European Communities (Road Passenger Transport) Regulations, 1981.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Road Passenger Transport) Regulations, 1981.
(2) The Principal Regulations and these Regulations may be cited together as the European Communities (Road Passenger Transport) Regulations, 1977 and 1981.
(3) The Principal Regulations and these Regulations shall be construed together as one.
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paragraphs: In these Regulations—
“the Council Directive of 1977” means Council Directive No. 77/796/EEC of 12 December, 1977;
“the Principal Regulations” means the European Communities (Road Passenger Transport) Regulations, 1977 ( S.I. No. 388 of 1977 ).
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paragraphs: A document purporting to be a certificate signed by an officer of the Minister and to certify that on a specified day, or on specified days or during the whole of a specified period, a specified person was not the holder of a current road passenger certificate shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that he was an officer of the Minister and until the contrary is proved, be evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
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paragraphs: (1) Where a machanically propelled vehicle is about to be used for the carriage of passengers by a person engaged in the occupation of road passenger transport operator, the person so engaged shall deliver to the person who is to act as driver of the vehicle while it is being so used either the relevant road passenger certificate (together with, in case such certificate is, by virtue of Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations, no longer in force, a current certificate of renewal) or a copy of such certificate (or, where appropriate, a copy of each such certificate).
(2) A person who fails to comply with the requirements of this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £50.
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paragraphs: (1) Any member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na may demand of any person, driving a mechanically propelled vehicle which is being used in the carriage of passengers in relation to which the restrictions imposed by Regulation 3(1) of the Principal Regulations apply, the production of the relevant road passenger certificate (together with, in case such certificate is, by virtue of Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations, no longer in force, a current certificate of renewal) or a copy of such certificate (or, where appropriate, a copy of each such certificate), and if that person refuses or fails to produce such certificate, certificates, copy or copies, as may be appropriate, there and than, or though producing such document or documents, refuses or fails to permit such member to read it or them, that person shall, unless within ten days after the date on which the production was demanded he produces such document or documents in person to a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na at a Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na station to be named by such person at the time the production is demanded, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £50.
(2) Where a person of whom the production of a document or documents is demanded under this Regulation refuses to produce such document or documents or produces the document or documents but refuses or fails to permit a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na making the demand to read the document or documents, or where a person produces such document or documents at a Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na station in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Regulation but refuses to allow the member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na to whom the document or documents is now produced to read it or them, the member may demand of such person his name and address and if such person refuses or fails to give his name and address, or gives a name or address which is false or misleading, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £50.
(3) A person who, when producing a document to a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na pursuant to this Regulation, permits the member to see so much of the document as contains the name and address of the person to whom the document was granted and the date of the termination of the period in relation to which it was granted shall for the purposes of these Regulations be regarded as having permitted such member to read the document.
(4) (a) In proceedings for an offence under this Regulation it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown by the defendant, that he produced in person, within ten days after the day on which the production was demanded, neither a document nor documents, as may be appropriate in the particular case, in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Regulation.
(b) Where in proceedings for an offence under this Regulation it is proved that a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na demanded of the defendant the production of a road passenger certificate, that at the time of the alleged offence the defendant was driving a mechanically propelled vehicle and that the vehicle was being used for the carriage of passengers, then, unless there is sufficient other evidence to raise an issue as to whether the vehicle was being used in the carriage of passengers in relation to which the restrictions imposed by Regulation 3 (1) of the Principal Regulations apply, the defendant shall be regarded as having driven the vehicle while it was being used in the carriage of passengers in relation to which the said restrictions apply.
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paragraphs: The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by—
(a) as regards Regulation 3 (2)—
(i) the insertion of the following new subparagraph after subparagraph (a):
“(aa) the carriage is provided by a person having such a main occupation and is by means of a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of not more than seventeen persons (including the driver),”, and
(ii) the substitution of “provided by a person who is a person of the description contained in section 6 (1) (b) of the Road Transport Act, 1935 (No. 23 of 1935),” for “by means of a mechanically propelled vehicle which complies with the conditions specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 6 (1) of the Road Transport Act, 1935 (No. 23 of 1935)” in subparagraph (e); and the said subparagraph (e), as so amended, is set out in paragraph 1 of the Table to this Regulation;
(b) the substitution of the following for paragraph (9) of Regulation 5:
“(9) On the application for the grant or renewal of a road passenger certificate, the Minister shall, in considering whether or not a person satisfies the requirements of provision (a), take into account any conviction of which particulars are by these Regulations required to be given by the applicant.”;
(c) the substitution of the following for subparagraph (d) of Regulation 5(15):
“(d) any offence under these Regulations,
(e) any offence under a law in force in a Member State of the European Communities, other than the State, and which corresponds to any of the foregoing offences.”;
(d) the addition to Regulation 5 of the following paragraph:
“(16) The references in paragraph (5) (b) of this Regulation to a national certificate of competence and an international certificate of competence shall be construed as including a reference to any document which is issued for the purposes of the Council Directive outside the State by the competent authority in a Member State of the European Communities in accordance with Council Directive No. 77/796/EEC of 12 December, 1977, and corresponds to a national certificate of competence or, as may be appropriate, an international certificate of competence.”; and
(e) the substitution of “physically or legally incapable” for “incapable through ill-health” where it firstly occurs and of “dies or becomes physically or legally incapable” for “becomes incapable through ill-health” where it secondly occurs in paragraph (1) of Regulation 8, and the said paragraph (1), as so amended, is set out in paragraph 2 of the Table to this Regulation.
TABLE
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paragraphs: The carriage is provided by a person who is a person of the description contained in section 6 (1) (b) of the Road Transport Act, 1935 (No. 23 of 1935), and is being used in the course of a passenger road service which is under a road passenger licence and is carried on only on one or more occasions specified in the licence or in the course of international transport.
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paragraphs: Where the holder of a road passenger certificate dies or becomes physically or legally incapable of carrying on or managing the relevant road passenger transport business or where a person designated in pursuance of Regulation 5 of these Regulations dies or becomes physically or legally incapable of carrying on or managing such business, the Minister may, if he is satisfied that it is necessary in order to avoid hardship, grant a permission under this Regulation on an application being made to him in that behalf by or on behalf of such holder or person or the personal representative of such holder or person.
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paragraphs: Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of Regulation 13(5) of the Principal Regulations are hereby revoked.