Canals Act, 1986
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
“the Board” means CÃ³ras Iompair Ãireann;
“boat” includes any barge, vessel or other water-craft;
“the canals” means the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal and includes any other waterways of the canal undertaking vested in the Board immediately before the vesting day;
“the canal undertaking” means the canal undertaking operated by the Board immediately before the vesting day;
“canal property” means the property transferred by this Act;
“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;
“common interest property” means any property which, immediately before the vesting day, was occupied by the Board and was used by the Board for the purposes of the operation of both the railway of the Board and the canals;
“land” includes any land covered by water;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Communications;
“the railway property” means the property of the Board used solely for the purposes of the railway of the Board which adjoins the canal property;
“the vesting day” means the day appointed under section 20 to be the vesting day.
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) On the vesting day—
(a) the whole of the canal undertaking including all property (including choses-in-action), assets, powers, rights, licences, privileges and liabilities held, enjoyed or incurred by the Board in connection therewith or appertaining thereto shall by virtue of this section but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company be transferred to the Commissioners, and
num: 3
paragraphs: —(1) Such persons employed by the Board immediately before the vesting day in connection with the canal undertaking as are designated by the Board, after consultation with the Commissioners, shall, on the vesting day, become and be officers or servants, as the case may be, of the Commissioners.
(2) (a) A person to whom subsection (1) applies shall on the vesting day enjoy conditions of service not less beneficial in aggregate than the conditions of service to which he was subject immediately before the vesting day having regard to—
(i) any adjustment to the scale of pay by reference to which such person was remunerated or the conditions relating to the grant of pensions, gratuities and other allowances on retirement or death to which he was subject immediately before the vesting day, and
(ii) any compensation given to such person in respect of becoming an officer or servant as the case may be of the Commissioners.
(b) Where a disagreement arises on or after the vesting day as to the amount of compensation (if any) given to a person to whom subsection (1) applies in respect of becoming an officer or servant as the case may be of the Commissioners, such disagreement shall be referred to the Labour Court which shall determine the amount of the compensation (if any).
(3) The period of service with the Board in a pensionable capacity of any person to whom subsection (1) applies shall be reckonable for the purposes of—
(a) the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, and the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1976 ,
or
(b) the non-contributory pension scheme for persons holding unestablished positions (within the meaning of the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956 ),
as appropriate, as if such service had been service within the meaning of those Acts and shall not be reckonable for the purposes of any other superannuation entitlement or benefit, pension or gratuity payable upon death or retirement or provided by the Board for so long as that person remains in the service of the Commissioners.
(4) On the vesting day, the trustees of any superannuation scheme of the Board of which any person transferred under subsection (1) is a member shall transfer to the Minister for Finance all securities and moneys held under the scheme on behalf of or in relation to that person.
num: 4
paragraphs: —(1) The Board shall, as soon as may be after the vesting day, give to the Commissioners—
(a) all documents of title, records, books, maps, plans, drawings and other documents held by the Board on the vesting day relating exclusively to the canal property, and
(b) certified copies of all documents of title, records, books, maps, plans, drawings and other documents held by the Board on the vesting day and relating to both the canal property and property of the Board.
(2) The Board shall permit the Commissioners, their servants or agents to inspect the documents referred to in subsection (1) (b) at the offices of the Board at Heuston Station, Dublin, or at any other office of the Board at which such documents are normally kept, at all times when those offices are open for business.
num: 5
paragraphs: —(1) Subject to subsection (2), on and after the vesting day, it shall be the duty of the Commissioners to undertake the care, management and maintenance of the canals and other canal property as a public amenity for use by the public for navigation in such parts of the canals as are open to navigation from time to time or fishing or otherwise for the enjoyment and recreation of the public and the Commissioners may designate particular parts of the canals and other canal property for particular purposes including purposes incidental to such purposes as aforesaid.
(2) The Commissioners shall consult with the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry in relation to any matters which affect or could affect fish, fish life, fish stocks or fishing in the canals.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Board and the Commissioners to undertake the care, management and maintenance of common interest property while such property is under the control of the Board or under the control of the Commissioners.
num: 6
paragraphs: —The Commissioners shall have all such powers as are necessary for the performance of their functions under this Act and shall without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, have power to undertake the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement and development of the canals and other canal property and to—
(a) draw any water necessary for the purposes of the canals from any source whatsoever from which the Board was entitled to draw such water before the vesting day, whether by virtue of any enactment or otherwise;
(b) dredge, widen, deepen, alter the course of or otherwise improve the canals or improve the supply of water for the canals and for that purpose to dredge, widen or deepen any stream, river, drain or channel carrying any such water supply and replace or repair any pipe carrying any such supply;
(c) construct, alter, underpin or improve any lock, quay, harbour, drydock, weir, fishpass, slipway, pumping station, building, towpath, bridge, aqueduct, embankment, culvert or road (other than a public road within the meaning of the Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act, 1974 ) on, over or beside the canals;
num: 7
paragraphs: —(1) On and after the vesting day the Commissioners may make bye-laws for the care, management, maintenance and control and the regulation of the use of the canals and other canal property and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, in relation to any one or more of the following matters:
(a) the regulation of the conditions (including conditions as to safety) under which boats may be used on the canals;
(b) the closing to navigation of any part of the canals;
(c) the opening to navigation of any part of the canals not open to navigation;
(d) the alteration of water levels of the canals;
(e) the regulation of bathing in the canals;
(f) the regulation of fishing in the canals (other than matters in respect of which the Minister for Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry may make bye-laws under section 9 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 );
(g) the prevention of damage to the canals or other canal property;
(h) the removal from the canals or other canal property of any boat or thing which is or may become a danger to life, navigation or fish stocks or would otherwise interfere with the proper use of the canals or other canal property;
(i) the charging and fixing of fees, tolls and charges in respect of the use by boats of the canals (including the use of locks on the canals and mooring on the canals) and the taking of water from the canals.
(2) Bye-laws under this section may contain all such incidental, subsidiary and ancillary provisions as the Commissioners consider necessary or expedient for the purposes of the bye-laws.
(3) A person who contravenes a bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 (together with, in the case of a continuing contravention, a fine not exceeding £100 for every day on which the contravention is continued and not exceeding in total an amount which, when added to any other fine under this paragraph in relation to the contravention concerned, equals £1,000) or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine or fines and such imprisonment, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £5,000 (together with, in the case of a continuing contravention, a fine not exceeding £500 for every day on which the contravention is continued) or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine or fines and such imprisonment.
(4) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to an offence to which subsection (3) relates as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) of the said section, there were specified therein the penalties provided for in subsection (3) (a) 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.
(5) Where an offence to which subsection (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 that offence.
(6) (a) The Commissioners may bring proceedings for a summary offence under this section.
(b) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence to which subsection (3) relates may be instituted within 12 months from the date of the offence.
(7) Every bye-law made by the Commissioners under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next twenty-one days on which such House has sat after the bye-law is laid before it annulling such bye-law, such bye-law shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such bye-law.
num: 8
paragraphs: —(1) Where the Board carries out work which benefits the property of the Commissioners and the carrying out of which is reasonably necessary for the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement or development of the railway property, the Commissioners shall pay to the Board such sum as is reasonable having regard to the cost of the work carried out and the nature and extent of the benefit conferred on the property of the Commissioners by such work.
(2) Where the Commissioners carry out work which benefits the property of the Board and the carrying out of which is reasonably necessary for the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement or development of the canal property, the Board shall pay to the Commissioners such sum as is reasonable having regard to the cost of the work carried out and the nature and extent of the benefit conferred on the property of the Board by such work.
num: 9
paragraphs: —(1) The Board shall afford to the Commissioners, their servants or agents all such facilities on or in relation to the railway property as may be reasonably required by the Commissioners for the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement or development of any part of the canal property adjoining the railway property.
(2) The Commissioners shall afford to the Board, its servants or agents all such facilities on or in relation to the canal property as may be reasonably required by the Board for the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement or development of any part of the railway property.
(3) Where the Commissioners are facilitated by the Board under subsection (1), and in consequence the Board suffers any loss or incurs any expenditure, the Commissioners shall pay to the Board an amount equal to the amount of the loss or expenditure.
(4) Where the Board is facilitated by the Commissioners under subsection (2), and in consequence the Commissioners suffer any loss or incur any expenditure, the Board shall pay to the Commissioners an amount equal to the amount of the loss or expenditure.
num: 10
paragraphs: —The Commissioners may temporarily—
(a) close to navigation any part of the canals, and
(b) alter the water level of any part of the canals,
to enable a local authority or other person to carry out, with the consent of the Commissioners, any works which may be necessary on or near the canal property:
Provided that nothing in this section shall affect—
(i) the rights of the Board under section 9 (2) or 12 (1) or
(ii) any agreement existing on the vesting day making provision for the supply of water from the canals.
num: 11
paragraphs: —(1) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), where on or after the vesting day it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out work in relation to the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement or development of the railway property, the Board may by its servants or agents enter onto the canal property and, if it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out any such work, occupy and otherwise make use of the canal property.
(b) Before exercising any powers under paragraph (a) (for a purpose other than the carrying out of work which is urgently required), the Board shall give to the Commissioners notice of its intention to make such entry and the Commissioners may specify conditions in relation to such exercise (being conditions that are reasonable).
(c) After exercising any powers under paragraph (a) for the purpose of carrying out work which was urgently required the Board shall, as soon as may be, inform the Commissioners.
(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), where on or after the vesting day it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out work in relation to the care, management, control, maintenance, repair, improvement or development of the canal property, the Commissioners may by their servants or agents enter onto the railway property and, if it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out any such work, occupy and otherwise make use of the railway property.
(b) Before exercising any powers under paragraph (a), the Commissioners shall give to the Board notice of their intention to make such entry and the Board may specify conditions in relation to such exercise (being conditions that are reasonable).
(3) Any conditions specified under subsection (1) (b) by the Commissioners shall be complied with by the Board and any conditions specified under subsection (2) (b) by the Board shall be complied with by the Commissioners.
(4) Where the Commissioners suffer any loss or incur any expenditure in consequence of the exercise by the Board of the powers conferred on it by subsection (1) (a), the Board shall pay to the Commissioners an amount equal to the amount of the loss or expenditure.
(5) Where the Board suffers any loss or incurs any expenditure in consequence of the exercise by the Commissioners of the powers conferred on them by subsection 2 (a), the Commissioners shall pay to the Board an amount equal to the amount of the loss or expenditure.
(6) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b), (c) and (d), where on or after the vesting day it is necessary to do so for the purposes of inspecting and surveying the canal property and any adjoining land (other than land to which subsection (2) relates), the Commissioners may by their servants or agents enter onto that land and carry out the necessary inspection and survey and do all things ancillary to or reasonably necessary for those purposes.
(b) Before exercising any powers under paragraph (a), the Commissioners shall give to the owner or occupier of the land onto which the entry is intended to be made not less than fourteen days' notice in writing of the intention to make the entry and of the purposes for which the entry is intended to be made.
(c) A person to whom a notice of intention to enter on land has been given under this subsection may, not later than fourteen days after the giving of such notice, apply, on notice to the Commissioners, to the Justice of the District Court having jurisdiction in the district court district in which the land is situate for an order prohibiting the entry, and, upon the hearing of the application, the Justice may, if he so thinks proper, either wholly prohibit the entry or specify conditions to be observed by the person making the entry.
(d) Where a Justice of the District Court prohibits under this subsection a proposed entry onto the land, it shall not be lawful for any person to enter under paragraph (a) onto the land, and where a Justice of the District Court specifies under this subsection conditions to be observed by persons entering onto land, every person who enters onto land under the said paragraph (a) shall observe the conditions so specified.
(7) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), where on or after the vesting day it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out work which is urgently required in relation to the care, management, control, maintenance or repair of canal property the Commissioners may by their servants or agents enter onto any land (other than land to which subsection (2) relates) and, if it is necessary to do so for the purposes of carrying out any such work, occupy and otherwise make use of that land.
(b) The Commissioners shall endeavour to give notice to the owner or occupier of the land onto which entry is urgently required and, where it is not possible to do so, the Commissioners shall, as soon as may be after exercising any powers under paragraph (a), inform the owner or occupier of that land of the exercise of the said powers and the purposes for which such powers were exercised.
(c) Where the owner or occupier of the land affected by the exercise by the Commissioners of any powers under paragraph (a) suffers any loss or incurs any expenditure in consequence of the exercise of the said powers, the Commissioners shall pay to him an amount equal to the amount of the loss or expenditure.
num: 12
paragraphs: —(1) The Board shall continue to enjoy on and after the vesting day the same rights that it enjoyed immediately before the vesting day to—
(a) the use of any pipes, drains, wires, cables, poles or pylons above, on or under land transferred by this Act and used for the purposes of drainage, sewerage or the supply of water, electricity or gas or other services and the use of any such land for any of those purposes, and
(b) supplies of water from the canals:
provided that the Commissioners shall retain such supplies as may be necessary for navigation and the fulfilment of any obligations arising out of any agreements existing on the vesting day making provision for the supply of water from the canals.
(2) The Commissioners shall enjoy on and after the vesting day the same rights as the Board enjoyed before the vesting day to the use of any pipes, drains, wires, cables, poles or pylons above, on or under the railway property for the purposes of drainage, sewerage or the supply of water, electricity, gas or other services and the use of any such land for any of those purposes.
num: 13
paragraphs: —(1) If in any respect any difficulty arises in bringing into operation this Act, the Minister may by order do anything which appears to be necessary or expedient for bringing this Act into operation, and such order may modify the provisions of this Act or any other enactment so far as may appear necessary or expedient for carrying the order into effect.
(2) Every order made by the Minister under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next twenty-one days on which such House has sat after the order is laid before it annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such order.
(3) No order shall be made under this section after the expiration of three years after the vesting day.
num: 14
paragraphs: —The Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland Act, 1894, is hereby amended with effect from the vesting day—
(a) by the substitution in section 21 of the words “required within the functional districts of the sanitary authority” for the words “for the said town of Mullingar and such buildings contiguous thereto as may require the said supply” and by the substitution of the words “in such quantities as may be agreed from time to time with the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland” for the words “not exceeding five hundred thousand gallons in every twenty-four hours”;
(b) by the substitution of the following section for section 23:
“Definition of sanitary authority.
num: 23
paragraphs: —The words ‘sanitary authority’ in sections 21 and 22 of this Act shall mean the council of the county of Westmeath.”.
num: 15
paragraphs: —The Local Government Act, 1946 , is hereby amended with effect from the vesting day—
(a) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 47:
“(c) in case the bridge order relates to a bridge or viaduct over or a tunnel under a railway, the Minister for Communications, and
(d) in case the bridge order relates to a bridge or viaduct over or a tunnel under the Grand Canal or the Royal Canal, the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland and the Minister for Communications, and
(e) in case the bridge order relates to a bridge or viaduct over or a tunnel under navigable water (including a canal other than a canal referred to in paragraph (d) of this subsection), the Minister for Communications.”,
(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4) of section 48:
“(4) The Minister shall not make a bridge order relating to a bridge or viaduct over or a tunnel under—
(a) a railway, save with the consent of the Minister for Communications;
(b) the Grand Canal or the Royal Canal, save with the consent of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland and the Minister for Communications;
(c) navigable water (including a canal other than a canal referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection), save with the consent of the Minister for Communications.”.
(c) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (2) of section 57 (inserted by the Local Government Act, 1955 ):
“(2) Where by virtue of this section the bridge order applies to CÃ³ras Iompair Ãireann, the Minister shall not by virtue of this section do either of the following things save with the consent of the Minister for Communications, that is to say:
(a) amend under subsection (3) of section 53 of this Act a provision of the bridge order requiring a contribution to be made to or by CÃ³ras Iompair Ãireann;
(b) make an order under subsection (1A) or subsection (2) of section 55 of this Act transferring to CÃ³ras Iompair Ãireann any powers or duties of a road authority.
(3) Where by virtue of this section the bridge order applies to the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the Minister shall not by virtue of this section do either of the following things save with the consent of the said Commissioners, that is to say:
(a) amend under subsection (3) of section 53 of this Act a provision of the bridge order requiring a contribution to be made to or by the said Commissioners;
(b) make an order under subsection (1A) or subsection (2) of section 55 of this Act transferring to the said Commissioners any powers or duties of a road authority.”, and
(d) by the substitution of the following section for section 60:
“General restriction as respects railway, navigable waters, etc.
num: 60
paragraphs: —A road authority shall not construct or reconstruct a bridge or viaduct over or a tunnel under—
(a) a railway, unless they do so under this Part of this Act or with the consent of the Minister for Communications,
(b) the Grand Canal or the Royal Canal, unless they do so under this Part of this Act or with the consent of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland and the Minister for Communications, or
(c) navigable water (including a canal other than a canal referred to in paragraph (b) of this section), unless they do so under this Part of this Act or with the consent of the Minister for Communications.”.
num: 16
paragraphs: —(1) The Commissioners and the road authority within whose functional area a bridge over any of the canals is situate may enter into an agreement for the transfer of the bridge and the obligation to maintain it to that road authority, and may carry such agreement into effect.
(2) The functions of a road authority under subsection (1) shall be a reserved function for the purposes of the enactments relating to that authority.
num: 17
paragraphs: —(1) All fees and other moneys payable to the Commissioners under this Act shall be collected and taken 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 fees mentioned in subsection (1).
num: 18
paragraphs: —The enactments set out in the second column of the Third Schedule are hereby repealed with effect from the vesting day to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule opposite the mention of the enactment in the said second column.
num: 19
paragraphs: —The expenses incurred by the Commissioners 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: 20
paragraphs: —The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the vesting day for the purposes of this Act.
num: 21
paragraphs: —This Act may be cited as the Canals Act, 1986.