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7 1933

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (CEREALS) ACT, 1933

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

Short title.

1. —This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Produce (Cereals) Act, 1933.

Commencement of Act.

2. —This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by any joint order or orders of the Minister for Industry and Commerce and the Minister for Agriculture either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

Definitions.

3. —In this Act—

the word “flour” means any flour obtained from wheat but does not include meal derived from wheat or offals of wheat;

the expression “body corporate” means a body corporate whether constituted before or after the passing of this Act and whether constituted within or without Saorstát Eireann;

the word “shares” shall be construed as including stock but excluding debentures and debenture stock;

the expression “milling licence” means a licence granted under Part II of this Act;

the expression “inspector of the Minister for Industry and Commerce” means a person authorised in writing by that Minister to exercise the powers conferred on an inspector of the Minister for Industry and Commerce by this Act;

the expression “inspector of the Minister for Agriculture” means a person authorised in writing by that Minister to exercise the powers conferred on an inspector of the Minister for Agriculture by this Act;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act;

the expression “cereal year” means the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of August, in the year 1933 and every subsequent year and ending on the 31st day of July next following such 1st day of August;

the expression “home-grown” means grown in Saorstát Eireann;

the word “barrel” means a barrel of twenty stones;

the words “maize” “oats” “barley” and “rye” mean respectively maize in grain, oats in grain, barley in grain and rye in grain;

the expression “maize meal” includes crushed maize, broken maize, kibbled maize, granulated maize, flaked maize, rolled maize and maize germ meal;

the word “grinding” includes crushing, breaking, kibbling, flaking and rolling.

National of Saorstát Eireann.

4. —Each of the following persons shall for the purposes of this Act be a national of Sáorstat Eireann that is to say:—

(a) a person born in Saorstát Eireann or in the area now comprised in Saorstát Eireann;

(b) a person born outside Saorstát Eireann or the area now comprised in Saorstát Eireann whose mother at the time of his birth was ordinarily resident in Saorstát Eireann or such area;

(c) a person who at the relevant time is and for not less than five consecutive years immediately preceding that time has been ordinarily resident in Saorstát Eireann.

Irish-owned bodies corporate.

5. —(1) In this Act—

the expression “Irish-owned body corporate” means a body corporate the issued shares of which are at the relevant time to an extent exceeding one-half (in nominal value) thereof in the beneficial ownership of a person who is or of two or more persons each of whom is at that time either a national of Saorstát Eireann or a body corporate the issued shares of which are at that time to an extent exceeding one-half (in nominal value) thereof in the beneficial ownership of nationals of Saorstát Eireann.

(2) For the purposes of the immediately preceding sub-section but not further or otherwise, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) where a national of Saorstát Eireann dies and is at the time of his death the beneficial owner of any shares in a body corporate, such shares shall, until the grant of probate of his will or letters of administration of his personal estate, be deemed to continue in the beneficial ownership of a national of Saorstát Eireann, and upon the grant of such probate or letters of administration the personal representative for the time being of such national shall, so long as he is entitled to such shares in his representative capacity, be deemed to be the beneficial owner of such shares and, if he is not a national of Saorstát Eireann, to be a national of Saorstát Eireann; and

(b) where a national of Saorstát Eireann becomes a bankrupt or carries an arrangement with his creditors and such national was at the time of his bankruptcy or arrangement the beneficial owner of any shares in a body corporate, and his interest in such shares becomes vested in his assignee in bankruptcy or a trustee of the estate of such national as an arranging debtor, such shares shall be deemed, so long as such interest remains so vested, to be in the beneficial ownership of such assignee or trustee, and such assignee or trustee shall, so long as such interest remains so vested be deemed, if he is not a national of Saorstát Eireann, to be a national of Sáorstat Eireann; and

(c) where a person is for the time being entitled to the income arising from any shares in a body corporate held by a trustee, such person shall so long as he continues to be entitled to such income, be deemed to be the beneficial owner of such shares; and

(d) where two or more persons are each for the time being entitled to a proportionate part of the income arising from shares in a particular body corporate or from such shares and other property held by a trustee, each of such persons, so long as he continues to be entitled to a proportion of such income, shall be deemed to be the beneficial owner of a corresponding proportion of such shares; and

(e) where the issued shares of a body corporate are transferred to a bank, being a body corporate, by way of security for an advance and such bank is registered as the owner of such shares in the register of shareholders of such body corporate, such transfer and registration shall be deemed not to operate to transfer the ownership of such shares to such bank; and

(f) where the issued shares of a body corporate which is the holder of a milling licence or the issued shares of a body corporate holding shares in a body corporate which is the holder of a milling licence cease to be held in the manner stated in the said sub-section, such shares shall be deemed to continue to be held in accordance with that sub-section for a period of six months after they cease to be in fact so held.

Millable wheat.

6. —The Minister for Agriculture, after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce, may by order make regulations prescribing the standard to which wheat must conform in order to be classed as millable and references in this Act to millable wheat shall be construed as meaning wheat which conforms to the standard prescribed by such regulations.

Maize meal mixture.

7. —(1) In this Act the expression “maize meal mixture” means a feeding preparation which complies with the following specifications, that is to say:—

(a) is made solely from maize meal, and any home-grown cereal or cereals;

(b) any maize, wheat, barley, or rye included therein consists of the entire product of grinding such maize, wheat, barley, or rye; and

(c) any home-grown cereal included therein was before being ground commercially clean and in sound and sweet condition.

(2) Each of the following shall be a cereal for the purposes of this section, that is to say:—

(a) wheat;

(b) barley;

(c) oats;

(d) rye.

(3) The Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Act, 1906, shall not apply in respect of maize meal mixture.

Compound feeding stuff.

8. —(1) In this Act the expression “compound feeding stuff” means any article for consumption by animals which is not a maize meal mixture and which is either—

(a) a mixture of two or more articles, at least one of which is a feeding stuff; or

(b) a feeding stuff or medicine which passes in commerce under the designation of a proprietary or protected trade name.

(2) In this section the word “animals” means horses, mules, jennets, asses, cattle, sheep, swine, goats or poultry.

Licences under Control of Manufactures Act, 1932 , in relation to the milling of cereals and the manufacture of maize meal mixture and compound feeding stuffs.

9. —The Minister for Industry and Commerce shall consult the Minister for Agriculture before granting or refusing to grant in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 6 of the Control of Manufactures Act, 1932 (No. 21 of 1932) a new manufacture licence to do any one or more of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) to mill any cereal;

(b) to adapt for sale within the meaning of the said Act the product of any cereal which has been milled;

(c) to manufacture maize meal mixture;

(d) to adapt for sale within the meaning of the said Act maize meal mixture;

(e) to manufacture any compound feeding stuff;

(f) to adapt for sale within the meaning of the said Act any compound feeding stuff.

Milling Advisory Committee.

10. —(1) The Minister for Industry and Commerce shall as soon as may be after the commencement of Part II of this Act establish an advisory committee (to be called and known as the Milling Advisory Committee) for giving advice and assistance to the Minister on any matter arising on or relating to the carrying into execution of the provisions of the said Part.

(2) The Milling Advisory Committee shall consist of such number of ordinary members being representatives of the holders of milling licences as the Minister for Industry and Commerce thinks fit.

(3) The Minister for Industry and Commerce shall appoint, in addition to the ordinary members, one or more, as he thinks proper, persons representative of workers engaged in the flour milling industry to be an additional member or members of the Milling Advisory Committee.

(4) Every member of the Milling Advisory Committee shall be nominated by the Minister for Industry and Commerce and shall retain his membership during the pleasure of that Minister.

(5) Payments may be made by the Minister for Industry and Commerce out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to members of the Milling Advisory Committee, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, in respect of repayment of travelling expenses and payment of subsistence allowance.

Offences by bodies corporate.

11. —Where an offence under any section of this Act committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of such body corporate, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Certificates of appointment of inspectors and production thereof.

12. —(1) Every inspector of the Minister for Industry and Commerce shall be furnished by that Minister with a certificate in the form prescribed by that Minister of his appointment as such inspector and when exercising any of the powers conferred on him by this Act shall, if so required, produce such certificate to any person affected.

(2) Every inspector of the Minister for Agriculture shall be furnished by that Minister with a certificate in the form prescribed by that Minister of his appointment as such inspector and when exercising any of the powers conferred on him by this Act shall, if so required, produce such certificate to any person affected.

(3) The Minister for Industry and Commerce may by order make regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this section as prescribed by that Minister, and the Minister for Agriculture may by order make regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this section as prescribed by that Minister.

Laying of regulations before Houses of the Oireachtas.

13. —Every 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 such regulation is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after such regulation is laid before it, such regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything done previously under such regulation.

Financial provisions.

14. —(1) Any expenses incurred in carrying this Act into execution shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) All fees received under this Act by the Minister for Industry and Commerce or the Minister for Agriculture shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.