Local Government Act 2019

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, commencement and collective citation

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Local Government Act 2019.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(3) The Local Government Acts 1925 to 2016 and this Act may be cited together as the Local Government Acts 1925 to 2019.

2. Interpretation

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1991” means the Local Government Act 1991;

“Act of 1992” means the Electoral Act 1992;

“Act of 2000” means the Planning and Development Act 2000;

“administrative area” has the meaning assigned to it by the Principal Act;

“chief executive” means—

(a) in relation to the city council, the chief executive of the city council, and

(b) in relation to the county council, the chief executive of the county council;

“city council” means the council of the city of Cork;

“Cork boundary alteration” means the alteration of the boundary of the city of Cork and the boundary of the county of Cork effected by section 8;

“Cork local authorities” means—

(a) the city council, and

(b) the county council;

“county council” means the council of the county of Cork;

“deposited map” means the map (a true copy of which was laid before each House of the Oireachtas on 25 July 2018)—

(a) deposited on behalf of the Minister at the offices of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government situated at the Custom House in the city of Dublin, on 25 July 2018 for the purpose of the Cork boundary alteration,

(b) described as having been deposited for that purpose, and

(c) sealed with the official seal of the Minister;

“financial settlement” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25;

“implementation plan” has the meaning assigned to it by section 19;

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Principal Act;

“Minister” means the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government;

“oversight committee” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18;

“Principal Act” means the Local Government Act 2001;

“property vesting day” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (4) of section 12;

“relevant area” means the area inside the red line (but not including the red line) and hatched in green on the deposited map;

“staff transfer plan” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15;

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

“true copy” means, in relation to the deposited map, a document that purports to be a reproduction of that map and that is certified by the Minister to be a true copy of that map.

3. Regulations

3. (1) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

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

(b) Where regulations under this subsection are proposed to be made, a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each such House.

(4) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act (other than subsection (3) and section 41) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4. Order under section 34 of Local Government Act 1991

4. Section 34 of the Act of 1991 shall apply in relation to the Cork boundary alteration as it applies to a boundary alteration effected by a primary order within the meaning of that section, subject to—

(a) the modification that—

(i) references to authority concerned shall be construed as references to the council of the city of Cork or the council of the county of Cork, as the case may require,

(ii) references to primary order shall be construed as references to this Act, and

(iii) references to relevant area shall be construed as references to relevant area within the meaning of this Act,

and

(b) any other necessary modifications.

5. Directions of Minister

5. (1) The Minister may give—

(a) the city council, or

(b) the county council,

such directions, in relation to the performance of its functions under, or for the purposes of, this Act or in relation to the implementation of the Cork boundary alteration, as the Minister considers appropriate.

(2) The Minister may give the chief executive of the city council or the chief executive of the county council such directions, in relation to—

(a) the performance of his or her functions under, or for the purposes of, this Act,

(b) the implementation of the Cork boundary alteration,

as the Minister considers appropriate.

(3) A direction under this section may be given in relation to—

(a) the performance of any particular function or the performance of functions in general,

(b) the implementation of the Cork boundary alteration in general or any particular aspect of its implementation, or

(c) the making of any particular decision or doing of any particular act.

(4) A direction under this section may contain a requirement that, in relation to the Cork boundary alteration—

(a) a particular act be done or not be done, or

(b) a particular act be done in such manner or subject to such conditions as may be specified in the direction.

(5) A person to whom a direction is given under this section shall comply with that direction.

6. Expenses

6. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Alteration of Cork City and Cork County Boundaries

7. Transfer day

7. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the transfer day for the purposes of this Act.

8. Alteration of boundary

8. Subject to section 27, the relevant area shall—

(a) on the transfer day, cease to be part of the administrative area of the county council, and

(b) from that day, be part of the administrative area of the city council.

9. Transfer of land

9. (1) On the transfer day and subject to sections 10 and 11, all lands situated in the relevant area that, immediately before the transfer day, were vested in the county council and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with such lands shall, without any conveyance or assignment, stand vested in the city council for all the estate or interest therein that, immediately before the transfer day, was vested in the county council, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the lands continuing to subsist and being capable of being performed.

(2) On the transfer day all choses-in-action relating to land vested in the city council under subsection (1), that immediately before that day, were vested in the county council shall stand vested in the city council without any assignment.

(3) Every chose-in-action vested in the city council by virtue of subsection (2) may, on and after the transfer day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council or the county council to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that subsection.

(4) All functions of the county council connected with any land standing vested in the city council under subsection (1) shall, from the transfer day and in relation to such land, be performable by or on behalf of the city council only.

10. Delayed transfer of land

10. (1) The city council and the county council may, before the transfer day, make an agreement providing for the continued vesting, for such period commencing on the transfer day as may be specified in the agreement, in the county council of any land situated in the relevant area that, upon the making of the agreement, vested in the county council.

(2) On the day immediately following the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (1)—

(a) all lands to which an agreement under that subsection applies and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with such lands shall, without any conveyance or assignment, stand vested in the city council for all the estate or interest therein that, immediately before that day, was vested in the county council, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the lands continuing to subsist and being capable of being performed,

(b) all choses-in-action relating to land vested in the city council under paragraph (a), that immediately before that day, were vested in the county council shall stand vested in the city council without any assignment.

(3) Every chose-in-action vested in the city council by virtue of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) may, on and after the day referred to in that subsection, be sued on, recovered or enforced by the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council or the county council to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that paragraph.

(4) All functions of the county council connected with any land standing vested in the city council under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) shall, from the day referred to in that subsection and in relation to such land, be performable by or on behalf of the city council only.

(5) An agreement under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as the city council and the county council reasonably consider necessary for the purposes of the agreement.

11. Other agreements in relation to land situated in relevant area

11. (1) The city council and the county council may, before the transfer day, make an agreement providing for—

(a) the continued vesting in the county council on and after the transfer day of any land situated in the relevant area that, upon the making of the agreement, vested in the county council,

(b) the joint ownership by the city council and the county council on and after the transfer day of any such land, or

(c) the use by the city council and the county council of any such land or any land standing vested in the city council by virtue of section 9.

(2) An agreement under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as the city council and the county council reasonably consider necessary for the purposes of the agreement.

12. Transfer of property other than land

12. (1) (a) For the purposes of this Act, the city council and the county council may, not later than 30 April 2019, jointly designate in writing such property (other than land), including choses-in-action, of the county council as they may determine.

(b) The city council and the county council shall have regard to the implementation plan when making a designation under paragraph (a).

(c) On the transfer day, all property designated under paragraph (a) shall, without any assignment, stand vested in the city council.

(d) Every chose-in-action vested in the city council by virtue of this subsection may, on and after the transfer day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council or the county council to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that subsection.

(e) All functions of the county council connected with any property standing vested in the city council by virtue of this subsection shall, from the transfer day and in relation to such property, be performable by or on behalf of the city council only.

(2) The oversight committee may make a recommendation to the city council and the county council that the city council and the county council jointly make a designation under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) in relation to—

(a) such property as may be specified in the recommendation, or

(b) property of such a class as may be so specified.

(3) The Cork local authorities shall jointly notify the oversight committee in writing of the making of a designation by them under this section.

(4) (a) For the purposes of this Act, the Minister may make an order designating such property (other than land), including choses-in-action, of the county council as he or she may determine.

(b) If the Cork local authorities fail to make a designation of a type to which a recommendation under subsection (2) applies before the expiration of one month from the date of the making of that recommendation, the Minister shall, for the purposes of this Act and not later than 2 months after the end of that month, make an order designating the property in respect of which the recommendation was made.

(c) Property designated by order under paragraph (a) or (b) shall stand vested in the city council on such day (in this Act referred to as a “property vesting day”) as the Minister may, by that order, appoint, and different property vesting days may be so appointed in relation to different property so designated.

(d) Every chose-in-action vested in the city council by virtue of this subsection may, on and after the property vesting day concerned, be sued on, recovered or enforced by the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council or the county council to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that subsection.

(e) All functions of the county council connected with any property standing vested in the city council by virtue of this subsection shall, from the property vesting day concerned and in relation to such property, be performable by or on behalf of the city council only.

(5) More than one designation may be made under this section and different designations may be made in respect of different property or different classes of property.

13. Transfer of rights and liabilities, and continuation of leases, licences and permissions

13. (1) (a) Subject to section 34, all rights and liabilities of the county council subsisting immediately before the transfer day and arising by virtue of any contract or commitment (expressed or implied) shall, on that day, stand transferred to the city council in so far only as they relate to—

(i) the relevant area,

(ii) land vested in the city council under section 9,

(iii) property vested in the city council under subsection (1) of section 12, or

(iv) the provision of a service that immediately before that day was provided in respect of the relevant area.

(b) Every right and liability transferred by paragraph (a) to the city council may, on and after the transfer day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council or the county council to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by that subsection of such transfer.

(c) Every lease, licence, wayleave or permission granted by the county council in relation to—

(i) land vested in the city council under section 9, or

(ii) property vested in the city council under subsection (1) of section 12,

and in force immediately before the transfer day, shall continue in force as if granted by the city council.

(2) (a) Subject to section 34, all rights and liabilities of the county council subsisting immediately before the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (1) of section 10 and arising by virtue of any contract or commitment (expressed or implied) shall, on the day referred to in subsection (2) of that section, stand transferred to the city council in so far only as they relate to land vested in the city council under the said subsection (2).

(b) Every right and liability transferred by paragraph (a) to the city council may, on and after the day referred to in subsection (2) of section 10, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council, or the county council, to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by that paragraph of such transfer.

(c) Every lease, licence, wayleave or permission granted by the county council in relation to land vested in the city council under subsection (2) of section 10 and in force immediately before the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (1) of that section, shall continue in force as if granted by the city council.

(3) (a) Subject to section 34, all rights and liabilities of the county council subsisting immediately before a property vesting day and arising by virtue of any contract or commitment (expressed or implied) shall, on that property vesting day, stand transferred to the city council in so far only as they relate to property vested in the city council under subsection (4) of section 12 on that property vesting day.

(b) Every right and liability transferred by paragraph (a) to the city council may, on and after the property vesting day concerned, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the city council in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the city council or the county council to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by that subsection of such transfer.