Erne Drainage and Development Act, 1950
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —In this Act—
the expression “the Board” means the Electricity Supply Board;
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) The Board are hereby authorised and empowered to enter into an agreement with the Ministry in the terms of the draft agreement.
(2) In this Act, the expression “the principal agreement” means primarily the agreement made pursuant to this section, but, where any agreement has been made pursuant to the next following section, the expression means the agreement made pursuant to this section as supplemented or modified by the agreement made pursuant to the next following section.
num: 3
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Board may, at any time after the making of the principal agreement, enter into further agreements with the Ministry for supplementing or modifying the principal agreement.
(2) A further agreement such as aforesaid shall not be entered into unless—
(a) it has been laid before DÃ¡il Ãireann and has remained so laid for the next ten days on which DÃ¡il Ãireann has sat after it was so laid,
(b) during the said ten days, DÃ¡il Ãireann has not passed a resolution that it shall not be entered into,
(c) it has been laid before Seanad Ãireann and has remained so laid for the next ten days on which Seanad Ãireann has sat after it was so laid, and
(d) during the said ten days, Seanad Ãireann has not passed a resolution that it shall not be entered into.
num: 4
paragraphs: —For the purposes of carrying the principal agreement into effect, the Board shall have and may exercise all such powers as may be necessary for or incidental to the due performance of their obligations under the principal agreement.
num: 5
paragraphs: —All expenses incurred by the Board in discharging any liability arising out of the principal agreement shall be defrayed as part of their general expenses.
num: 6
paragraphs: —As from such day as the Minister shall by order appoint, the Drainage Board shall, by virtue of this section, be dissolved.
num: 7
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to the provisions of section 9 of this Act, all property which immediately before the dissolution of the Drainage Board was the property of the Drainage Board shall, by virtue of this section and without the necessity of any conveyance, assignment, deed of transfer or other instrument, vest in the persons acting as the Finance Solicitor and the Solicitor to the Ministry and their respective successors in office as trustees (in this section referred to as the Trustees) upon trust to sell at the discretion of the Trustees such property and to apply the rents and profits (if any) arising therefrom prior to sale and the proceeds of sale, so far as the same shall extend, in discharging first any liability incurred in connection with such sale and secondly any outstanding liability of the Drainage Board, and in paying any balance remaining after the discharge of those liabilities to the Ministry.
(2) In carrying out the trust for sale imposed by this section, the Trustees shall have full power by deed to convey, assign, release or otherwise transfer any property vested in them under this section and any such deed shall to the extent and in the manner to and in which it is expressed or intended to operate be effectual to pass all the estate, right, title and interest held by the Drainage Board immediately before its dissolution in the property specified therein.
(3) The receipt of the Trustees or either of them for the purchase money payable on the sale of any property pursuant to subsection (1) of this section (whether the said receipt shall be incorporated in a deed or otherwise) shall operate as a valid discharge to the purchaser who shall not be concerned with the trusts imposed by that subsection or with the future application by the Trustees of the purchase money in accordance therewith.
(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any of the enactments relating to stamp duty, stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any document executed by the Trustees for the purposes of this section.
num: 8
paragraphs: —The Minister may make and carry out such administrative arrangements as he thinks proper for the purposes of providing for matters arising out of the dissolution of the Drainage Board and, in particular, may make and carry out arrangements for the temporary operation of the existing sluice gates at Belleek in such manner as may be specified in the arrangements for the purposes of controlling the water levels of the Loughs pending and until such time as the Board have agreed with the Ministry pursuant to the provisions of the principal agreement that the said water levels can and should be controlled in accordance with those provisions.
num: 9
paragraphs: —As from the date of the dissolution of the Drainage Board, the Award of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland dated the 4th day of April, 1891, for the Lough and River Erne Drainage and Navigation District shall cease to have any force and effect and the liability of proprietors of land in the Counties of Cavan and Monaghan to pay rates or rent charges in respect of the said Drainage District (including any outstanding arrears of such rates or rent charges) shall cease.
num: 10
paragraphs: —(1) An Arbitration Tribunal constituted in accordance with the provisions of the principal agreement shall have power to determine in accordance with those provisions any dispute or difference between the Board and the Ministry arising out of the principal agreement.
(2) The Board shall, on the request of any Arbitration Tribunal constituted as aforesaid, produce for inspection by the Tribunal such documents, books, records or accounts in the possession of the Board as are relevant to the matter at issue before the Tribunal, but no document, book, record or account shall be so produced if, in the opinion of the Minister as certified by him to the Tribunal, it would be injurious to the public interest so to do.
(3) Any Arbitration Tribunal constituted as aforesaid may, for the purpose of determining any such dispute or difference, by summons require any person to attend, at such time and place as is set forth in the summons, to give evidence or to produce any documents or articles in his custody or under his control which relate to any matter pending before the Tribunal, and may hear, receive and examine evidence on oath and for that purpose may administer oaths, or may, instead of administering an oath, require the person examined to make and subscribe a declaration of the truth of the matter respecting which he is examined.
(4) Every person who refuses or wilfully neglects to attend when required so to do by any Arbitration Tribunal constituted as aforesaid, or to give evidence in the manner required by the Tribunal, or who wilfully gives false evidence before the Tribunal or wilfully alters, suppresses, cancels, destroys or refuses to produce any document or article which he may be required by the Tribunal to produce, shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(5) Counsel of the Bar of Northern Ireland or any solicitor entitled to practise in Northern Ireland may, notwithstanding any other enactment, practise in connection with any hearing in the State of any Arbitration Tribunal constituted as aforesaid and may appear and represent the Ministry at such hearing.
(6) Any award of a Tribunal constituted as aforesaid may, by leave of the High Court, be entered as a judgment in terms of the award and shall thereupon have the same force and effect as a judgment or order of the High Court.
num: 11
paragraphs: —(1) In this section, the expression “the Belleek bridge” means the bridge referred to in paragraph 2 of the First Schedule to the draft agreement.
(2) Subsection (4) of section 33 of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act, 1945 (No. 12 of 1945) (which subsection requires roads and bridges restored, constructed or improved by the Board to be handed over to the appropriate local authority) shall not apply in relation to the Belleek bridge.
(3) The Council of the county of Donegal may, subject to the sanction of the Minister for Local Government, do all such things as may be appropriate for them to do for the purposes of giving effect to any provisions of the principal agreement providing that the Belleek bridge may be handed over jointly to the council of the county of Donegal and the council of the county of Fermanagh.
num: 12
paragraphs: —Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any of the enactments relating to stamp duty, stamp duty shall not be chargeable in respect of any agreement entered into pursuant to this Act by the Board with the Ministry.
num: 13
paragraphs: —(1) The Drainage and Improvement of Lands Supple mental Act (Ireland), 1880, is hereby repealed.
(2) This section shall come into operation on the dissolution of the Drainage Board.
num: 14
paragraphs: —This Act may be cited as the Erne Drainage and Development Act, 1950.