Dumping at Sea Act 1996
Source: Iris Oifigiúl 1996-06-25

num: 1
paragraphs: —In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—
“authorised officer” shall be construed in accordance with section 6 (1) of this Act;
“company” has the same meaning as in the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990;
“dumping” means—
(a) any deliberate disposal in the maritime area (including side-cast dredging, plough dredging, water injection dredging and other such dredging techniques) of a substance or material from or in conjunction with a vessel or aircraft or offshore installation,
(b) any deliberate disposal in the maritime area of vessels, aircraft or offshore installations,
but does not include—
(i) the disposal in accordance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, or other applicable international law to which Ireland is a party, of a substance or a material incidental to, or derived from, the normal operations of a vessel or aircraft or offshore installation (or its equipment) other than a substance or a material transported by or to a vessel or aircraft or offshore installation for the purpose of disposal of such substance or material or derived from the treatment of such substance or material on such a vessel or aircraft or installation;
(ii) the discharge, for the purpose of dispersing or otherwise altering the distribution or character of any mineral oil on the surface of the sea, of a substance or material designed or intended for use for the purpose aforesaid and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;
(iii) placement of a substance or material or vessel or aircraft in the maritime area for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof, provided that, if the placement is for a purpose other than that for which the substance or material or vessel or aircraft was originally designed or constructed, it is in accordance with the provisions of sections 2 and 5 of this Act;
(iv) the discarding of unprocessed fish or fish offal from fishing vessels;
“functions” includes powers and duties and a reference to the performance of a function includes a reference to the exercise of a power and the carrying out of a duty;
“harbour authority” means—
(a) in the case of a harbour to which the Harbours Act, 1946 , applies, a harbour authority within the meaning of that Act,
(b) in the case of DÃºn Laoghaire Harbour or a fishery harbour centre to which the Fishery Harbour Centres Act, 1968 , applies or any other harbour under the control of the Minister, the said Minister,
(c) in the case of a harbour under the control of a local authority, the local authority concerned,
(d) in the case of a harbour under the management of IarnrÃ³d Ãireann–Irish Rail, that company;
“Irish aircraft” means an aircraft registered in the State;
“Irish vessel” means a ship which is an Irish ship within the meaning of the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 , or a vessel which is owned by, leased or chartered to, an individual resident in the State or an Irish company, and is not registered under the law of another country;
“the London Convention” means the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter done at London on the 29th day of December, 1972, as amended by the Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Convention on the 12th day of October, 1978;
“the maritime area” comprises—
(a) the territorial seas of the State, and the seabed and subsoil beneath those seas,
(b) any area for the time being standing designated by order under section 2 of the Continental Shelf Act, 1968 , for the purposes of that Act, and the waters above it, and
(c) any area which lies within a line, every point of which is at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines for the purposes of the Maritime Jurisdiction Acts, 1959 to 1988,and the waters above it, provided that this subparagraph shall not be interpreted as constituting a claim by the State to any area which is under the jurisdiction of any other state and which the State otherwise recognises as being under such jurisdiction;
“master”, in relation to a vessel, means the person having the command or charge of the vessel for the time being;
“the Minister” means the Minister for the Marine;
“offshore activities” means activities carried out in the sea for the purpose of the exploration, appraisal or exploitation of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons;
“offshore installation” means any man-made structure, plant or vessel or parts thereof, whether floating or fixed to the seabed, placed in the sea for the purpose of offshore activities;
“substance or material” includes thing;
“territorial seas of the State” means the territorial seas of the State for the purpose of the Maritime Jurisdiction Acts, 1959 to 1988, and the internal waters of the State for the purposes of those Acts;
“vessel” includes an aircraft which is capable of landing on or taking off from water.
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paragraphs: —(1) If any vessel or aircraft, substance or material—
(a) is dumped in the maritime area,
(b) is dumped anywhere in the sea outside the maritime area and the dumping is from an Irish vessel, or an Irish aircraft, or
(c) is loaded on to a vessel or aircraft in the State or in the maritime area for dumping,
the master and the owner of the vessel, or the pilot in command and the owner of the aircraft, as the case may be, and any other person who causes or permits the dumping or loading shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) It shall be a defence for a person (“the defendant”) charged with an offence under this section to prove—
(a) that the commission of the offence was due to a mistake or to the act or default of another person or to an accident or some other cause beyond the defendant's control and that the defendant took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by the defendant or any person under the defendant's control, or
(b) that the dumping or loading concerned took place under and in accordance with a permit under section 5 of this Act, or, in the case of dumping to which subsection (1) (b) of this section relates, under and in accordance with a permit granted by another state that is party to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic done at Paris on the 22nd day of September, 1992 or the London Convention.
(3) (a) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in relation to dumping, if it is reasonably necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of a vessel or aircraft or of saving life.
(b) Dumping for a purpose specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be reported to the Minister by the master of the vessel or pilot in command of the aircraft, as the case may be, as soon as may be, but not later than 7 days after it takes place.
(c) A person who contravenes paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence.
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paragraphs: —(1) A person who causes or procures the incineration, that is to say, the deliberate combustion, of any substance or material in the maritime area for the purpose of thermal destruction shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the thermal destruction of substances or material derived from the normal operation of a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation other than the thermal destruction of substances or material on a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation operating for the purpose of such destruction.
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paragraphs: —(1) Subject to section 5 of this Act, a person who deliberately disposes of, or permits the disposal of, in the maritime area, an offshore installation or any substance or material from any such installation, and the person in charge of, and the owner of, the offshore installation concerned, shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) A person who deliberately disposes of, or permits the disposal of, in the maritime area—
(a) low, intermediate and high level radioactive substances or material, or
(b) toxic, harmful or noxious substances,
and the master and the owner of the vessel, or the pilot in command and the owner of the aircraft or the person in charge of and the owner of the offshore installation concerned, as the case may be, shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) Subsection (2) (a) of this section shall not apply to any radioactive substances or material below low level as prescribed by the Minister in consultation with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland.
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paragraphs: —(1) (a) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications and such other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate, grant, or refuse to grant, a permit to a person who applies to the Minister for a permit authorising the dumping of a specified vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, or a specified quantity of a specified substance or material in a specified place within a specified period of time or the loading onto the vessel or aircraft, of a specified quantity of a specified substance or material at a specified place within a specified period of time, which is intended to be dumped from the vessel or aircraft concerned.
(b) In deciding whether to grant or refuse a permit under this subsection, the Minister shall consider—
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paragraphs: —(1) (a) The Minister may appoint an officer of the Minister or of the Marine Institute established by the Marine Institute Act, 1991 , to be an authorised officer.
(b) The Minister may, in relation to the fisheries regions created under section 10 of the Fisheries Act, 1980 , appoint an officer of the Central Fisheries Board established by the said Act, to be an authorised officer.
(c) The Minister may, in relation to a fisheries region created under the said section 10, appoint an officer of a regional fisheries board (within the meaning of that section) established in respect of that fisheries region, to be an authorised officer.
(d) An authorised officer appointed under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection shall, in the discharge of his functions under this section, have regard to such considerations of policy as the Minister may direct.
(e) Every member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.
(f) Every member of the Defence Forces (not below the rank of sergeant or petty officer, as the case may be) for the time being serving on board any vessel belonging to or in the service of the State shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.
(g) The Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications may appoint an officer of that Minister or of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland to be an authorised officer.
(h) A harbour authority may appoint an officer of the authority to be an authorised officer and an authorised officer appointed under this paragraph may exercise the powers under this Act of an authorised officer in, but only in, the harbour of the authority.
(2) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of this Act—
(a) at any reasonable time enter any vehicle, place or premises, and board any vessel, aircraft or offshore installation and carry out any inspection and examination which the officer reasonably considers necessary for the purposes aforesaid,
(b) require the person in charge to be present during the inspection and examination and to furnish such information as the officer may reasonably require for the purposes aforesaid,
(c) open any container at the place or in the premises, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or installation,
(d) examine and take samples of any material or substance at the place or in the premises, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or installation,
(e) require any person at the place or in the premises, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or offshore installation to produce any document in the power or control of that person which the officer desires to see for the purposes aforesaid,
(f) inspect, examine and take copies of, or extracts from, any such document as aforesaid and require the person by whom any such document is kept or who produced the document to certify a copy thereof as a true copy, and
(g) monitor the effects of any dumping.
(3) For the purpose of entering a vehicle, place or premises or boarding a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, an authorised officer may require the person in charge to do anything that will facilitate entry or boarding and the power conferred by this subsection includes power, in the case of a vehicle, vessel or installation, to require the person in charge to stop it.
(4) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of this Act, require the attendance of the master of a vessel, the pilot in command of an aircraft or the person in charge of an offshore installation and may, for the purposes aforesaid, make of such master, pilot or person any inquiry which appears to the officer to be necessary.
(5) Where an authorised officer reasonably suspects that, in relation to a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, in the maritime area or in a harbour, airport or other place in the State, a contravention of this Act is taking, or has taken, place, he may detain the vessel, aircraft or offshore installation at any place in the maritime area or at any convenient harbour, airport or other place in the State until the happening of one of the following—
(a) in the case of dumping or loading, that is suspected to be in contravention of this Act, the production to the officer of a permit under this Act authorising the dumping or loading,
(b) the officer's becoming satisfied that a contravention of this Act has not taken place in relation to the vessel, aircraft or installation,
(c) the final determination of any court proceedings (including any appeal, re-trial or other proceedings) in respect of such a contravention as aforesaid and the payment of any fine imposed in the proceedings,
(d) the giving of security which, in the opinion of a judge of the District Court, is satisfactory for payment, in the event of a conviction of an offence in relation to the said contravention or in the event of a failure by a defendant in any proceedings in relation to such a contravention to attend before any court when such attendance is required for the purposes of the proceedings, of a sum that in the opinion of the judge is sufficient to provide for—
(i) payment of the maximum fine or fines ordered, or which may be ordered, to be paid in respect of the offence or offences, and
(ii) the estimated amount of the costs (if any) of any trials, appeals or other proceedings in relation to the offence or offences concerned awarded, or which may be awarded, against the defendant concerned,
or require the said vessel, aircraft or offshore installation to be removed from such maritime area, harbour, airport or other place.
(6) The security provided for in subsection (5) of this section is in addition to and not in substitution for any other bond or recognisance which the defendant concerned may be required to enter into by the judge of the District Court concerned in relation to any trials, appeals or other proceedings in relation to the offence or offences.
(7) Where an authorised officer has detained a vessel or offshore installation under this section—
(a) any authorised officer may, if the vessel or offshore installation, as the case may be, is not in a harbour, take it to the nearest or most convenient harbour or place in the maritime area, or
(b) any authorised officer may, if the vessel or offshore installation, as the case may be, is in a harbour detain it at that harbour or take it to a more convenient harbour or place in the maritime area,
and there detain it until the happening of one of the events described in paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 6 (5).
(8) Where an authorised officer has, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by this section, detained a vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, any authorised officer who suspects that in relation to the vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, as the case may be, a contravention of this Act is taking or has taken place shall, as soon as may be, apply to a judge of the District Court for an order authorising the continued detention of all persons on board the vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, as the case may be, and the said judge may, if he is satisfied that the authorised officer applying for the order so suspects, make an order authorising the detention of those persons for a period of 48 hours from the time of the making of the order.
(9) A person who obstructs, or interferes with, an authorised officer in the course of the officer's performance of functions under this section or fails or refuses to comply with a requirement of an authorised officer under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(10) A person who, immediately before the commencement of this section, was an authorised officer under the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981 , shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.
(11) An authorised officer (other than a member of the Defence Forces or a member of the Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na) shall be furnished with a certificate of his appointment and, when performing any function under this section, the officer shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person.
(12) No action or other legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, shall be instituted in any court in respect of the doing of anything authorised to be done by an authorised officer under this section, whether such thing is done personally by an authorised officer or by a person acting on the orders or instructions of an authorised officer.
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paragraphs: —(1) Summary proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.
(2) Summary proceedings in respect of an offence committed in the harbour of a harbour authority may be brought by the Minister or the authority.
(3) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted—
(a) in every case, within two years from the date of the offence, and
(b) if at the expiration of that period, the person to be charged is outside the State, within six months of the date on which he enters the State.
(4) Proceedings for an offence under this Act committed in the maritime area may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the State.
(5) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and the offence 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 being a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body or being a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body, shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(6) Without prejudice to any other jurisdiction, proceedings in relation to an offence under this Act may be brought against a person at any place where that person may, for the time being, be.
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paragraphs: —(1) A body corporate may be sent forward for trial on indictment for an offence under this Act with or without recognisances.
(2) On arraignment before the Central Criminal Court or the Circuit Court, the body corporate may enter in writing by its representative a plea of guilty or not guilty and, if it does not appear by a representative appointed by it for the purpose, or, though it does so appear, fails to enter any plea, the court shall order a plea of not guilty to be entered and the trial shall proceed as though the body corporate had duly entered that plea.
(3) A statement in writing purporting to be signed by the secretary of the body corporate to the effect that the person named in the statement has been appointed as the representative of the body for the purpose of this section shall be admissible without further proof as evidence that that person has been so appointed.
(4) Any summons or other document required to be served for the purpose or in the course of proceedings under this section on a body corporate may be served by leaving it at or sending it by registered post to the registered office of that body or, if there be no such office in the State, by leaving it at, or sending it by registered post to, the body at any place in the State at which it conducts its business.
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paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsection (3), all fines in respect of offences under this Act shall be paid into the Exchequer in accordance with such directions as may, from time to time, be given by the Minister for Finance.
(2) Where a fine imposed on a person under this Act is not duly paid, the court may, without prejudice to any other powers for enforcing payment, direct the amount remaining unpaid to be levied by distress and sale of the vessel, aircraft or offshore installation concerned and its tackle, fixtures, fittings and equipment.
(3) Where it appears to a court imposing a fine that any person has incurred or will incur expense in removing any vessel, aircraft, offshore installation, substance or material which has been dumped or unlawfully disposed of or in making good any damage attributable to the offence, the court may order the whole or part of the fine to be paid to that person for or towards defraying the expense.
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paragraphs: —(1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable, on conviction on indictment, to a fine of such amount as the court considers appropriate or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both the fine and the imprisonment.
(2) A judge of the District Court shall have jurisdiction to try summarily an offence under this Act if—
(a) the judge is of the opinion that the facts proved or alleged against a defendant charged with such an offence constitute a minor offence fit to be tried summarily,
(b) the Attorney General consents, and
(c) the defendant (on being informed by the judge of the right to be tried by a jury) does not object to being tried summarily,
and upon conviction under this subsection, the said defendant shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.
(3) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to an offence under this Act as if, in lieu of the penalties specified in subsection (3) of the said section 13, there were specified therein the penalty provided for by subsection (2) of this section, and the reference in subsection (2) (a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for in the said subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.
(5) Where a judge of the District Court proposes to make an order for the release on bail of a defendant before him charged with an offence under this Act who is ordinarily resident outside the State, he shall (unless he is satisfied that all documents including an indictment required by law to be served on the defendant in connection with or for the purpose of the charge or of any proceedings arising out of or connected with the charge can be duly served on the defendant in the State) direct that those documents may, in lieu of being served on the defendant, be served on a person who is ordinarily resident in the State.
(6) Where a judge of the District Court who has given a direction under this section or another judge of the District Court acting in his place is satisfied that, owing to the death or absence from the State of a person specified in the direction or for any other reason, a document referred to in subsection (5) cannot be served on that person, the judge shall direct that the document may be served on another person who is ordinarily resident in the State.
(7) Service of a document referred to in this section on a person specified in a direction under this section shall be deemed for all purposes to be service on the defendant concerned.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 3 of the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1974 , shall not apply to the prosecution of an offence under this Act or to any functions in relation to that matter to which, but for this subsection, it would apply.
(2) References in Part II of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , and section 62 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , to the Director of Public Prosecutions shall, in so far as that Part and those sections apply in relation to an offence referred to in subsection (1) of this section or to any functions referred to in that subsection, be construed as references to the Attorney General.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 3 of the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1974 , shall not apply to the prosecution of an offence under the Sea Pollution Act, 1991 , or to any functions in relation to that matter to which, but for this subsection, it would apply.
(2) References in Part II of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , and section 62 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , to the Director of Public Prosecutions shall, in so far as that Part and those sections apply in relation to an offence referred to in subsection (1) of this section or to any functions referred to in that subsection, be construed as references to the Attorney General.
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paragraphs: —(1) Fees under this Act shall be taken and collected in such manner as the Minister for Finance may from time to time direct and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.
(2) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of such fees.
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paragraphs: —The expenses incurred by the Minister or any other Minister of the Government 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.
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paragraphs: —The Dumping at Sea Act, 1981 , is hereby repealed.
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paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Dumping at Sea Act, 1996.
(2) The Sea Pollution Act, 1991 , and section 12 of this Act may be cited together as the Sea Pollution Acts, 1991 and 1996, and shall be construed together as one Act.