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9 1955

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1955

PART IV.

Provisions relating to Local Finance.

Borrowing by way of temporary loan or overdraft.

42. —(1) A local authority having any power to borrow may, for the purposes of providing temporarily for any expenses that may be incurred by them in the execution or performance of any of their powers and duties, borrow with the consent of the Minister by way of temporary loan or overdraft.

(2) The period for which a sum is borrowed under this section shall be such period, not exceeding ten years, as the Minister may sanction.

(3) A sum borrowed by a local authority under this section shall not be reckoned as part of the debt of such authority for the purposes of any statutory limitation of borrowing.

(4) In this section references to borrowing include references to reborrowing.

Exclusion from limitation of borrowing.

43. —(1) This section applies to a local authority being an urban sanitary authority for the purposes of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1952, and not being the corporation of a county borough.

(2) A sum borrowed by a local authority to whom this section applies in relation to a water supply or sewerage system shall not be reckoned as part of the debt of such authority for the purposes of any statutory limitation of borrowing.

Borrowing for maintenance of town hall.

44. —(1) Section 6 of the Local Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1936 (No. 55 of 1936), is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (2) of “or maintenance” after “provision”.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to have had effect as from the passing of the Local Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1936 .

Rate not to be invalidated in certain circumstances.

45. —(1) A rate made by a local authority shall not be invalidated by reason only of the fact that notice relating to the revised valuation list or appeal list prepared under the Valuation Acts has not been affixed at any place in accordance with those Acts.

(2) As well as applying to rates made after the commencement of this section subsection (1) of this section also applies, and shall be deemed always to have applied, to rates made before such commencement.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of the Valuation Acts, no officer of a local authority shall be liable for failure to affix a notice at any place in accordance with those Acts.

Amendment of rates to be deemed not to be reserved function.

46. —In lieu of subsection (6) (repealed by this Act) of section 60 of the Act of 1941, it is hereby enacted that the powers, functions and duties conferred and imposed by that section shall be deemed not to be reserved functions.

Amendment of Local Authorities (Works) Act, 1949.

47. —(1) In this section “the Act” means the Local Authorities (Works) Act, 1949 (No. 17 of 1949).

(2) The expenses incurred by the council of a county on works undertaken in pursuance of subsection (2) of section 2 of the Act in relation to land owned by them or to any permanent construction which was constructed by them or which they are required to maintain shall be charged in the same way as expenses of the council in connection with the maintenance of the land or permanent construction are charged.

(3) The expenses incurred by the council of a county on works undertaken in pursuance of subsection (3) of section 2 of the Act in relation to land not owned by them or to any permanent construction not being a permanent construction which was constructed by them or which they are required to maintain shall be charged on the county health district.

(4) An order under subsection (1) of section 3 of the Act authorising the execution of works on behalf of a local authority may provide for a contribution by that authority towards the cost of the works and, where that authority is the council of a county and the Minister considers that the contribution should be charged on the county health district, for the charge thereof on that district.

(5) An agreement under subsection (2) of section 3 of the Act for the execution of works on behalf of a local authority may provide for a contribution by that authority towards the cost of the works and, where that authority is the council of a county, the contribution shall be charged in the same way as that in which, if the council themselves executed the works, their expenses would be charged.

(6) Compensation payable by the council of a county pursuant to the Act shall be charged in the same way as the cost of the works or the contribution of the council towards the cost of the works (as may be appropriate) is charged.

(7) Where compensation is payable under the Act by a local authority executing works on behalf of another local authority:—

(a) the Minister may by order vary any order made under subsection (4) of this section so that the contribution shall comprise an amount in respect of compensation,

(b) any agreement entered into under subsection (2) of section 3 of the Act and providing for a contribution by such other local authority shall have effect subject to any such variation, so that the contribution shall comprise an amount in respect of compensation, as may be agreed upon between the local authorities or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Minister.

(8) The council of a county or corporation of a county borough may, for the purposes of defraying expenses under the Act, borrow under Article 22 of the Schedule to the Local Government (Application of Enactments) Order, 1898, as if those purposes were mentioned in that Article, and money so borrowed shall not be reckoned as part of the debt of the council or corporation for the purposes of that Article.

(9) The corporation of a borough (other than a county borough) or the council of an urban district may, for the purposes of defraying expenses under the Act, borrow under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1952, as if those purposes were purposes for which the corporation or council is authorised to borrow under those Acts, and money so borrowed shall not be reckoned as part of the debt of the corporation or council for the purposes of any limitation on borrowing imposed by those Acts.

Audit fees.

48. Section 69 of the Act of 1941 is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsection:—

“(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an order under this section may be framed, and shall have effect accordingly, so that in addition to applying in respect of a particular audit or audits, it also applies unless and until it is revoked, in respect of subsequent audits.”

Making of charge.

49. —(1) Where a person retained by a public body in any professional, advisory or consultative capacity certifies any sum as being payable from the funds of the public body and such sum is paid, such person shall be deemed to be an officer of the public body for the purposes of section 20 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1902, as amended by subsection (3) of section 61 of the Act of 1925, in so far as the payment certified by him is concerned.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply—

(a) where the certificate was given by a person acting as an arbitrator, or

(b) where the decision on which the certificate was based required the exercise of professional or technical judgment.

Amendment of section 10 of Act of 1946.

50. Section 10 of the Act of 1946 is hereby amended as follows:—

(I) For subsection (1), the following subsection shall be substituted:

“(1) Expenses of the council of a county shall, save where it is otherwise provided by order of the Minister or elsewhere by law, be charged in accordance with this section over the whole of the county.”,

(II) Subsection (5) shall be deleted,

(III) For subsection (6) the following subsection shall be substituted:

“(6) Where the expenses of the council of a county are charged on an area consisting of both an area which is not an urban area and either an urban area or two or more urban areas, the amount of the expenses to be charged on each area shall be in proportion to the net produce calculated in the prescribed manner and certified in the prescribed form of a rate of one penny in the pound in each area, but, in the case of the urban area consisting of the urban district of Buncrana in relation to any local financial year not later than the local financial year ending on the 31st day of March, 1964, the said net produce shall not be taken and, in lieu thereof, there shall be taken a sum equal to one penny for each pound of the amount specified in respect of that year in the Schedule to the Local Government (Temporary Reduction of Valuation) Act, 1954 (No. 8 of 1954).”

(IV) Subsection (7) shall be deleted, and

(V) two new subsections shall be inserted as follows:—

“(7) The Minister may by order determine, either in respect of counties generally or any particular county, the area or areas on which specified expenses of the council are to be charged, and may amend or revoke any such order.

(8) Orders under section 71 (repealed by this Act) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, shall continue in force and may be amended or revoked by order under this section.”