation-in-aid was granted out of which the expenses of the tribunal are paid;

“tribunal” means a tribunal to which the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 is applied under section 1 of that Act.

45. Application of Part 15.

45.— This Part applies to a tribunal irrespective of whether the tribunal is appointed before, on or after the enactment of this Part.

46. Deposition of relevant material following completion of inquiry, etc.

46.— (1) Where a tribunal has completed its inquiry or has indicated to the responsible Minister that it is about to complete its inquiry, the responsible Minister shall, as soon as it is practicable for him or her to do so and subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance, by notice in writing given to the chairman of the tribunal, require the chairman to deposit the relevant material—

• (a) with such person who is, or at such place which is, specified in the notice, and

• (b) within the period specified in the notice for the purpose.

• (2) For the purposes of assisting the chairman of a tribunal to perform his or her functions under subsection (4) or (5) in a manner that is as efficient, effective and expeditious as is practicable, the responsible Minister may set out in a notice under subsection (1) guidelines in respect of the performance of those functions by the chairman.

• (3) Subject to subsection (5), the chairman of a tribunal shall comply with the requirements of a notice under subsection (1) (including any guidelines set out in the notice) given to the chairman in respect of the relevant material.

• (4) The chairman of a tribunal may, in the course of complying with the requirements of a notice under subsection (1) given to the chairman in respect of the relevant material, and after having regard to section 47, cause that material to be accompanied by his or her—

• (a) opinion in writing as to which parts of that material, if any, need, in particular, to be considered for the purposes of section 47(2), and

• (b) reasons in writing for holding the opinion referred to in paragraph (a).

• (5) Subject to subsection (6), the chairman of a tribunal to whom a notice under subsection (1) has been given in respect of the relevant material may, with the consent of the responsible Minister, return any part of that material to the person who gave the part concerned to the tribunal if—

• (a) the chairman is satisfied that—

• (i) the retention of the part concerned is not necessary in order to understand any of the following:

• (I) any of the proceedings of the tribunal;

• (II) any interim report of the tribunal;

• (III) the final report of the tribunal;

and

• (ii) the part has little, if any, historical worth or relevance to either—

• (I) the matter that the tribunal was established to inquire into, or

• (II) the findings of the tribunal,

and

• (b) the chairman—

• (i) has prepared a record which gives a general description of the part of the relevant material concerned, specifies the name and address of the person to whom the part is to be returned and specifies the basis or bases on which the chairman is, in respect of that part, satisfied as described in paragraph (a), and

• (ii) ensures that such record accompanies the relevant material which is not returned to any person pursuant to this subsection.

• (6) Where the chairman of a tribunal would, pursuant to subsection (5), return a part of the relevant material to the person who gave the part concerned to the tribunal but for the fact that—

• (a) the person has declined to accept the return of the part, or

• (b) the whereabouts of the person cannot be reasonably ascertained,

then—

• (i) the chairman may, with the consent of the responsible Minister, cause the part to be disposed of in such manner as the chairman thinks proper, and

• (ii) the chairman shall—

• (I) prepare a record which gives a general description of the part, specifies the name and address of the person who has declined to accept the return of the part (if paragraph (a) is applicable), specifies the name of the person to whom it is sought to return the part but whose whereabouts cannot be reasonably ascertained (if paragraph (b) is applicable), specifies the basis or bases on which the chairman is, in respect of that part, satisfied as described in paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and specifies the manner of disposal of the part, and

• (II) ensure that such record accompanies the relevant material which is not returned to any person pursuant to subsection (5) or otherwise disposed of pursuant to this subsection.

• (7) Where a tribunal has ceased to be seized of the relevant material (whether pursuant to the provisions of this section or otherwise), nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the responsible Minister, or another Minister of the Government for the time being responsible for the storage of the material, from causing the material to be deposited from time to time with such person, or at such place, as the responsible Minister, or that other Minister of the Government, as the case may be, thinks proper.

47. Availability of relevant material for inspection by public under National Archives Act 1986.

47.— (1) Any relevant material of a tribunal (other than any part of such relevant material which falls within section 46(5) or (6)) that constitutes Departmental records within the meaning of section 2(2) of the National Archives Act 1986 is, on the expiry of 30 years after the date of the dissolution of the tribunal, deemed to have been prescribed under section 8(11) of that Act as a class of records to which a certificate granted under section 8(4) of that Act may relate.

• (2) As soon as is practicable after the date on which any relevant material of a tribunal is deemed to have been prescribed as described in subsection (1), an officer of a Department of State authorised for the purposes of section 8(4) of the National Archives Act 1986 shall consider whether, after having regard to any opinion and reasons referred to in section 46(4) that the chairman of the tribunal caused to accompany the material and subject to any consent required under that section 8(4), the material, or specified parts of it, should be certified under that section 8(4).

• (3) Subject to subsections (1) and (2), the National Archives Act 1986 applies to any relevant material of a tribunal (other than any part of such relevant material which falls within section 46(5) or (6)) that constitutes Departmental records within the meaning of section 2(2) of that Act.

48. Restriction of Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003.

48.— F1[…]

PART 16 Family Mediation Services

49. Definitions (Part 16).

49.— In this Part—

“Agency” means the Family Support Agency;

“Board” means the Legal Aid Board;

“family mediation services” has the same meaning as it has in the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (inserted by section 54 of this Act).

50. Transfer of functions relating to family mediation services from Agency to Board.

50.— On the coming into operation of this section the functions of the Agency relating to family mediation services shall be transferred to and be a function of the Board.

51. Transfer of certain property.

51.— (1) The Agency shall, as soon as practicable following receipt by it of a direction from the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in that regard, transfer such land as may be specified in that direction to the Board.

• (2) A direction referred to in subsection (1) shall be made with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

52. Transfer of certain rights and liabilities.

52.— (1) The Agency shall, as soon as practicable following receipt by it of a direction from the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in that regard, transfer such rights and liabilities as may be specified in that direction to the Board.

• (2) A direction referred to in subsection (1) may be made by reference to a class or classes of rights or liabilities.

• (3) A direction referred to in subsection (1) shall be made with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (4) In the event of any doubt arising as to whether a right or obligation stands transferred to the Board in accordance with this section, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform may issue a determination as respects any such right or liability and such determination shall be admissible as evidence in any proceedings relating to the right or liability concerned.

• (5) Every right or liability transferred to the Board pursuant to this section may, on and after such transfer, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the Board in its own name.

53. Transfer of officers and staff.

53.— (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, such officers and members of the staff of the Agency who are designated by the Minister for the purposes of this section shall stand transferred to the Board on such day as may be specified for the purpose by the Minister.

• (2) The designation of staff and the specifying of a day in accordance with subsection (1) shall be made with the consent of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (3)
• (a) Subject to paragraph (b) every person who, immediately before he or she was transferred to the Board in accordance with subsection (1), was an officer of the Agency shall, on such transfer, be an officer of the Board and hold an unestablished position in the Civil Service.

• (b) Every person who, immediately before he or she was transferred to the Board in accordance with subsection (1), was a fixed-term employee of the Agency shall, on such transfer, hold an unestablished position as a fixed-term employee of the Board for the unexpired duration of his or her contract of employment.

• (4) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association concerned, a person referred to in subsection (1) shall not, on being transferred to the Board, be made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service (including those relating to tenure of office) or of remuneration than the terms and conditions of service (including those relating to tenure of office) or of remuneration to which he or she was subject immediately before that transfer.

• (5) The previous service of a person transferred under subsection (1) shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to the exceptions or exclusions in, the following:

• (a) the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007;

• (b) the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001;

• (c) the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003;

• (d) the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997;

• (e) the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001;

• (f) the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005;

• (g) the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007;

• (h) the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004;

• (i) the Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006;

• (j) the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005;

• (k) the Carer’s Leave Act 2001.

• (6) Any superannuation benefits awarded to or in respect of a person transferred under subsection (1), and the terms and conditions relating to those benefits, shall be no less favourable than those applicable to or in respect of the person immediately before the transfer.

• (7) In this section—

“Civil Service” has the same meaning as in the Civil Service Regulations Act 1956;

“recognised trade union or staff association” means a trade union or staff association recognised by the Agency or the Board for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of the persons concerned.

54. Amendment of Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.

54.— With effect from the coming into operation of section 50 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011, the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 is amended:

• (a) in section 1, by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘family mediation services’ means services designed to assist persons involved in the process of seeking—

• (i) a separation,

• (ii) a divorce,

• (iii) a dissolution of a civil partnership,

• (iv) payment of maintenance,

• (v) an order of a court or an agreement relating to guardianship or custody of a child, or to parental access to a child,

to reach agreement relating to some or all of such matters as relate to the persons concerned;”,

• (b) in section 5, by the substitution of the following for subsection (1):

• “(1) The principal functions of the Board shall be:

  • (a) to provide, within the Board’s resources and subject to the other provisions of this Act—

    • (i) legal aid and advice in civil cases to persons who satisfy the requirements of this Act, and

    • (ii) a family mediation service;

  • (b) where the Board considers it necessary or expedient to do so to make arrangements for the provision of—

    • (i) family mediation services on its behalf by the engagement of persons appointed by it for that purpose, and

    • (ii) training in family mediation, either by itself or by persons appointed by it for that purpose.”,

• (c) by the insertion, after section 11, of the following section:

“Appointment of persons to provide family mediation services or training in relation to such services.

11A.— (1) The Board may appoint persons who it considers to be qualified by reason of training and experience, to provide family mediation services on its behalf or to provide training in family mediation.

• (2) A person appointed pursuant to subsection (1) shall not be an officer or member of the staff of the Board.

• (3) A person appointed by the Board pursuant to subsection (1) shall be appointed subject to such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (4) Subsection (2) shall not be construed as preventing the Board appointing a person as an officer or member of the staff of the Board in relation to the provision of a family mediation service by the Board.”,

• (d) by the insertion, after section 36, of the following sections:

“Confidentiality of information disclosed in course of family mediation.

36A.— (1) Any communication (including any record of such communication) between any of the parties to a family mediation provided by the Board or provided by other persons appointed for that purpose by the Board under this Act, and a third party, including a mediator, for the purposes of attempting to reach agreement relating to such of the following matters as relate to the parties to the mediation—

• (a) a separation,

• (b) a divorce,

• (c) a dissolution of a civil partnership,

• (d) payment of maintenance,

• (e) an order of a court or an agreement relating to guardianship or custody of a child, or to parental access to a child,

shall not be disclosed and shall not be admissible as evidence in any court.

• (2) Subsection (1) is in addition to and not in substitution for any other statutory provision.

• (3) Nothing in this section shall prevent a party who is engaged in or who engaged in a family mediation communicating the progress made in that mediation to his or her solicitor and obtaining legal advice in relation to the matters the subject of the mediation.

Guidelines relating to confidentiality of family mediation.

36B.— (1) The Board shall, with the consent of the Minister, make guidelines with the objective of preventing the disclosure of communications referred to in section 36A.

• (2) Guidelines made under subsection (1) shall include provisions relating to—

  • (a) the utilisation of premises for the purposes of family mediation services other than the premises where the solicitor of the Board is usually located who is acting for a person who has been issued with a legal aid certificate under section 29 and who is a party to a family mediation provided by the Board or a person appointed by it, and

  • (b) the regular training of staff and officers of the Board and of persons appointed by the Board to provide family mediation services regarding the need to maintain confidentiality of communications made in connection with a family mediation.”,

and

• (e) in section 37—

• (i) by the insertion in subsection (2), after paragraph (f), of the following paragraphs:

• “(fa) make provision as to the conditions relating to the provision of family mediation services by the Board;

• (fb) prescribe fees or charges which may be charged by the Board in relation to the provision of family mediation services, which regulations may prescribe different fees or charges in relation to different classes of persons or different classes of cases;”,

and

• (ii) by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsection:

• “(3) Regulations made pursuant to subsection (2)(fb) shall not prescribe fees or charges in relation to the provision of family mediation services where the parties to the mediation had agreed to enter such mediation before the coming into operation of section 50 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011.”.

55. Amendment of Family Support Agency Act 2001.

55.— Section 4 of the Family Support Agency Act 2001 is amended—

• (a) in subsection (1), by the deletion of paragraphs (a) and (b), and

• (b) in subsection (2), by the deletion of paragraph (a).

PART 17 Miscellaneous

56. Amendment of Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003.

56.— (1) The Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 is amended—

• (a) by the insertion, after section 3 of the following section:

“Civil actions to which Act does not apply.

3A.— Notwithstanding section 3, this Act does not apply to a civil action to which any of the following applies:

• (a) the Warsaw Convention;

• (b) the Montreal Convention;

• (c) Council Regulation (EC) No. 2027/97;

• (d) section 46(2) of the Civil Liability Act 1961;

• (e) the Athens Convention;

• (f) Regulation (EC) No. 392/2009;

• (g) Part III of the Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1996;

insofar as those statutory provisions are in force and insofar as those conventions and regulations are applicable to or in the State.”,

• (b) in section 4(1), by the insertion of the following:

“ ‘Athens Convention’ means the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, as amended by the Protocol of 2002 (the Athens Convention) and as amended from time to time;

‘Council Regulation (EC) No. 2027/97’ means Council Regulation (EC) No. 2027/97 on air carrier liability in respect of the carriage of passengers and their baggage by air, as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 889/2002 ¹ and as amended from time to time;

‘Montreal Convention’ means the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed at Montreal on 28 May 1999 and as amended from time to time;

‘Regulation (EC) No. 392/2009 ²’ means Regulation (EC) No. 392/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents, as amended from time to time;

‘Warsaw Convention’ means the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929, or the Warsaw Convention as amended—

• (a) at The Hague on 28 September 1955,

• (b) by the Convention supplementary to the Warsaw Convention done at Guadalajara on 18 September 1961, and

• (c) as amended from time to time;”,

• (c) in section 12, by the substitution for subsection (5) of the following:

• “(5) The issuing of a notice of motion or the moving of a motion for the purposes of an application referred to in subsection (4) shall not be regarded as the commencement of proceedings in respect of the relevant claim for the purposes of any applicable limitation period in relation to such claim (including any limitation period under the Statute of Limitations 1957, section 9(2) of the Civil Liability Act 1961, the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991 and an international agreement or convention by which the State is bound).”,

and

• (d) by the substitution of the following for section 50:

“Reckoning of time for purpose of Statute of Limitations, etc.

50.— In reckoning any period of time for the purpose of any applicable limitation period in relation to a relevant claim (including any limitation period under the Statute of Limitations 1957, section 9(2) of the Civil Liability Act 1961, the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991 and an international agreement or convention by which the State is bound), the period beginning on the making of an application under section 11 in relation to the claim and ending 6 months from the date of issue of an authorisation under, as appropriate, section 14, 17, 32, or 36, rules under section 46(3) or section 49 shall be disregarded.”.

• (2) The amendment effected by paragraph (d) of subsection (1) shall apply as respects applications made under section 11 after the coming into operation of this section.

57. Amendment of section 40 of Commissions of Investigation Act 2004.

57.— Section 40 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 is amended—

• (a) in subsection (1) by the substitution of “and 2003” for “to 2003”, and

• (b) in subsection (3) by the substitution of “and 2003” for “to 2003”.

58. Amendment of section 2(2) of Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994.

58.— Section 2(2) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 is amended by the substitution of “to any complaints made to the Society by the registrar under section 14C of this Act” for “to any complaints made to the Society by the registrar under section 14B of this Act”.

59. Amendment of section 1 of Statutory Declarations Act 1938.

59.— Section 1(1) of the Statutory Declarations Act 1938 is amended by the insertion after paragraph (d) of the following paragraph:

• “(e) a judge of the District Court,”.

60. Amendment of Domestic Violence Act 1996.

60.— The Domestic Violence Act 1996 is amended—

• (a) in the definition of “the applicant” in section 2(1)(a):

• (i) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):

• “(ii) is not the spouse or civil partner within the meaning of the Act of 2010 of the respondent and is not related to the respondent within the prohibited degrees of relationship, but lived with the respondent in an intimate and committed relationship prior to the application for the safety order, or”,

• (ii) in subparagraph (iv), by the substitution of “primarily contractual, or” for “primarily contractual;”, and

• (iii) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iv):

• “(v) is a parent of a child whose other parent is the respondent;”,

and

• (b) in the definition of “the applicant” in section 3(1), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

• “(b) is not the spouse or civil partner within the meaning of the Act of 2010 of the respondent and is not related to the respondent within the prohibited degrees of relationship, but lived with the respondent in an intimate and committed relationship for a period of at least six months in aggregate during the period of nine months immediately prior to the application for the barring order, or”.

61. Amendment of Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010.

61.— The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 is amended—

• (a) in section 34(3) by the substitution of “a class D fine” for “a fine not exceeding €127”,

• (b) in section 39(2)(a) by the substitution of “a class C fine” for “a fine not exceeding €254”,

• (c) in section 63—

• (i) in subsection (2) by the substitution of “a class C fine” for “a fine not exceeding €254”, and

• (ii) in subsection (3) by the substitution of “a class E fine” for “a fine not exceeding €63”,

• (d) in section 186—

• (i) in subsection (2) by the substitution of “a class C fine” for “a fine not exceeding €254”, and

• (ii) in subsection (3) by the substitution of “a class E fine” for “a fine not exceeding €63”,

and

• (e) in section 197 by the substitution of “a class C fine” for “a fine not exceeding €254”.

62. Amendment of Official Languages Act 2003.

62.— The Official Languages Act 2003 is amended—

• (a) in the Irish text by substituting the following section for section 7:

“Achtanna an Oireachtais.

7.— (1) A luaithe is féidir tar éis aon Acht den Oireachtas a achtú, déanfar an téacs den chéanna a chló agus a fhoilsiú go comhuaineach i ngach ceann de na teangacha oifigiúla.

• (2) Ní oibreoidh fo-alt (1) chun toirmeasc a chur ar Acht den Oireachtas a fhoilsiú ar an idirlíon in aon teanga oifigiúil amháin sula ndéanfar é a chló agus a fhoilsiú de réir an fho-ailt sin.”,

and

• (b) in the English text by substituting the following section for section 7:

“Acts of the Oireachtas.

7.— (1) As soon as may be after the enactment of any Act of the Oireachtas, the text thereof shall be printed and published in each of the official languages simultaneously.

• (2) Subsection (1) shall not operate to prohibit the publication on the internet of an Act of the Oireachtas in one official language only prior to its printing and publication in accordance with that subsection.”.

63. Amendment of section 8 of Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1940.

63.— The Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1940 is amended by the substitution of the following for section 8:

“Enforcement of certain orders for periodical payments.

8.— (1) Where a monetary amount payable by virtue of an antecedent order within the meaning of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976 is not duly paid, the person entitled to the payments (in this section referred to as the applicant) may apply to the relevant District Court clerk for the issue of a summons directed to the person by whom such amounts are payable (in this section referred to as the defaulter) requiring the defaulter to attend before the District Court at a time and date specified in the summons for the purpose of giving evidence to the court as to his or her means and assets and on the hearing of such summons such person may be examined on oath by or on behalf of the applicant.

• (2) Having heard evidence as to the amount outstanding on foot of such order and having heard evidence as to the means and assets of the defaulter, the District Court Judge may make such order as to the payment, collection or recovery of the amounts outstanding under such order as to the Judge seems fair and reasonable including one or more than one of the following:

  • (a) where the Judge is satisfied that there are monies due and owing by any other person to the defaulter, an order directing such other person to pay the monies concerned to the relevant District Court clerk to the extent of the amount outstanding to the applicant on foot of the order referred to in subsection (1) and which is specified in the order together with the costs of the application under this section,

  • (b) where the Judge is satisfied that there are monies which will become due or may become due by any other person to the defaulter, an order directing such other person to pay any such monies to the relevant District Court clerk to the extent of the amount outstanding to the applicant on foot of the order referred to in subsection (1) and which is specified in the order together with the costs of the application under this section,

  • (c) where the Judge is satisfied that it would be effective to do so, an order that the amounts outstanding to the applicant referred to in subsection (1) be levied by distress against the goods of the defaulter and the sale of such goods and for the transmission to the relevant District Court clerk of the proceeds of sale after payment of all costs and expenses properly arising in connection with the levying of distress and the sale of the goods.

• (3) Every distress and sale made in pursuance of an order of the District Court Judge under this section shall be carried out by the appropriate under-sheriff.

• (4) All moneys received by the relevant District Court clerk shall be paid as soon as practicable after receipt to the applicant.

• (5) In this section “relevant District Court clerk” means the District Court clerk for the District Court area in which the defaulter resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation, unless by virtue of any other enactment relating to the antecedent order concerned any other District Court clerk is the relevant District Court clerk as respects that antecedent order.”.

64. Amendment of Courts of Justice Act 1936.

64.— The Courts of Justice Act 1936 is amended—

• (a) by the substitution of the following for section 32:

“Appeal Towns.

32.— Each city and town specified in the Second Schedule to this Act shall be an appeal town for the purposes of this Part of this Act.”,

• (b) by the substitution of the following for section 34:

“The High Court on Circuit.

34.— (1) Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8), the High Court shall, not less than once in every year, at such times as shall be determined by the President of the High Court, sit in the appeal towns referred to in subsection (2) for the purposes mentioned in that subsection and to transact such other business as shall lawfully be brought before it.

• (2) Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8), the President of the High Court shall designate the appeal towns in which the High Court shall sit in accordance with subsection (1) to hear appeals from the Circuit Court.

• (3) For the purposes of this section, one or more judges of the High Court shall hold sittings of the High Court in the appeal towns referred to in subsection (2) where their attendance is required as determined by the President of the High Court.

• (4) The High Court when sitting in an appeal town in accordance with this section shall be known and is in this Act referred to as the High Court on Circuit, and the sittings of the High Court in any such appeal town in accordance with this section shall be known and are in this Act referred to as sittings of the High Court on Circuit.

• (5) The President of the High Court shall determine, in respect of each sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the number of judges who shall sit for the purposes of the High Court on Circuit and the day and hour at which such sittings shall commence in an appeal town on each such Circuit.

• (6) Where in respect of any sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the judge (or if more than one judge shall be sitting, the senior of the judges) who shall be sitting ascertains that there is no business to be transacted at such sittings in any particular appeal town, that judge may direct in writing that it shall not be obligatory to hold such sitting in that appeal town.

• (7) Where the President of the High Court determines that the effective discharge of the business of the High Court so requires, he or she may direct that no sitting of the High Court on Circuit shall be held in a particular appeal town in a particular year.

• (8) Where the President of the High Court gives a direction in accordance with subsection (7), appeals from the Circuit Court which would, but for such direction, be due for hearing in the appeal town concerned, shall be heard at—

  • (a) a sitting of the High Court on Circuit in such other appeal town as the President of the High Court may designate, or

  • (b) the High Court sitting in Dublin,

  as the President of the High Court may direct.

• (9) Where the President of the High Court gives a direction under this section he or she shall make arrangements for the direction to be sent to the county registrar for the county in which any appeal town so affected is situate.”,

• (c) by the substitution of the following for section 35:

“The judges of the High Court on Circuit.

35.— (1) The President of the High Court shall, if and when he or she thinks proper, travel and sit as a judge of the High Court on Circuit, and every other judge of the High Court shall travel and sit as a judge of the High Court when requested by the President of the High Court to do so.

• (2) The Chief Justice shall, if and when he or she thinks proper, travel and sit as a judge of the High Court on Circuit, and every other judge of the Supreme Court shall travel and sit as a judge of the High Court on Circuit when requested by the Chief Justice to do so, and every such other judge when so travelling and sitting shall be an additional judge of the High Court.

• (3) The President of the High Court after such consultations as he or she thinks proper with the judges concerned, shall determine, in respect of every sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the several judges of the High Court who shall be requested to travel and sit for the purposes of such sittings and the particular judge or judges who shall so travel and sit on each High Court Circuit, and the President of the High Court may alter or vary any such determination.

• (4) The Chief Justice after such consultations as he or she thinks proper with the judges concerned, shall determine, in respect of every sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the several judges of the Supreme Court who shall be requested to travel and sit for the purposes of such sittings and the particular judge or judges who shall so travel and sit on each High Court Circuit, and the Chief Justice may alter or vary any such determination.”,

• (d) by the repeal of section 36,

• (e) in section 38 by the substitution of the following for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

• “(b) in every other case—

  • (i) subject to subparagraph (ii), to the High Court on Circuit sitting in the appeal town designated for the appeal in accordance with section 34(2),

  • (ii) where a direction has been given pursuant to section 34(7) in respect of the appeal town in which the appeal, but for such direction, would have been heard, to the High Court on Circuit sitting in such other appeal town, or to the High Court sitting in Dublin, as the case may be, as directed in accordance with section 34(8),

  • (iii) in subsection (4) by the substitution of “to any other appeal town or to Dublin” for “or to any other appeal town on the same circuit or to Dublin”, and

  • (iv) in subsection (5)(a) by the substitution of “in another appeal town” for “in another appeal town in the same circuit”,”,

• (f) by the substitution of the matter in the Schedule to this Act for the Second Schedule to that Act.

65. Amendment of Second Schedule to Courts and Court Officers Act 1995.

65.— Paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule to the Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 is amended by the addition of the following subparagraphs:

• “(xxxvii) An order under section 47 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 exempting a marriage from the application of section 46(1)(a)(i) (notice of intention to marry) of that Act.

• (xxxviii) An order under section 59B of the Civil Registration Act 2004 exempting the registration of a civil partnership from the application of section 59B(1)(a) (notice of intention to enter into a civil partnership) of that Act.

• (xxxix) An order under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 relating to—

• (a) directions under section 21(17) of that Act relating to the manner of giving of notice of an application under section 21 of that Act,

• (b) the deeming of notice given of an application under section 21 of that Act to be sufficient, or

• (c) dispensing with the giving of notice of an application under section 21 of that Act (other than notice referred to in subsection (10) of that section).

  • (xl) An order extending or amending the time for the service of documents.

  • (xli) An order under section 61(7) of the Registration of Title Act 1964 dispensing with the need to raise representation and ordering that the applicant be registered as owner of the land.”.

66. Amendment of section 65 of Courts of Justice Act 1936.

66.— Section 65 (as amended by section 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008) of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1):

• “(1A) In prescribing fees under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) the Minister may—

  • (a) prescribe different fees in respect of different offices referred to in that paragraph and in respect of different services provided by those offices, and

  • (b) have regard to all or any of the expenditure referred to in subsection (1B) so that so much of that expenditure as the Minister considers reasonable is recovered from those fees.

• (1B) The expenditure referred to in subsection (1A)(b) is the expenditure incurred or, as the case may be, reasonably anticipated to be incurred, by the offices referred to in subsection (1)(a) or the Courts Service in the:

  • (a) establishment, maintenance and operation of those offices or courts;

  • (b) transaction by those offices, or the courts to which they relate, of the business they are required to transact;

  • (c) provision of services and facilities to users of those offices or courts.”.

SCHEDULE “SECOND SCHEDULE

Section 64.

APPEAL TOWNS

Carlow
Carrick-on-Shannon
Castlebar
Cavan
Clonmel
Cork
Dundalk
Ennis
Galway
Kilkenny
Letterkenny
Limerick
Longford
Monaghan
Mullingar
Naas
Nenagh
Portlaoise
Roscommon
Sligo
Tralee
Trim
Tullamore
Waterford
Wexford
Wicklow

”.

Footnotes