Great Northern Railway Act, 1953
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —This Act may be cited as the Great Northern Railway Act, 1953.
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
“the Board” means the Board established by section 6;
“the Company” means the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland);
“enactment” includes any instrument made under an enactment;
“the establishment date” means the date fixed under section 6;
“land” includes land covered by water and any easement, profit or right in or over land or land covered by water;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;
“the Minister of Commerce” means the Minister of Commerce for Northern Ireland;
“the Ministry” means the Ministry of Commerce for Northern Ireland;
“railway line” includes a section of railway line;
“the Transport Tribunal” means the Transport Tribunal established by section 54 of the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950).
(2) References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment.
num: 3
paragraphs: —The Minister is hereby authorised to enter into an agreement with the Ministry in the terms of the draft set out in the First Schedule.
num: 4
paragraphs: —(1) Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895 , shall not operate so as to require the Board to deliver to the Revenue Commissioners a copy of this Act or to pay any stamp duty under that section on any copy of this Act.
(2) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any instrument made for the purpose of section 20.
(3) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any agreement, bond, affidavit, statutory declaration, arbitration award or other instrument made for the purpose of section 38.
num: 5
paragraphs: —The expenses incurred by the Minister in the execution of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
num: 6
paragraphs: —(1) There shall be a Board to be known as the Great Northern Railway Board.
(2) The Board shall stand established on such date as is agreed upon by the Minister and the Minister of Commerce.
(3) The establishment date shall be declared by the Minister by order.
num: 7
paragraphs: —(1) The general function of the Board shall be to operate the undertaking carried on before the establishment date by the Company and the Board shall have all such powers as are necessary for that purpose.
(2) The Board shall have power—
(a) to enter into and carry out working agreements or arrangements for the provision by any person of transport services which the Board is required or authorised to provide, or for the provision by the Board of any transport services which any other person has power to provide,
(b) to enter into and carry out agreements with other transport undertakers with a view to co-ordinating the transport services provided by the Board with other transport services.
(3) The Board shall comply with such directions as may be given by the Minister, jointly with the Minister of Commerce, as to matters of policy relating to the conduct of the undertaking.
(4) The Board shall comply with such directions as may be given by the Minister as to matters of policy relating exclusively to the conduct of the undertaking in the State.
Transfer of Assets of Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland).
num: 8
paragraphs: —(1) On the establishment date the whole of the undertaking of the Company (other than the land of the Company) including all property, assets, powers, rights, licences and privileges held or enjoyed in connection therewith or appertaining thereto shall by virtue of this section be transferred to the Board.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act the Board may exercise and enforce all rights, powers and privileges, other than powers of raising money, which were, immediately before the establishment date, vested in the Company.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act the Board shall, to the exclusion of the Company, be subject to all liabilities, whether arising by statute or otherwise, to which the Company was subject immediately before the establishment date.
(4) The Board shall not be subject to any liability in respect of any security of the Company for which compensation is payable under this Act, or in respect of any agreement for the rendering to the Company of personal services as a director.
(5) The Company shall, at the request of the Board, execute all such instruments and do all such acts as may be necessary to enable the Board to have effectively transferred into its name any property or assets vested in the Board by virtue of this section.
(6) No proceeding (including an arbitration) or cause of action pending or existing immediately before the establishment date by or against the Company shall abate, be discontinued or be in any way prejudicially affected by reason of anything in this Act, but the proceeding or cause of action may be continued and enforced by or against the Board as it might have been by or against the Company if this Act had not been passed, but not further or otherwise.
(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act, all contracts, deeds, bonds, agreements (other than agreements for the rendering to the Company of personal services as a director) and other instruments and all working arrangements subsisting immediately before the establishment date and affecting the Company shall be of as full force and effect against or in favour of the Board and may be enforced as fully and effectually as if, instead of the Company, the Board had been a party thereto.
num: 9
paragraphs: —(1) On the establishment date—
(a) all land (except the Dundalk Works) held by the Company in the State shall vest in the Minister, and
num: 10
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to this section, the Board is hereby authorised and empowered, for the purposes of carrying on its undertaking, to occupy and use the land for the time being vested in the Minister by section 9 or under section 20.
(2) For the purpose of the exercise, enforcement and performance of all powers, privileges, rights and obligations attaching to the estate, right, title and interest of the Minister in the land, the Board shall stand in the place of the Minister but shall not, save as provided by sections 21 and 27, have power to sell any such land or, without the consent of the Minister, to let it for a period exceeding three years.
(3) The Board shall—
(a) at its own expense maintain the land, including all railway lines, roads, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, drains, premises, works and structures of whatsoever kind;
(b) discharge all rent, rates and other outgoings due by it by virtue of this section in respect thereof;
(c) satisfy the Minister, whenever he so requests, that the use or occupation of any land by the Board continues to be necessary for the proper operation of the undertaking; and
(d) permit the Minister and persons authorised by him to enter upon and use and occupy any land so far as such entry, user and occupation do not affect the proper operation of the undertaking.
(4) The use or occupation by the Board of any hereditament or tenement, within the meaning of the Valuation Acts, shall not be regarded as use or occupation of a public nature or for a public purpose, within the meaning of any enactment conferring exemption from a rate leviable by any local authority.
num: 11
paragraphs: —The Board may adopt such classification of merchandise for the purpose of the application thereto of rates of charges to be made in respect of the carriage of merchandise as the Board thinks fit.
num: 12
paragraphs: —(1) In this section—
“charges” include fares, rates or tolls;
“services” means any of the following—
(a) the conveyance of passengers and their luggage,
(b) the receiving, forwarding, carrying and delivering of merchandise,
(c) any other transport service or facility;
“the railway classification of merchandise” means the classification of merchandise for the time being in force adopted by the Board for the purposes of the application of rates of charges to be made by the Board for the carriage of merchandise by rail.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) the Board may fix, demand, take and recover such charges as the Board thinks fit for services provided by it.
(3) Where the Board proposes to make a general increase in the charges for any services, the following provisions shall have effect:—
(a) the Board shall give to the Minister one month's notice in advance of its proposal;
(b) the Board shall not put into force any proposal of which the Minister, within that month, notifies the Board of his disapproval.
(4) Where the Board agrees with a trader for the carriage of his merchandise at charges which represent a reasonable commutation of the charges otherwise applicable to the merchandise of that trader carried by the Board, the Board may, notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment, make as regards the carrying of the trader's merchandise the charges so agreed.
(5) (a) The Board shall keep for sale copies of the following:—
(i) the railway classification of merchandise,
(ii) scales of charges made, in conjunction with the railway classification of merchandise, by the Board in respect of the carriage of merchandise by rail.
(b) The Board shall keep for public inspection at its principal office in the State copies of the following:—
(i) the railway classification of merchandise,
(ii) scales of charges made, in conjunction with the railway classification of merchandise, by the Board in respect of the carriage of merchandise by rail.
(c) The Board shall keep for public inspection at each depot owned by it at which merchandise is received for carriage by rail a copy of each of the following:—
(i) the railway classification of merchandise,
(ii) scales of charges made, in conjunction with the railway classification of merchandise, by the Board for the carriage of merchandise by rail from that depot.
(6) The Board may attach to the services afforded by it such terms and conditions as the Board thinks fit.
num: 13
paragraphs: —(1) Nothing in this Act shall impose any obligation on the Board to accept dangerous goods for conveyance by rail or shall prejudice or derogate from the powers of any Minister of State under the Explosives Act, 1875, or affect the validity or operation of any order, rule or bye-law made under the powers contained in that Act.
(2) If the Board accepts dangerous goods for conveyance by rail the goods shall be conveyed subject to such bye-laws, regulations and conditions as the Board may think fit in regard to the conveyance or storage thereof, and the owner or consignor of such goods shall indemnify the Board from and against all loss or damage which may result to the Board or to which the Board may be or become liable owing to non-compliance with the said bye-laws, regulations and conditions as to such goods and shall pay full compensation for all injury to the Board's servants and damage to its property so arising unless it is proved that the injury or damage is due to the wilful misconduct of the Board's servants.
(3) Where the Company or the Board has declared any article to be dangerous it shall lie on the person requiring the article to be carried to show that it is not dangerous.
num: 14
paragraphs: —Every vehicle operated by the Board for use on any public road or on rail and moved by electrical power shall be so equipped and worked as to prevent any interference with telegraphic communication by means of any telegraphic line (within the meaning of the Telegraph Act, 1878) belonging to or used by the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.
num: 15
paragraphs: —(1) The Board may make bye-laws for all or any of the following purposes:—
(a) for regulating the times of arrival and departure of its vehicles;
(b) for regulating the loading and unloading of its vehicles and, subject to any statutory provisions in that behalf, the weights which its vehicles are to carry;
(c) for regulating the receipt and delivery of merchandise and other things which are to be carried on its vehicles;
(d) for preventing the commission of nuisances in or upon its vehicles or the stations, depots or other premises occupied by the Board;
(e) for maintaining order in and regulating the use of the stations, depots or other premises occupied by the Board and the approaches thereto;
(f) for any purpose for which the Company had, immediately before the establishment date, power to make bye-laws;
(g) for providing for the safe custody and re-delivery or disposal of any property found on or in any premises used or occupied by or vehicles belonging to or used by the Board and for fixing the charges to be made by the Board in respect thereof;
(h) generally for regulating, subject to any statutory provisions in that behalf, the travelling upon or using of its vehicles and the working of its transport services.
(2) The Board shall submit to the Minister for confirmation any bye-laws made by it under this section, and thereupon the following provisions shall have effect:—
(a) the Board shall, as soon as conveniently may be after the submission, publish a notice of the submission at least once in each of two successive weeks in each of the daily morning newspapers published in and circulating in the State;
(b) the notice shall include—
(i) a statement of the purposes for which the bye-laws are made, and
(ii) an intimation that a copy of the bye-laws is open for public inspection at the principal office in the State of the Board, and
(iii) an intimation that any person may at any time during the period of thirty days commencing on the date of the first publication of the notice submit to the Minister objections to the confirmation of the bye-laws;
(c) the Board shall, during the said period of thirty days, keep a copy of the bye-laws open for public inspection during ordinary office hours at its principal office aforesaid;
(d) any person who objects to the confirmation of the bye-laws may, at any time during the said period of thirty days, submit his objections in writing to the Minister;
(e) the Minister shall, as he thinks proper, refuse to confirm the bye-laws or by order confirm the bye-laws without modification or with such modifications as he thinks proper and inserts in the bye-laws, but shall not make any such order until the expiration of the said period of thirty days and until he has considered any objections to the confirmation submitted to him during that period.
(3) Bye-laws made by the Board under this section shall come into operation if, but only if, they are confirmed by order under this section, and if they are so confirmed, the day on which they shall come into operation shall be the day specified in that behalf in the order confirming them.
(4) Where a person contravenes a provision of bye-laws made under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.
(5) Bye-laws made under this section which have been confirmed by order under this section shall be published in such manner as the Minister may direct.
(6) Bye-laws made under this section shall not prejudice or affect the operation of any bye-laws made under or in pursuance of any statutory provisions by any harbour or sanitary authority.
(7) A document which purports to be a copy of bye-laws made under this section and which has endorsed thereon a certificate (purporting to be signed by an officer of the Board authorised in that behalf) stating that the document is a true copy of the bye-laws and that the bye-laws were in force on a specified date shall, without proof of the signature of such officer or that he was in fact such officer or was so authorised, be evidence (until the contrary is proved) in every court and in all legal proceedings of the bye-laws and of the fact that they were in force on the date so specified.
(8) All bye-laws made by the Company and in force immediately before the establishment date shall, on and after that date, continue in force and be deemed to have been made under this section and shall be capable of being amended or revoked by bye-laws made under this section.
(9) Every order under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next twenty-one days upon which that House has sat after the order has been laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
(10) Section 127 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (No. 11 of 1933), shall not apply to property left in public service vehicles owned or operated by the Board.
num: 16
paragraphs: —All rules and regulations made by the Company and in force immediately before the establishment date shall, on and after the establishment date, continue in force until revoked, altered or superseded.
num: 17
paragraphs: —Any document required or authorised by law to be served on the Board may be so served by—
(a) handing it to the secretary of the Board at the principal office in the State of the Board, or
(b) leaving it at the principal office aforesaid in an envelope addressed to the secretary of the Board, or
(c) sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to the secretary of the Board at the principal office aforesaid.
Powers of Minister.
num: 18
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister acting jointly with the Minister of Commerce shall have power to make such investigations as he thinks necessary into the affairs of the Board and to appoint persons to conduct such investigations and report to each Minister thereon.
(2) The Minister shall have power to make such investigations as he thinks necessary into the operation of the undertaking exclusively in the State and to appoint persons to conduct such investigations and report to the Minister thereon.
(3) A person appointed under this section shall have power to enter and inspect at all reasonable times the lands, premises, works and vehicles of the undertaking and to examine all books and documents of the Board, and the Board and each of its members and every officer and servant thereof shall furnish him with such information and afford him such facilities as he may reasonably require for the performance of his functions.
(4) Any person who impedes a person appointed under this section in the performance of his functions or refuses or neglects to furnish him with such information or to afford him such facilities as he may reasonably require shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(5) The fees of persons appointed under subsection (1) shall be such as are approved of by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, and by the Ministry and shall to the extent of one-half thereof be paid by the Minister.
(6) The fees of persons appointed under subsection (2) shall be such as are approved of by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, and shall be paid by the Minister.
num: 19
paragraphs: —(1) The Board shall in each year make to the Minister a report on the operation of the undertaking during the preceding year.
(2) The Minister shall cause the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and copies thereof shall be placed on sale by the Board.
(3) The Board shall furnish the Minister with such information relating to the undertaking as the Minister may from time to time require.
Acquisition and Sale of Land.
num: 20
paragraphs: —(1) (a) The Board, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, may, in the name and on behalf of the Minister, acquire land for the use of the Board.
(b) Land acquired under this subsection shall be expressed to vest and shall vest in the Minister and, accordingly, section 10 shall apply in relation to it.
(2) The Board, with the consent of the Minister and the Ministry, may acquire additional land for the purposes of the Dundalk Works.
(3) Sections 17 and 18 of the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950), shall apply to the acquisition of land for the purposes of this section, references therein to “the Board” being construed as references to the Board established by this Act.
num: 21
paragraphs: —(1) Where, after consultation with the Board, the Minister is satisfied that any land vested in him by section 9 or under section 20 is no longer required by the Board for the purposes of the undertaking, the Minister, or the Board acting with the consent and on behalf of the Minister, may (subject, in regard to railway lines, to section 27) sell or otherwise dispose of the land.
(2) The proceeds of sale or disposal of land under this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.
num: 22
paragraphs: —In this Part “common service” means the service, for passengers and merchandise or either of them, provided between the State and Northern Ireland by all trains which operate both within and outside the State over a railway line specified in the Fourth Schedule.
num: 23
paragraphs: —(1) The succeeding provisions of this section shall, not-withstanding any statutory or other obligation to the contrary, apply to the termination of a common service.
(2) The Board, the Minister or the Minister of Commerce may propose the termination of a common service and thereupon—
(a) the proposal shall be submitted for the joint consideration of the Minister and the Minister of Commerce,
(b) the Minister, if he thinks proper, may, in agreement with the Minister of Commerce, refer the proposal to the Chairman of the Transport Tribunal to advise and report in collaboration with the Chairman of the Transport Tribunal for Northern Ireland,
(c) the Chairman of the Transport Tribunal shall have power, jointly with the Chairman of the Transport Tribunal for Northern Ireland, to engage the services of other persons for the purpose of assisting them in considering the proposal and to hold a public inquiry on the proposal,
(d) the fees of any person engaged as aforesaid shall be such as are approved of by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, and by the Ministry, and the Minister shall pay one-half of the amount of—
(i) any fees so approved, and
(ii) the expenses incurred by the Chairman of each Tribunal in advising and reporting on the proposal, and
(iii) the expenses of holding any public inquiry on the proposal.
(3) After considering any advice and report as aforesaid, the Minister and the Minister of Commerce may together—
(a) authorise the termination of the common service, or
(b) refuse to consent to the termination of the service.
(4) Where after considering any advice and report as aforesaid the Minister of Commerce consents to the termination of a common service but the Minister does not consent, the Board shall continue the service and the Minister shall be liable to make good to the Board any loss sustained by the continuance of the service.
(5) Any right of the Board under this section to terminate a common service on any railway line shall not affect in any way any obligation of the Board to continue to provide any other service theretofore provided on that line, but the Board, on becoming entitled to terminate the common service, may, and shall if so directed by the Minister, proceed in accordance with section 24 to terminate wholly that other service.
(6) Where the Board by virtue of this section terminates a common service—
(a) such termination shall not affect in any way any liability of the Board to maintain bridges, level crossings, fences, drains and other works constructed and maintained for the use, accommodation or protection of the public generally or of any members of the public or of the owners or occupiers of particular lands;
(b) so much of section 47 of the Railways' Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 , as makes it obligatory to employ proper persons to open and shut gates at a level crossing shall not apply to any level crossing on any part of the railway line concerned over which the Board is not for the time being obliged to provide any other service if and so long as all the gates on that level crossing are kept and secured in such position as to permit the free passage of road traffic across the line at that level crossing.
num: 24
paragraphs: —(1) Notwithstanding any statutory or other obligation to the contrary, the Board may, and shall if so directed by the Minister, proceed under this section to terminate wholly a transport service (other than a common service) on any railway line of the undertaking.
(2) Where it is proposed to seek authority to terminate a service to which this section applies, the Board shall publish notice of the proposal in Iris OifigiÃºil and in at least one newspaper circulating in the area in which the service operates.
(3) The notice shall specify the service which it is proposed to terminate and any alternative road services to be provided and the time (not being less than one month after publication of the notice) within which objections to the proposal may be sent to the Minister by any body or association of persons affected by the proposal.
(4) If, within the specified time, no objection is received by the Minister, the Board shall not terminate the service until the Minister has had an opportunity for discussion with the Minister of Commerce of any common interest which may be affected by the termination and has notified the Board accordingly.
(5) If any objections have been duly received by the Minister, the Board shall not terminate the service unless—
(a) it has been so authorised by order of the Transport Tribunal under subsection (7), and
(b) the Minister has had an opportunity, following the making of the order, for discussion with the Minister of Commerce of any common interest which may be affected by the termination and has notified the Board accordingly.
(6) On receipt of notification under subsection (4) or (5), the Board may terminate the service or, with the consent of the Minister, may agree to continue the service on an undertaking being given by the Minister of Commerce to make good to the Board any loss sustained by the continuance of the service.
(7) Where the Board applies to the Tribunal for an order authorising the Board to terminate a service the Minister shall transmit to the Tribunal the objections duly received by him and the Tribunal, having heard the Board and the objectors, shall have power—
(a) to make the order, with or without modifications, and with or without a limitation on the period of its operation, or
(b) to refuse to make an order.
(8) The Board shall publish, at such times and in such manner as the Tribunal direct, notice of the making of an order under subsection (7).
(9) Where the Board becomes entitled, by virtue of this section, to terminate a service—
(a) such termination shall not affect in any way any liability of the Board to maintain bridges, level crossings, fences, drains and other works constructed and maintained for the use, accommodation or protection of the public generally or of any members of the public or of the owners or occupiers of particular lands,
(b) so much of section 47 of the Railways' Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 , as makes it obligatory to employ proper persons to open and shut gates at a level crossing shall not apply to any level crossing on the railway line concerned over which the Board is not for the time being obliged to provide any other service if and so long as all the gates on that level crossing are kept and secured in such position as to permit the free passage of road traffic across the line at that level crossing.
num: 25
paragraphs: —Where—
(a) the Board or the Minister of Commerce proposes to terminate any transport services provided by the Board outside the State, and
(b) the Minister is satisfied that the continued operation of those services is necessary or desirable in connection with the provision of transport facilities within the State, the Minister may undertake to be responsible for the amount of any loss sustained by the continuance of the service.
num: 26
paragraphs: —(1) Where the Board becomes entitled under this Part to terminate wholly the services provided on any railway line, the Minister, on the application of the Board, may by order (in this Act referred to as an abandonment order) authorise the Board to abandon the line.
(2) Subsections (3), (4), (5), (6) and (8) of section 21 of the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950), shall apply to an abandonment order, references to “the Board” being construed as references to the Board established by this Act.
num: 27
paragraphs: —(1) Where an abandonment order has been made in respect of a railway line, the Minister, or the Board acting with the consent and on behalf of the Minister, may sell the land under and adjoining the line either by private treaty to the owner of the land on both sides of the line or by public auction to any person, including such owner.
(2) The proceeds of sale of land under this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.
num: 28
paragraphs: —It shall be the general duty of the Board so to conduct its undertaking as to secure, as soon as may be, that taking one year with another the revenue of the Board shall be not less than sufficient to meet the charges properly chargeable to revenue.
num: 29
paragraphs: —The Board shall as soon as possible after the establishment date and thereafter whenever so required by the Minister and the Minister of Commerce submit to the Minister and the Minister of Commerce for their consideration a scheme for the ascertainment and apportionment of the profits and losses of the undertaking in accordance with the terms of agreement set out in the First Schedule (in this Act referred to as the scheduled agreement).
num: 30
paragraphs: —(1) The profits and losses of the undertaking shall be assessed in accordance with the scheme of apportionment for the time being agreed upon by the Minister and the Minister of Commerce.
num: 31
paragraphs: —(1) The Board shall be entitled to sell any of its assets which, in the opinion of the Board, are no longer required for the purposes of the undertaking.
num: 32
paragraphs: —All sums received by the Minister under this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.
num: 33
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, shall pay to the Board one-half of any amount agreed between the Minister and the Ministry to be provided in equal shares in pursuance of subparagraph (1) of paragraph 7 of the scheduled agreement.
num: 34
paragraphs: —(1) The Board may from time to time borrow such sums as it may require for meeting its obligations and carrying out its duties.
(2) The Board shall not so exercise its powers under this section that its total indebtedness in respect of temporary borrowing exceeds at any one time one million pounds.
num: 35
paragraphs: —(1) (a) The Board shall keep all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it and in particular shall keep all such accounts as the Minister and the Minister of Commerce may jointly direct.
(b) The Minister and the Minister of Commerce may jointly direct the form in which the Board's accounts are to be kept.
(2) (a) The accounts of the Board shall show at the establishment date as a capital liability of the Board to the Minister the sum of two million, two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, being the amount paid by the Minister to the Company under subsection (1) of section 46, and a similar sum as a capital liability to the Minister of Commerce.
(b) Interest may be charged to the Board in respect of the said liability to the Minister at such rate as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may fix from time to time.
(3) (a) The Board shall prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form and containing such particulars and compiled from such records and in such manner as the Minister and the Minister of Commerce may jointly direct.
(b) The accounts of the Board shall in each year be audited by an auditor or auditors to be appointed annually by the Board with the consent of the Minister and the Minister of Commerce.
(c) The fees of an auditor and the expenses of the audit shall be paid by the Board.
(4) Within three months, or such longer period as the Minister and the Minister of Commerce may jointly direct, after the end of the Board's financial year the Board shall send to the Minister a copy of the annual statement of accounts, together with the auditor's report thereon.
(5) The Minister shall cause a copy of the accounts and report furnished to him under this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and copies thereof shall be placed on sale by the Board.
num: 36
paragraphs: —(1) The Board shall appoint a secretary and such other officers and servants as the Board may determine, and their remuneration shall be paid by the Board.
(2) Save as provided in this section and in section 37, entry to the clerical grades of the service of the Board shall be by means of open competitive examination in accordance with rules made by the Board.
(3) The Board may by special rules provide that such proportion as may be approved by the Minister and the Ministry of the vacancies in the clerical grades of its service shall be filled by means of limited competitive examinations, and where an examination is so limited only persons in or who have been in the employment of the Company or the Board shall be admitted thereto.
num: 37
paragraphs: —Every person who, immediately before the establishment date, was an officer or servant of the Company shall on that date become an officer or servant of the Board on the same terms and conditions of service.
num: 38
paragraphs: —(1) Where the Board terminates wholly a transport service provided on any railway line of the undertaking and as a consequence thereof the retention of an officer or servant of the Board (being a person who is resident in the State and was theretofore directly employed on that service or wholly in connection therewith) in the position which he held before the termination becomes unnecessary, the following provisions shall have effect—
num: 39
paragraphs: —(1) The Board may prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme (in this section referred to as a superannuation scheme) for establishing on a contributory basis a superannuation fund for the benefit of the employees or any particular class of the employees of the Board or for amending a superannuation scheme already in force under this section.
(2) The Minister, after consultation with the Ministry, may, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, by order confirm, either without modification or with such modifications (whether by way of addition, omission or variation) as the Minister thinks fit, a superannuation scheme submitted under this section.
(3) No superannuation scheme shall become operative unless and until it has been confirmed by order of the Minister but, upon being so confirmed, it shall come into operation on the date specified in that behalf in the order and shall on and after that date have the force of law in the form in which it was so confirmed.
(4) A fund set up for the purposes of a superannuation scheme shall be deemed to be set up under an irrevocable trust.
num: 40
paragraphs: —(1) In this section—
“superannuation scheme” means any superannuation, pension, provident widows' and orphans' or other benefit fund or scheme,
“existing superannuation scheme” means a superannuation scheme established by the Company and in existence immediately before the establishment date and includes the Railway Clearing System Superannuation Fund.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, every existing superannuation scheme and the management thereof shall, on and after the establishment date, continue in being.
(3) For the purposes of any statutory enactment and of rules and regulations relating to any existing superannuation scheme, the following provisions shall, on and after the establishment date, have effect:
(a) any power of the Company or the directors or any officer thereof in relation to the said scheme may be exercised by the Board or any officer of the Board authorised by the Board in that behalf,
(b) the service or employment or dismissal under or by the Board of any officer or servant of the Company who is transferred, by virtue of this Act, to the Board shall be deemed to be service or employment or dismissal under or by the Company,
(c) where under the rules of the said scheme the directors of the Company are empowered to appoint officers and servants to any managing committee, the Board in exercising those powers shall appoint officers or servants of the Board who are members of the said scheme or who, but for this Act, would have been eligible for appointment to such managing committee.
(4) The obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, of the Company in respect of any existing superannuation scheme and in respect of every member of the said existing superannuation scheme shall be binding on the Board.
(5) All persons who are or have been members of any existing superannuation scheme and all persons claiming in right of any such members shall be entitled to the same benefits, rights and privileges and subject to the same obligations, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice, as such persons would have been or might have become entitled or subject to but for this Act.
(6) Any person who—
(a) is in the service of the Company immediately before the establishment date, and
(b) is not a member of any existing superannuation scheme, shall, so long as he remains in the service of the Board, have the same right (if any) to become a member of any such scheme as he would have had but for this Act if he had remained in the service of the Company.
(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the Board from amending an existing superannuation scheme in accordance with a power in that behalf contained therein.
(8) An existing superannuation scheme shall be deemed to have been set up under an irrevocable trust.
num: 41
paragraphs: —The references in section 55 of the Railways Act, 1924 (No. 29 of 1924), and in sections 10 and 16 of the Railways Act, 1933 (No. 9 of 1933), to a railway company shall be construed as including references to the Board.
num: 42
paragraphs: —The Board shall, for the purpose of any enactment, have the same status as the Company had before the establishment date as a railway company.
num: 43
paragraphs: —(1) For the purposes of sections 28 and 30 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 (No. 2 of 1932), the Board shall be deemed to be a company to which Part III of the said Act applies.
(2) The Board shall be deemed to be an authorised (merchandise carrying) company and an authorised (passenger carrying) company for the purposes of the Road Transport Act, 1933 (No. 8 of 1933).
num: 44
paragraphs: —The Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893, shall apply to the Board subject to the modifications that for any references to six months in paragraph (a) of section 1 thereof there shall be substituted a reference to twelve months and that paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of that section (which make special provision as to costs) shall not apply.
num: 45
paragraphs: —The enactments mentioned in the Fifth Schedule shall not apply to the Board.
num: 46
paragraphs: —(1) On the establishment date the Minister shall pay to the Company the sum of two million, two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, being one-half of the sum of four million, five hundred thousand pounds agreed by the Minister and the Ministry to be paid to the Company as compensation in respect of the transfer of its undertaking under this Act.
num: 47
paragraphs: —If any money is payable by the Company to a holder, who is a minor or a person of unsound mind, of stock of the Company, the receipt of the guardian or committee of his estate shall be a sufficient discharge to the Company.
num: 48
paragraphs: —(1) The money required by the Minister to meet the payments required to be made by him under subsection (1) of section 46 shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.
(2) For the purpose of providing money for the advance under this section the Minister for Finance may borrow from any person any sum or sums, and for the purpose of such borrowing he may create and issue securities bearing such rate of interest and subject to such conditions as to repayment, redemption or otherwise as he thinks fit, and shall pay the moneys so borrowed into the Exchequer.
(3) The principal of or any interest on any securities issued under this section and the expenses incurred in connection with the issue of such securities shall be charged on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.
num: 49
paragraphs: —(1) (a) Where the Company has duly distributed the compensation money and has complied with any directions given to it by the Board for the purpose of securing that the ownership of any property or assets or any right is effectively transferred to the Board and ascertained that the Board does not desire to give any further directions, the Company shall notify the Minister.
(b) If the Minister, after consultation with the Minister of Commerce, is satisfied (whether any such notice has been given to him or not) that the compensation money has been so dealt with and that any directions so given have been complied with and that the Board does not desire to give any further directions, the Minister shall make an order that there is no reason for the continued existence of the Company and shall cause the order to be published in Iris OifigiÃºil, and upon the publication thereof the Company shall be dissolved and section 6 of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Act, 1877, by which the Company was incorporated, shall cease to have effect.
(2) During the period beginning on the establishment date and ending on the dissolution of the Company, the statutory provisions and other instruments relating to the Company shall remain in force in relation thereto as if this Act had not passed, so far as the powers conferred thereby are required for the remaining purposes of the Company.
(3) On or after the establishment date—
(a) it shall not be obligatory to fill any vacancy in the directors but the remaining directors may continue to exercise all the powers of the directors up to the time of the dissolution;
(b) notwithstanding any statutory or other provision it shall not be obligatory to hold a general meeting of the Company;
(c) any director or auditor may continue to hold office or be elected or appointed thereto at any time notwithstanding—
(i) the expiration of the term for which before that date he was elected or appointed; and
(ii) that he is not the holder of an amount of a security of the Company which before that date he would have been required to hold for the purpose of qualifying him for that office.
(4) All expenses (including any rents, rates, taxes and other outgoings in respect of any offices) reasonably and properly incurred by the Company after the establishment date shall be defrayed by the Board, and the Board shall make available to the Company such facilities for the examination of and the making of extracts from or copies of books, accounts and documents surrendered to the Board as the Company may reasonably require, and the Board shall make available to the Company the services of such officers and servants, on such terms and conditions, and for such period, as may be agreed upon between the Board and the Company or, failing agreement, as may be determined by the Minister in agreement with the Ministry, and the remuneration of those officers and servants shall be defrayed by the Board.
(5) The Board shall pay to the directors of the Company such remuneration for any services rendered by the directors to the Company after the establishment date as may be agreed upon between the Board and the directors or, failing agreement, as may be determined by the Board with the approval of the Minister and the Minister of Commerce to be reasonable having regard to all the circumstances.
(6) Any balance of the compensation money remaining after distribution may be dealt with by the directors of the Company as they think fit.
num: 50
paragraphs: —Every notice served by or on the Company before the establishment date the effect or term of which has not ceased or expired before the establishment date shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect on and after the establishment date as if it were a notice served by or on the Board on the date on which it was actually served and as if the functions or property to which the said notice relates had on the same date already vested in the Board.
num: 51
paragraphs: —(1) The Company shall, on and after the establishment date, continue to be liable under the Income Tax Acts to prepare and deliver any statement, return or particulars required for the purposes of those Acts for any year of assessment ending on or before the 5th day of April next following the establishment date.
(2) Assessments to income tax for any year of assessment ending on or before the 5th day of April next following the establishment date may be made on the Company on or after the establishment date, and income tax in respect of any such assessment so made, which shall have become final and conclusive, shall, when it becomes due and payable, be deemed to have become due and payable before the establishment date.
(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) the secretary of the Board or other officer performing the duties of secretary of the Board shall be deemed to be secretary of the Company or other officer performing the duties of secretary of the Company.
(4) The Board shall be and is hereby empowered to deduct out of the emoluments of any person holding an office or employment of profit under the Board any income tax charged on the Company in respect of any office or employment of profit held by such person under the Company.
(5) For the purposes of this section but not further or otherwise the Company shall be deemed to continue in existence on and after the date of dissolution under section 49.