Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1988
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1988.
(2) The Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1986, and this Act may be cited as the Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1988.
(3) The Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1988, shall be construed together as one Act.
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
“the Act of 1946” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946 ;
“the Act of 1950” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950 ;
“the Act of 1959” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1959 ;
“the Act of 1963” means the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Act, 1963
(as amended by the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Act, 1971 , and the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Act, 1983 );
“the Act of 1965” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1965 ;
“the Acts” means the Air Navigation and Transport Acts, 1936 to 1986;
“authorised person” has the meaning specified in section 18 ;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Tourism and Transport;
“the Principal Act” means the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1936 ;
“1975 Protocols to the Warsaw Convention” means the Additional Protocols Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 (each of which was signed at Montreal on the 25th day of September, 1975) to amend the Warsaw Convention.
num: 3
paragraphs: —Every order and Regulation made under this Act 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 (other than an order under Part III ) or Regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order or Regulation is laid before it, the order or Regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
num: 4
paragraphs: —The expenses of the Minister in the administration 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: 5
paragraphs: —This Part applies to aerodromes other than aerodromes under the control of the Minister for Defence.
num: 6
paragraphs: —It shall be the duty of—
(a) every person owning or operating an aerodrome, and
(b) every person carrying on business at an aerodrome,
to comply with the requirements (including any requirements in relation to that aerodrome, or to aerodromes in general, specified by the Minister in a direction under section 7 or in a licence or authorisation granted by him under the Acts) of public order and security and of the security and safety of the aerodrome and of the security and safety of persons and aircraft using that aerodrome.
num: 7
paragraphs: —The Minister may, whenever he is satisfied that the interests of the State or of the public so require, give directions to any person who owns or operates an aerodrome as to the standards of security and safety which must be complied with in relation to that aerodrome and it shall be the duty of every such person to comply with such directions.
num: 8
paragraphs: —(1) It shall be the duty of every operator of an aerodrome to furnish to the Minister a report, in such form and within such time and at such intervals as the Minister may specify in writing, of all measures taken by him to comply with a direction of the Minister pursuant to section 7 .
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a report to the Minister under that subsection shall include particulars of—
(a) the precise steps taken by the operator to implement the direction, and
(b) any alterations to, or discontinuance of, the standards of security or safety specified in the direction which have been, or are proposed to be, made.
(3) A person who—
(a) refuses, or without reasonable cause fails, to make a report to the Minister, or
(b) makes, in any such report, a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or
(c) recklessly makes, in any such report, a statement which is false in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence.
num: 9
paragraphs: —(1) Any power conferred on the Minister under the Acts to revoke, cancel or suspend a licence or authorisation granted thereunder shall be deemed to include the power, if it appears to him that the holder of a licence or authorisation, as the case may be, cannot or will not comply with any security or safety requirements specified by the Minister in the interests of public order or security or safety in the licence or authorisation or in a direction under section 7 , to—
(a) revoke or cancel the licence or authorisation, as the case may be, or
(b) suspend the licence or authorisation, as the case may be, until such time as the holder of the licence or authorisation has complied with any security or safety requirements so specified.
(2) Whenever the Minister exercises the power conferred on him by subsection (1), the revocation or, as the case may be, suspension or cancellation, shall take effect from the date on which the Minister notifies the holder of the licence or authorisation of the revocation or, as the case may be, suspension or cancellation, or from such later date as the Minister, having regard to all the circumstances, may specify.
(3) On the commencement of this Act, the Minister shall, by notice in writing, notify the holders of all licences or authorisations granted by him and then in force of his powers under this section.
num: 10
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may, if he is satisfied that it is in the interests of public order or security or safety so to do, or that the licence or authorisation granted under the Acts in relation to an aerodrome is deemed to have been revoked pursuant to section 11 (3), by notice in writing, prohibit the landing of aircraft at, or the departure of aircraft from, an aerodrome either from the date of the notice or from such later date as the Minister, having regard to all the circumstances, may specify in the notice.
(2) The Minister shall not exercise the power conferred on him by subsection (1) unless he is satisfied that the holder of the licence or authorisation granted under the Acts in relation to the aerodrome cannot or will not comply with requirements of the Minister under section 7 , or that such licence or authorisation is deemed to have been revoked pursuant to section 11 (3), as the case may be.
num: 11
paragraphs: —(1) A person shall not operate, or cause or permit any other person to operate, an aerodrome unless there is a policy of insurance in force in relation to that aerodrome.
(2) A policy of insurance shall be of no effect for the purposes of subsection (1) unless and until—
(a) there has been issued by the insurer to the insured a certificate in relation to the policy of insurance in such form and containing such particulars as the Minister may prescribe by Regulations under this section, and
(b) the insured has sent, or caused to be sent, to the Minister a copy of such certificate.
(3) If the policy of insurance at any time or for any reason ceases to have effect, any licence or authorisation granted under the Acts in respect of the aerodrome to which the policy of insurance relates shall thereupon be deemed to have been revoked.
(4) A licence or authorisation shall not be granted under the Acts in relation to the operation of an aerodrome in any period for which a policy of insurance is not in force in respect of that aerodrome.
(5) In this section “policy of insurance” means a policy which insures the owner or occupier, as the case may be, of an aerodrome against liability in respect of loss and damage caused to any person or property at that aerodrome and which complies with such conditions (if any) as the Minister may prescribe by Regulations under this section.
(6) This section shall come into operation on the expiry of one month after the commencement of this Act.
num: 12
paragraphs: —(1) This section applies to the following articles, that is to say—
(a) a firearm, or any article having the appearance of a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not;
(b) an explosive, or any article manufactured or adapted so as to have the appearance of being an explosive, whether it is capable of producing a practical effect by explosion or not;
(c) any article marked or labelled so as to indicate that it is, or it contains, an explosive;
(d) any article which does not fall within the meaning of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) and which is made or is adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or for damaging or destroying property, or which is intended by the person in whose possession it is for such use, whether by himself or, as the case may be, by some other person.
(2) A person shall not, without lawful authority (the proof of which shall lie on him), have in his possession in or bring or cause to be brought into—
(a) any part of an aerodrome, or
(b) any air navigation installation which does not form part of an aerodrome,
an article to which this section applies.
num: 13
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister may, whenever he is satisfied that the interests of the State or of the public so require, give to the operator of any aircraft (other than a State aircraft) directions as to the standards of security and safety which must be complied with—
(a) wherever the aircraft may be, if the aircraft is registered in the State, or
(b) whenever the aircraft is in, or is in flight into, or out of, or over, the State, if the aircraft is not so registered,
and it shall be the duty of every such operator to comply with such directions.
(2) A direction pursuant to subsection (1) may relate to a particular aircraft or to aircraft of a particular class or description.
num: 14
paragraphs: —(1) It shall be the duty of every operator of an aircraft (other than a State aircraft) to furnish to the Minister a report, in such form and within such time and at such intervals as the Minister may specify in writing, of all measures taken by him to comply with a direction of the Minister pursuant to section 13 .
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a report to the Minister under that subsection shall include particulars of—
(a) the precise steps taken by the operator to implement the direction, and
(b) any alterations to, or discontinuance of, the standards of security or safety specified in the direction which have been, or are proposed to be, made.
(3) A person who—
(a) refuses, or without reasonable cause fails, to make a report to the Minister, or
(b) makes, in any such report, a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or
(c) recklessly makes, in any such report, a statement which is false in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence.
num: 15
paragraphs: —(1) Any power conferred on the Minister under the Acts to refuse or cancel the registration of an aircraft shall include the power, if it appears to him that an aircraft does not, or has ceased to, comply with any security or safety requirements specified by the Minister in a direction under section 13 , to refuse or to cancel the registration of that aircraft.
(2) Whenever the Minister exercises the power conferred on him by subsection (1), the cancellation of the registration of the aircraft shall take effect from the date on which the Minister notifies the operator of the aircraft of the cancellation or from such later date as the Minister, having regard to all the circumstances, may specify.
(3) On the commencement of this Act, the Minister shall notify each owner and operator of each aircraft then registered in the State of his powers under this section.
num: 16
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister may, where the interests of the State or the public so require, direct the detention or the restriction of the use in such manner as he may specify of—
(a) any aircraft (other than a State aircraft) registered in the State, wherever that aircraft may be, or
(b) any other aircraft in the State,
if in the opinion of the Minister such aircraft does not comply with the standards of security or safety specified by him in a direction under section 13 or that the operation of such aircraft does not comply with such provisions of section 17 as may be applicable to such aircraft.
(2) The detention, or restriction of the use, of an aircraft pursuant to subsection (1) shall continue for such time and be subject to such conditions as the Minister considers appropriate (having regard to all the circumstances) and specifies to the operator of the aircraft.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), conditions specified under that subsection may, in particular, require—
(a) the inspection and search of the aircraft concerned or of persons or property to be taken on board the aircraft, or
(b) the modification or alteration of the aircraft or of any apparatus or equipment installed therein, or
(c) the installation in the aircraft of additional apparatus or equipment.
num: 17
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister may by order provide that it shall not be lawful for any person to operate, or cause or permit any other person to operate, an aircraft (other than a State aircraft) in, in flight into, or out of, or over the State unless—
(a) there is in force, in accordance with subsection (2), a policy of insurance against liability arising in relation to any such operation of the aircraft, or
(b) the owner or, as the case may be, the operator of the aircraft can prove to the satisfaction of the Minister, in accordance with subsection (3), that he can provide for liability arising in relation to any such operation,
in respect of loss or damage to
(i) any person or property on the aircraft, or
(ii) any person or property on or over land or water in the State,
caused or occasioned or contributed to by the aircraft in flight, taking off or landing, or
(iii) any person or property on land or water in the State caused or occasioned or contributed to by any person, article, object or thing falling or descending from the aircraft in flight, taking off or landing.
(2) (a) A policy of insurance shall be of no effect for the purposes of subsection (1) unless and until—
(i) it complies with such conditions as the Minister may prescribe by Regulations under this section, and
(ii) there has been issued by the insurer to the insured a certificate in relation to the policy of insurance in such form and containing such particulars as the Minister may prescribe by Regulations under this section.
(b) The Minister may require a copy of the certificate of insurance required under paragraph (a) to be produced to him.
(3) Where there is not in force a policy of insurance in accordance with subsection (2), the ability or otherwise of the owner or, as the case may be, the operator of the aircraft to provide for any liability specified in subsection (1) shall be determined by reference to such criteria as the Minister may prescribe by Regulations under this section.
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (2) and (3), Regulations under this section may prescribe different forms or different particulars or different conditions or different criteria in relation to different classes of aircraft or in relation to the same class of aircraft in different circumstances.
(5) Regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as the Minister may consider necessary or desirable for giving effect to this section.
num: 18
paragraphs: —(1) An authorised person shall, for the purpose of enabling the Minister to—
(a) ascertain whether any security or safety standards specified by him in relation to an aerodrome or an aircraft are being, or have been, complied with, and
(b) determine whether to give a direction under this Part to any person, and
(c) ascertain whether any direction under this Part is being, or has been, complied with,
have power to do all or any of the following things:—
(i) enter any aerodrome and inspect the aerodrome and any apparatus, equipment or other thing therein;
(ii) enter any aircraft at any aerodrome and inspect any apparatus, equipment or other thing therein or thereon;
(iii) require the operator of the aerodrome or, as the case may be, of the aircraft concerned to furnish within such time as the authorised person may specify such information as he considers necessary for the purposes of the inspection referred to in paragraph (i) or (ii);
(iv) restrict the operation of the aerodrome, or detain any aircraft, during such time as is required for the exercise of his powers under this section.
(2) Any person who—
(a) obstructs or impedes an authorised person in the exercise of his powers under this section, or
(b) assaults an authorised person in the exercise of his powers under this section, or
(c) refuses, or without reasonable excuse fails, to furnish to an authorised person information which he requires for the exercise of his powers, or
(d) makes a statement to an authorised person which he knows to be false in a material particular, or
(e) recklessly makes a statement to an authorised person which is false in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) In this section “authorised person” means—
(a) any person, or any person belonging to a class of persons, authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred on an authorised person under this section, or
(b) a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na.
(4) The powers conferred by this section on an authorised person to enter an aircraft shall not be exercisable by such authorised person in relation to any aircraft which is a State aircraft.
num: 19
paragraphs: —(1) This section applies to the following articles, that is to say—
(a) a firearm, or any article having the appearance of a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not;
(b) an explosive, or any article manufactured or adapted so as to have the appearance of being an explosive, whether it is capable of producing a practical effect by explosion or not;
(c) any article marked or labelled so as to indicate that it is, or it contains, an explosive;
(d) any article which does not fall within the meaning of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) and which is made or is adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or for damaging or destroying property, or which is intended by the person in whose possession it is for such use, whether by himself or, as the case may be, by some other person.
(2) A person shall not, without lawful authority (the proof of which shall lie on him), have in his possession in or bring or cause to be brought into—
(a) any aircraft registered in the State, wherever that aircraft may be, or
(b) any other aircraft when it is in, or in flight over, the State,
an article to which this section applies.
num: 20
paragraphs: —Notwithstanding anything contained in any contract, a person shall not be liable in any action for damages in the State in respect of anything done or not done by such person, or by some other person on his behalf, if such thing is done or, as the case may be, not done, in compliance with a direction of the Minister under this Part.
num: 21
paragraphs: —In any proceedings which relate to the exercise by the Minister of any power conferred on him by this Part, the Court may, on the application of the Minister, if it is satisfied that it is in the interests of public order or security so to do, order that the whole of the proceedings, or such part thereof as the Court considers appropriate, be heard otherwise than in public.
num: 22
paragraphs: —The Minister may, in the interests of the State or of the public, during any emergency, give directions as to the use, or possession, of—
(a) any aircraft or aerodrome, or
(b) any facilities at an aerodrome,
and every direction given by the Minister under this section shall—
(i) continue in force until the expiration of the period specified therein or the Minister declares that the emergency to which the direction relates has ceased, whichever is the sooner, and
(ii) be complied with by the person to whom it is directed.
num: 23
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, may, if, in his opinion, it is in the interests of ensuring the safety of aircraft or the safe and efficient navigation thereof, by order prohibit or regulate the use of any land, which is situate in the vicinity of an aerodrome or which lies under an airpath, as a refuse tip or for any other purpose which is likely to attract a large number of birds into the area.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), an order under this section may, in particular, require the immediate closure or modification of any refuse tip which, in the opinion of the Minister,—
(a) is a danger to aircraft so long as it remains open, or
(b) is managed in an inefficient or dangerous manner,
and may provide that such categories of refuse as may be specified in the order shall not be dumped in the tip.
(3) The Minister, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, may revoke or amend an order under this section.
num: 24
paragraphs: —Section 60 (which relates to the investigation of accidents) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:
“(1A) In this section ‘accident’ includes any event or circumstance likely to threaten the safety of an aircraft or any person.”.
num: 25
paragraphs: —Section 15 (which relates to definitions for the purposes of Part V of that Act) of the Act of 1950 is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for—
(a) the definition of “authorised officer” of the following definition:
“the expression ‘authorised officer’ means a person being—
(a) a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na, or
(b) any person, or any person belonging to a class of persons, authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred on authorised officers by section 20 of this Act;”,
and
(b) the definition of “State aerodrome” of the following definition:
“the expression ‘State aerodrome’ means, as the case may require, Cork Airport, Dublin Airport or Shannon Airport.”.
num: 26
paragraphs: —Section 16 (which relates to bye-laws in relation to State aerodromes) of the Act of 1950 is hereby amended—
(a) by the insertion in subsection (3) after paragraph (d) of the following paragraphs:
“(e) fixing of an immobilisation device to any vehicle which has been unlawfully parked in any place while the vehicle is in that place or is in any other place to which it has been moved in accordance with the bye-laws,
(f) removing, storing and disposal of vehicles unlawfully parked in any place.”,
and
(b) by the insertion after subsection (7) of the following subsection:
“(8) Every bye-law made under this section on or after the commencement of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1988, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the bye-law is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the bye-law is laid before it, the bye-law shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.”.
num: 27
paragraphs: —Sections 16 to 20 of the Act of 1950 (as amended by this Act) shall apply to all aerodromes in the State whether such aerodromes are State aerodromes within the meaning of section 15 of that Act (as amended by this Act) or not and references in those sections to a “State aerodrome” shall be construed accordingly.
num: 28
paragraphs: —(1) A person who is guilty of an offence under—
(a) section 5 (4), 39 (2), 56 (1), 60 (4) or 66 (3) of the Principal Act, or
(b) section 13 (3) of the Act of 1946, or
(c) section 13 (as amended by this Act) of the Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , or
(d) section 13 (1), 13 (2), 14 (7), 16 (6), 17 (2) or 21 of the Act of 1950, or
(e) section 15 of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1973 , or
(f) section 4 (7) of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1975 ,
shall, in lieu of the penalty prescribed by the section concerned, be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under Article 24 of the Air Navigation (Aerodromes and Visual Ground Aids) Order, 1970 (S.I. No. 291 of 1970), shall, in lieu of the penalty prescribed by that Article, be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under Regulation 9 of the European Communities (Restriction of Aeroplane Operations) Regulations, 1984 (S.I. No. 14 of 1984), shall, in lieu of the penalty prescribed by that Regulation, be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(4) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to an offence to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) relates as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) of that section, there were specified the penalties provided for in subsections (1), (2) and (3), and the reference in subsection (2) (a) of that section to the penalties provided for in the said subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.
(5) Where an offence to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) relates is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person (or any person acting on his behalf) being a director, manager or secretary of such body, that person or the person so acting, as the case may be, shall also be guilty of the offence.
(6) A summary prosecution for an offence under any enactment referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (3) may be brought by the Minister.
num: 29
paragraphs: —(1) A person who contravenes section 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 22 , 23 or 32 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2) A person who is convicted of an offence under section 8 , 14 , 18 , 33 , 41 , 42 or 43 shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(3) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to an offence specified in subsection (1) or (2) as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) of that section, there were specified the penalties provided for in subsections (1) and (2), and the reference in subsection (2) (a) of that section to the penalties provided for in the said subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.
(4) Where an offence specified in subsection (1) or (2) is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person (or any person acting on his behalf) being a director, manager or secretary of such body, that person or the person so acting, as the case may be, shall also be guilty of the offence.
(5) A summary prosecution for an offence specified in subsection (1) or (2) may be brought by the Minister.
num: 30
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may attach to any grant or other payment made out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas in relation to the construction of an aerodrome such terms and conditions as to repayment or otherwise as he thinks reasonable and proper.
(2) Whenever there is a contravention of a term or condition attached to any grant or other payment to which subsection (1) refers, the amount outstanding on foot of the grant or payment, as the case may be, shall thereupon, notwithstanding any term or condition relating to repayment attached thereto, be repayable to the Minister for the benefit of the Exchequer and, in default of such repayment, the amount outstanding may be recovered by the Minister as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
num: 31
paragraphs: —Section 8 (which relates to entry on land, etc., compulsorily acquired under the Principal Act before conveyance or ascertainment of compensation) of the Act of 1950 is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of the following paragraph:
“(a) subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the Minister shall pay to the person, who is the occupier of that land or the owner of that water right, interest on the amount of the compensation payable to such person at such rate as the Minister for Finance may, from time to time, determine from the date on which such power was exercised until payment of such compensation,”.
num: 32
paragraphs: —(1) Where default is made in the payment of aerodrome charges incurrred in respect of any aircraft, the Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned, as the case may be, may, subject to the provisions of this section—
(a) detain, pending payment of such charges, either—
(i) the aircraft in respect of which the charges were incurred (whether or not they were incurred by the person who is the operator of the aircraft at the time when the detention commences), or
(ii) any other aircraft of which the person in default is the operator at the time when the detention commences, and
(b) if the charges are not paid within 56 days of the date when the detention commences, sell the aircraft in order to satisfy the charges.
(2) The Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned, as the case may be, shall not detain, or continue to detain, an aircraft under this section by reason of any alleged default in the payment of aerodrome charges if the operator of the aircraft or any other person claiming an interest therein—
(a) disputes that the charges, or any of them, are due, or
(b) if the aircraft is detained under subsection (1) (a) (i), disputes that the charges in question were incurred in respect of that aircraft,
and the operator of the aircraft or any such other person, gives to the Minister or the aerodrome authority, as the case may be, pending the determination of the dispute, sufficient security for the payment of the charges which are alleged to be due.
(3) The Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned, as the case may be, shall not sell an aircraft under this section without the leave of the Court and the Court shall not give such leave unless it is established that—
(a) a sum is due to the Minister or to such aerodrome authority, as the case may be, for aerodrome charges,
(b) default has been made in the payment thereof, and
(c) the aircraft which the Minister or such aerodrome authority, as the case may be, seeks leave to sell is liable to sale under this section by reason of such default.
(4) The Minister or the aerodrome authority, as the case may be, proposing to apply for leave to sell an aircraft under this section shall take such steps as may be practicable for—
(a) bringing the proposed application to the notice of persons whose interests may be affected by the determination of the Court thereon, and
(b) affording to any such person an opportunity of becoming a party to the proceedings on the application,
and, if leave to sell the aircraft is granted by the Court, the Minister or the aerodrome authority, as the case may be, shall secure that the aircraft is sold for the best price that can reasonably be obtained.
(5) Failure by the Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned to comply with any requirement of subsection (4) in respect of any sale, while actionable as against the Minister or such aerodrome authority concerned at the suit of any person suffering loss in consequence thereof, shall not, after the sale has taken place, be a ground for impugning the validity of such sale.
(6) The proceeds of any sale under this section shall be applied as follows, and in the following order, that is to say—
(a) in payment of any duty (whether of customs or excise) or value-added tax chargeable on imported goods or on the aircraft itself which is due as a consequence of the aircraft's having been brought into the State;
(b) in payment of the expenses incurred by the Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned, as the case may be, in detaining, keeping and selling the aircraft (including the expenses in connection with any application to the Court under subsection (3));
(c) in payment of the aerodrome charges which the Court has found to be due; and
the surplus, if any, of such proceeds shall be paid to, or among, the person or persons whose interests in the aircraft have been divested by reason of the sale.
(7) The power of detention and sale conferred by this section in respect of an aircraft shall extend to the equipment of the aircraft and any stores for use in connection with the operation of the aircraft (being equipment and stores carried in the aircraft) whether or not such equipment or stores are the property of the person who is the operator of the aircraft, and references to the aircraft in subsections (2) to (6) include, except where the context otherwise requires, references to any such equipment and stores.
(8) The power of detention conferred by this section in respect of an aircraft shall extend to any aircraft documents carried in the aircraft, and any such documents may, if the aircraft is sold under this section, be transferred by the Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned, as the case may be, to the purchaser of the aircraft.
(9) The power conferred by this section to detain an aircraft in respect of which charges have been incurrred may be exercised on the occasion on which the charges have been incurred, or on any subsequent occasion, when the aircraft is on the aerodrome on which those charges were incurred, or on any other aerodrome owned or managed by the Minister or the aerodrome authority concerned, as the case may be.
(10) Nothing in this section shall prejudice any right of the Minister or an aerodrome authority to recover any charges, or any part thereof, by action.
(11) In this section—
“aerodrome authority”, in relation to any aerodrome, means the person owning or managing it;
“aerodrome charges” means charges payable to the Minister or an aerodrome authority for the use of, or for services provided at, an aerodrome and includes, in relation to the Minister, charges payable for air navigation services by virtue of Regulations under section 12 of the Act of 1963;
“aircraft documents”, in relation to any aircraft, means any certificate of registration, maintenance or airworthiness of that aircraft, any log book relating to the use of that aircraft or its equipment and any similar document and includes any record required to be made by virtue of Regulations under section 12 of the Act of 1963.
num: 33
paragraphs: —(1) An authorised officer, in the interest of the proper operation, or the security or safety, of an aerodrome, or the security or safety of persons, aircraft or other property thereon, may do all or any of the following things—
(a) stop, detain for such time as is reasonably necessary for the exercise of any of his powers under this section, and search any person or vehicle on an aerodrome;
(b) require any person on an aerodrome to—
(i) give his name and address and to produce other evidence of his identity;
(ii) state the purpose of his being on the aerodrome;
(iii) account for any baggage or other property which may be in his possession;
(c) order any person
(i) who refuses to give his name or address, or to produce other evidence of his identity, or
(ii) who refuses to state the purpose of his being on the aerodrome, or
(iii) who refuses to account for any baggage or other property in his possession, or
(iv) who gives a name or address or states a purpose of his being on the aerodrome which is known, or is reasonably suspected, by the authorised officer to be false or fictitious, or
(v) whom he knows not to have, or whom he reasonably suspects of not having, a lawful reason for being on the aerodrome,
to leave the aerodrome, or any part thereof, or he may remove such person from the aerodrome, or any part thereof, or he may arrest that person without warrant,
(d) arrest without warrant any person—
(i) who assaults, or whom he reasonably suspects to have assaulted, another person on an aerodrome, or
(ii) whom he knows to have, or whom he reasonably suspects of having contravened section 12 or 19 , or
(iii) whom he knows to have, or reasonably suspects of having, a stolen article in his possession.
(2) Where an authorised officer, who is not a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na, arrests a person under this section, he shall, forthwith, deliver such person into the custody of a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na to be dealt with in accordance with law.
(3) Where an authorised officer arrests a person pursuant to the powers conferred on him by subsection (1) (d) (iii), he may retain in his possession any article which he knows to have been, or reasonably suspects of having been, stolen until it has been established whether or not the article was stolen.
(4) A person who was ordered by an authorised officer to leave an aerodrome or part of an aerodrome, or who was removed from an aerodrome or part of an aerodrome by an authorised officer, shall not, on the same day, without the permission of an authorised officer, return to the aerodrome or the part of the aerodrome which he was ordered to leave, or from which he was removed, as the case may be.
(5) Any person who obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section, or who fails to comply with any lawful requirement of an authorised officer under this section, shall be guilty of an offence.
(6) In this section, “authorised officer” has the same meaning as in section 15 of the Act of 1950 (as amended by this Act).
num: 34
paragraphs: —This Part and the First Schedule shall come into operation on such day or days as the Government may appoint by order and different days may be appointed, as circumstances may require, in relation to each of the 1975 Protocols to the Warsaw Convention.
num: 35
paragraphs: —(1) This Part shall apply only in respect of states which are parties to the 1975 Protocols to the Warsaw Convention.
(2) Where a state is a party to one or more of the 1975 Protocols to the Warsaw Convention but is not a party to all of those Protocols, this Part shall apply to that state only in relation to the Protocol or Protocols to which that state is a party.
num: 36
paragraphs: —(1) The 1975 Protocols to the Warsaw Convention (as set out, respectively, in Parts I , II , III and IV of the First Schedule ) shall have the force of law in the State and section 18 (as amended by the Act of 1965 and this Act) of, and the First Schedule (as amended by the Act of 1959) to, the Principal Act shall have effect accordingly.
num: 37
paragraphs: —(1) References in section 20 (as amended by the Act of 1959 and by the Act of 1965) of the Principal Act to the First Schedule (as amended by the Act of 1959) to that Act shall be construed as references, as the case may require, to that Schedule as further amended by the Protocols set out in Parts I , II , III and IV , respectively, of the First Schedule .
num: 38
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the power to make orders for carrying out the Chicago Convention conferred on the Minister by sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Act of 1946 shall be deemed to include a power by order to—
(a) require the landing at such aerodrome as may be specified in the order, or
(b) provide for the interception in accordance with the terms of the order
of any aircraft—
(i) which is flying, or attempting to fly, without authority over the State, or
(ii) in relation to which there are reasonable grounds for believing that it is being used for any purpose inconsistent with the Chicago Convention,
and any such order may specify such other requirements as may appear to the Minister to be necessary to ensure that any aircraft concerned complies with the Chicago Convention.
(2) The additional powers conferred on the Minister by subsection (1) shall not include the power to authorise the use of weapons against an aircraft in flight:
Provided always that nothing in this subsection shall operate to prejudice the inherent right of self-defence as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations.
(3) In the landing or interception of an aircraft pursuant to an order made in exercise of the additional powers conferred on the Minister by subsection (1), the lives of persons on board the aircraft concerned and the safety of other aircraft and the persons on board that aircraft shall not be endangered:
Provided always that nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the inherent right of self-defence as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations.
num: 39
paragraphs: —(1) Section 12 of the Act of 1946 is hereby amended by—
(a) the substitution for paragraphs (a) and (b) of the following paragraphs:
“(a) it shall be lawful for a commissioned officer of the Defence Forces of the State to cause to be given such signal as may be prescribed by such order, and
(b) if, after such signal has been given, the aircraft fails to respond to the signal by complying with provisions of the order prescribing the action to be taken on such signal being given, it shall be lawful for such officer to intercept the aircraft and, subject to section 38 (2) and (3) of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1988, to use any and every other means at his disposal to compel compliance with the signal;”,
and
(b) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c):
“(d) every person who obstructs or impedes a commissioned officer of the Defence Forces of the State, or any other person acting in aid of or under the direction of such officer, in the exercise or performance of any of the powers or duties conferred on him by this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding twelve months, or, at the discretion of the Court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.”.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in section 12 of the Act of 1946, it shall be lawful for a commissioned officer of the Defence Forces of the State to cause to be given such signal as is prescribed in any order made under that section and in force on the commencement of this section and such orders shall apply accordingly.
num: 40
paragraphs: —(1) The pilot or commander of every aircraft registered in the State and of every aircraft operated by a person, whose principal place of business is in the State or who is permanently resident in the State, shall, wherever the aircraft may be, comply with a requirement in an order made by the Minister, in exercise of the additional powers conferred on him by section 38 , to land the aircraft.
(2) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction thereof to the penalties specified in section 13 (as amended by this Act) of the Act of 1946, as if the offence were a contravention of that section.
num: 41
paragraphs: —(1) The Minister may direct the detention of any aircraft (other than a State aircraft) subject to such conditions, and for such time, as he may specify for the purpose of securing compliance with—
(a) any provision of the Principal Act, or any instrument made thereunder;
(b) the Chicago Convention, or any order made under Part II of the Act of 1946 (as amended by this Act), or any regulation made or direction given under any such order;
(c) the provisions of the Convention relating to Co-operation for the Safety of Air Navigation signed at Brussels on the 13th day of December, 1960, or with any instrument made under the Act of 1963; or
(d) any provision of the Act of 1965, or any instrument made or direction given under that Act.
(2) (a) Where the Minister has, pursuant to subsection (1), directed the detention of an aircraft, an authorised officer may detain such aircraft and, in any such case, shall, as soon as may be practicable, notify the appropriate air traffic services authority and, where the authorised officer is not an officer of customs and excise, he shall, as soon as may be practicable, notify the appropriate officer of customs and excise.
(b) For the purpose of exercising his functions under this subsection, an authorised officer shall have power to enter any aerodrome, and to enter and inspect any aircraft he finds thereon.
(3) If an aircraft, after service on the pilot in command of any notice or order for the detention of the aircraft, or whilst it is detained pursuant to a direction of the Minister under subsection (1), take-off, or attempts to take-off, without the prior permission of an authorised officer, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—
(a) the pilot in command and also the owner or operator (where such person is not the owner) of the aircraft, and any person who causes the aircraft to take-off, or to attempt to take-off, shall each be guilty of an offence;
(b) if such aircraft, when so taking-off, has on board in the execution of his duty an authorised officer, the pilot in command, and also the owner or operator (if such person is not the owner), of such aircraft shall each be guilty of an offence, and shall also be liable to pay to the Minister all expenses of and incidental to such officer being so taken on such aircraft.
(4) Where a person charged with an offence under this section is not the pilot in command of the aircraft in respect of which such offence is alleged to have been committed, it shall be a good defence for such person to prove that, on the occasion on which such offence is alleged to have been committed, he was not a party or privy to the taking-off or attempted taking-off of such aircraft.
(5) Any expenses payable to the Minister under subsection (3) (b) may be recovered by him as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(6) Each of the following shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this section, that is to say:—
(a) a commissioned officer of the Defence Forces of the State;
(b) an officer of the Minister;
(c) an officer of customs and excise;
(d) any person authorised by the Minister in that behalf.
(7) Where, pursuant to subsection (1), an aircraft is to be detained, an officer of customs and excise shall, and where, pursuant to that subsection, an aircraft may be detained, may, refuse to clear that aircraft outwards or to grant a transire to such aircraft.
(8) Air traffic services shall not be provided for any aircraft for the purpose of contravening a direction for the detention of that aircraft pursuant to subsection (1).
(9) In this section, “air traffic services” includes the following services, that is to say, flight information service, alerting service, air traffic advisory service, air traffic control service, area control service, approach control service and aerodrome control service.
(10) Subsections (2) (a) and (3) to (9) shall also apply to any aircraft detained under section 16 , 18 or 32 .
num: 42
paragraphs: —Any person who falsely represents himself to be an authorised officer or an authorised person shall be guilty of an offence.
num: 43
paragraphs: —Every person who knowingly gives, or causes to be given, a false alarm which interferes with the operation of any aircraft, aerodrome or air navigation installation shall be guilty of an offence.
num: 44
paragraphs: —(1) The powers conferred on the Government by—
(a) section 17 (which relates to the Warsaw Convention having the force of law in SaorstÃ¡t Ãireann) of the Principal Act, or
(b) section 7 (which relates to the 1955 Protocol to the Warsaw Convention having the force of law in the State) of the Act of 1959, or
(c) section 2 (which relates to the Guadalajara Convention having the force of law in the State) of the Act of 1965,
are hereby transferred to the Minister.
(2) Before exercising any of the powers referred to in subsection (1), the Minister shall consult with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
num: 45
paragraphs: —(1) The functions under the Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , which are vested in the Minister for Communications under or by virtue of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1983 , are hereby transferred to the Minister and the said Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , shall be construed and have effect accordingly.
(2) The functions under the Free Ports Act, 1986 , in relation to the establishment, management and control of a free port at or adjacent to an aerodrome and the licensing of persons to carry on any trade, business or manufacture within any such free port which are vested in the Minister for the Marine under or by virtue of the Communications (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1987 (S.I. No. 91 of 1987), are hereby transferred to the Minister and the said Free Ports Act, 1986 , shall be construed and have effect accordingly.
(3) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by subsection (1) or (2) are hereby transferred to the Department of Tourism and Transport.
(4) (a) References to the Minister for Communications or the Department of Communications in any statute or statutory instrument shall, in so far as it relates to any function transferred by subsection (1), be construed as references to the Minister or the Department of Tourism and Transport as the case may require.
(b) References to the Minister for the Marine or the Department of the Marine in any statute or statutory instrument shall, in so far as it relates to any function transferred by subsection (2), be construed as references to the Minister or the Department of Tourism and Transport as the case may require.
(5) In this section—
“functions” includes powers, duties and obligations and reference to the performance of a function includes, as respects powers, duties and obligations, reference to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties and obligations;
“statutory instrument” has the meaning assigned to it by the Interpretation Act, 1937 .
num: 46
paragraphs: —Section 18 (inserted by the Act of 1965) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:
“(b) In deducing any relationship for the purposes of this section—
(i) the relationship between every person and his father and mother shall be determined in accordance with section 3 of the Status of Children Act, 1987 , and all other relationships shall be determined accordingly;
(ii) a person in loco parentis to another shall be considered the parent of that other.”.
num: 47
paragraphs: —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 55 (which relates to the restrictions on actions for damages in respect of damages for trespass or nuisance by aircraft) of the following section:
“55. An action shall not lie in respect of trespass or in respect of nuisance by reason only of the flight of aircraft over any property at a height above the ground which, having regard to wind, weather and all the circumstances of the case is reasonable, or the ordinary incidents of the flight, so long as the provisions of any order made under Part II of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946 , to give effect to, or to supplement, the Chicago Convention have been duly complied with.”.
(2) Section 56 (which relates to the penalty for dangerous flying) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection:
“(4) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any order made under Part II of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946 , to give effect to, or to supplement, the Chicago Convention.”.
num: 48
paragraphs: — Section 2 of the Hire-Purchase Act, 1946 (which relates to the application of the Act) is hereby amended by—
(a) the insertion in paragraph (b) after “members,” of “or”, and
(b) the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:
“(c) an agreement relating to aircraft or spare parts for aircraft,”.
num: 49
paragraphs: —The Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , is hereby amended by the substitution for section 13 (as amended by the Customs-free Airport (Amendment) Act, 1958 ) of the following section:
“13. (1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make Regulations for the management and control of the airport:
Provided that the power of the Minister to make Regulations under this section shall not extend to the making of Regulations permitting the carrying on of any trade, business or manufacture within the airport.
(2) A Minister of the Government, other than the Minister or the Minister for Finance, may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, make Regulations extending, with or without modifications, to the airport any law for the time being in force which is administered by the Minister making the Regulation and which, but for section 4 of this Act, would apply to the airport.
(3) A person who contravenes any Regulation under this section shall be guilty of an offence.”.
num: 50
paragraphs: —Section 7 (which relates to the power to authorise by order the operation of air services) of the Act of 1965 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (5) of the following subsection:
“(6) (a) The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may, in any order under this section, provide for the payment of fees on the grant of an authorisation to operate an air service under this section and, with the consent aforesaid, prescribe the amount of the fees (including different amounts in respect of authorisations in relation to different categories of air services and in relation to air services previously the subject of authorisations under this section).
(b) All fees received under this subsection shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs.
(c) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply to any fees payable under this subsection.”.
num: 51
paragraphs: —The Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1975 , is hereby amended by—
(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1) of section 3:
“(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if anywhere he unlawfully and intentionally—
(a) commits on board an aircraft in flight any act of violence which is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft,
(b) destroys an aircraft in service or so damages it as to render it incapable of flight or to endanger its safety in flight,
(c) places or causes to be placed on an aircraft in service any device or substance which is likely to destroy the aircraft or so damage it as to render it incapable of flight or to endanger its safety in flight,
(d) destroys, damages or interferes with the operation of any air navigation facility if such act is likely to endanger the safety of aircraft in flight,
(e) communicates any information which he knows to be false where the communication of the information endangers, or is likely to endanger, the safety of an aircraft in flight,
(f) (i) performs an act of violence against a person
(I) at an aerodrome in the State (other than an aerodrome under the control of the Minister for Defence), or
(II) at an aerodrome outside the State serving international civil aviation,
which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death, or
(ii) destroys or seriously damages the facilities or disrupts the services of any aerodrome referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (other than an aerodrome under the control of the Minister for Defence) or destroys or seriously damages any aircraft not in service located on that aerodrome,
if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety at that aerodrome.”,
and
(b) the substitution of the following section for section 5:
“Application of the Extradition Act, 1965, to persons arrested under this Act.
num: 5
paragraphs: —(1) Any person arrested under section 4 (1) of this Act shall—
(a) if the aircraft concerned is registered in a state to which Part II of the Act of 1965 applies, or if the aerodrome concerned is in a state to which that Part of that Act applies, and (in the case of a citizen of Ireland) the extradition of the person is not prohibited by section 14 of that Act, be deemed to have been arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under section 27 of that Act, and
(b) if the aircraft concerned is registered in a place to which Part III of that Act applies, or if the aerodrome concerned is in a place to which that Part of that Act applies, be deemed to have been arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under section 49 of that Act.
(2) Section 15 of the Act of 1965 shall not apply in relation to the extradition of a person to whom subsection (1) of this section applies.”.
num: 52
paragraphs: —The Air Transport Act, 1986 , is hereby amended by—
(a) the substitution in section 3 (2) for “twenty-one days” of “fourteen days or such lesser period as the Minister may prescribe by order under this subsection”,
and
(b) the insertion in section 3 after subsection (2) of the following subsections:
“(2A) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made under subsection (2) of this section.
(2B) Every order made by the Minister under subsection (2) or (2A) of this section shall be published in Iris OifigiÃºil and 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 such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.”.
num: 53
paragraphs: —The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column.