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5 1925

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1925

PART III.

ROADS.

Maintenance and construction of roads.

24. —(1) On and after the 1st day of April, 1925—

(a) the maintenance and construction of all county and main roads in a county shall be the duty of the council of such county;

(b) the maintenance and construction of all urban roads in an urban district shall be the duty of the council of such urban district.

(2) The council of a county or county borough and the council of an adjoining county or county borough may, with the consent of the Minister, agree that the last-mentioned council shall construct or maintain any portion of any road which it is the duty under this Act of the first-mentioned council to construct or maintain, and where such agreement is so made it shall be the duty of the last-mentioned council during the continuance of the agreement to construct or maintain (as the case may be) such portion of such road in accordance with such agreement, and the cost of such construction or maintenance (as the case may be) shall be paid by the first-mentioned council to the last-mentioned council in accordance with regulations to be made by the Minister.

(3) On the application of the council of an urban district or of the council of the county in which such urban district is situate, the Minister may by order direct—

(a) that the council of such county is to construct or maintain all or any of the urban roads in such urban district, or

(b) that the council of such urban district is to construct or maintain all or any of the main roads in such urban district,

and, while such order remains in force, it shall, notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (1) of this section, be the duty of the council of such county or urban district (as the case may be) in accordance with the provisions of such order, to construct or maintain such urban or main roads respectively, but such order shall not affect the area of charge for the expenses of such construction or maintenance, and so much of such expenses as is chargeable on such urban district or on the county, exclusive of such urban district (as the case may be) shall be paid to the council of such county by the council of such urban district or to the council of such urban district by the council of such county respectively in accordance with regulations to be made by the Minister.

(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any road or portion of a road which under the provisions of any enactment it is the duty of any person other than a local authority to construct or maintain.

Certain roads may be declared to be public roads.

25. —(1) If at any time after the appointed day the council of any county or urban district by resolution passed after such notice as is hereinafter mentioned declares any road which is not a public road, but over which a public right of way for foot passengers, animals and vehicles exists and which connects two public roads and is not less than eleven feet wide in the clear, to be a public road, such road shall for all purposes be a public road.

(2) Not less than one month before passing any such resolution as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section, the council shall publish in at least two newspapers circulating in their county or district notice of their intention to consider the passing of such resolution.

Abandonment of roads.

26. —On and after the 1st day of April, 1925—

(a) the Minister may, on the application of the council in whom the duty of maintaining any road other than a main road is vested under the provisions of this Act, by order to be published in such manner as he shall direct, declare that such road is to be abandoned, and from and after the date of such order no expenditure shall be incurred by such council in respect of the maintenance of such road, but such order shall not affect the right of way of the public over the surface of such road;

(b) when a council proposes to apply to the Minister for an order under this section, the council shall before making such application, give public notice of their intention so to do by advertisement at least once in each of two successive weeks in one or more of the newspapers circulating in their functional area, the latest of such advertisements being published at least one month before the application is made;

(c) before making an order under this section in respect of any road the Minister shall, at least one month after the publication of the advertisements required by this section, hold a local inquiry into the expediency of abandoning such road, and the provisions of Article 32 of the Schedule to the Local Government (Application of Enactments) Order, 1898, shall apply to every such local inquiry.

Expenses of maintenance, etc., of roads.

27. —(1) On and after the 1st day of April, 1925—

(a) the expenses of maintaining and constructing county and main roads and abandoning county roads shall be raised and defrayed out of the poor rate;

(b) the expenses of maintaining or constructing any main road in a county shall be raised equally over the whole of such county;

(c) the expenses of maintaining, constructing, or abandoning any county road in a county shall be raised equally over the whole of such county excluding any urban district;

(d) the expenses of maintaining, constructing, or abandoning any urban road in an urban district shall be defrayed out of the fund or rate out of which the cost of paving and cleansing the streets in such district are or can be defrayed, but such expenses shall be excluded in ascertaining any limit imposed by law upon any such rate;

(e) in every demand note for rates the portion of the sum demanded which is to be raised for the purpose of construction and maintenance of roads shall be shown as a separate item;

(f) the provisions of this section shall take effect notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any Local Act or in any Provisional Order confirmed by or having the force of an Act, in force at the date of the passing of this Act save that where under any such Act or Order any person other than a local authority is liable to make any payment to a local authority in respect of the construction or maintenance of any road such person shall still be liable to make such payment to the council charged under this Act with the maintenance of such road.

(2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any road or portion of a road which under the provisions of any enactment it is the duty of any person other than a local authority to construct or maintain.

Power to revoke orders declaring main roads.

28. —An order of the Minister declaring any road to be a main road may be revoked by the Minister, and on and after the date when such revocation takes effect such road shall cease to be a main road.

Closing roads temporarily.

29. —On the application of the council charged with the maintenance of any road, the Minister may by order made after giving such public notice as may be prescribed in that behalf by regulations made under this Act and after holding such (if any) local inquiry as he shall think necessary, authorise such council to close such road or any particular portion thereof to public traffic for such period and subject to such conditions as the Minister shall think proper and shall specify in the order.

Provisions as to borrowing.

30. —(1) Money borrowed by the council of a county, county or other borough, or urban district, for the purpose of the repair of any damage (including total destruction) done to any road at any time prior to the 20th day of March, 1923, shall not be reckoned as part of the total debt of such council for the purpose of any limitation on borrowing imposed by any enactment relating to borrowing by such council.

(2) The repayment of so much as is on the 1st day of April, 1925, outstanding of any loan borrowed before the passing of this Act by the council of any county, county or other borough or urban district for the purpose of the construction or maintenance of any road (other than a loan borrowed for the purposes of the Bridges (Ireland) Acts, 1813-1875) shall, from and after the passing of this Act, be charged on the area upon which the expense of such construction and maintenance would be charged under the provisions of this Act.

Bridges (Ireland) Acts, 1813-1875.

31. —Nothing under this Act shall be deemed to repeal or amend or otherwise prejudice or affect the Bridges (Ireland) Acts, 1813-1875.

Power to dig for road materials and make drains.

32. —(1) The council charged with the maintenance of any road, and also every contractor for any work to be executed in pursuance of a resolution of such council shall, subject to the provisions of this section, have power and authority—

(a) to dig for, raise and carry away in or out of any land to which this section applies any gravel, stone, sand, or other material which may be required for the construction or maintenance of such road;

(b) to dig for, raise and carry away out of any river or brook at a distance of at least a hundred and fifty feet above or below any bridge, dam, or weir, any gravel, stone, sand, or other material which may be required for the construction or maintenance of such road, where the same can be taken away without diverting or interrupting the course of the river or brook, or prejudicing or damaging any building, highway, ford, or spawning bed;

(c) to make and repair drains in on to or through any land to which this section applies in order to carry off water which might injure such road;

(d) to use any land to which this section applies for storing, crushing, breaking, screening, mixing, or otherwise preparing materials for the construction or maintenance of such road;

(e) to enter, subject to the provisions of this section, on any land to which this section applies in order to do anything which they are empowered to do by this sub-section;

(f) subject to the provisions of this section, and for the purpose of obtaining access to and from any land, river, or brook upon or in which any of the powers conferred on them by this sub-section are to be exercised, to enter on and pass through any land to which this section applies, lying between such land and a public road.

(2) It shall not be lawful for any such council or contractor to enter on or pass over any land for the purpose of exercising their powers under this section, except with the consent of the occupier thereof or under the authority of an order of a Justice of the District Court, which order any Justice of the District Court is hereby authorised and required to grant on being satisfied that the exercise of the powers proposed is reasonable, having regard to the convenience and cost of any alternative method of obtaining the material, access, or facilities sought or of making or repairing the drain to be made or repaired, the character of the land, and all the circumstances of the case.

(3) Any powers conferred by this section on the council of a county may be exercised directly by the county surveyor of such county, on behalf of such council.

(4) The council or contractor by whom or on whose behalf are exercised any powers conferred by this section in respect of any land shall pay to the owner or occupier of such land compensation for the damage done by breaking the surface of or making a passage through or drain on to the land and for the loss of the use of such land during the exercise of such powers, and for the value of any gravel, stone, sand and other material taken under such powers, regard being had in determining such value to the demand for such materials for purposes other than the repair of roads, and due allowance being made for the cost of digging for, quarrying and raising such material and preparing the same for use.

(5) The amount of the compensation to be paid under the foregoing sub-section shall in default of agreement be determined, on the application of the owner or occupier of the land, by a Justice of the District Court with a right of appeal by either party to the Circuit Court.

(6) A Justice of the District Court when making any order (including the refusal of an application) under this section may at his discretion order the costs, to an amount not exceeding three guineas, incurred in relation to the proceedings by any party thereto to be paid by any other party thereto.

(7) This section applies to all land except land bona fide used as a garden, orchard, pleasure or recreation ground, or for the amenity or convenience of a dwelling house.

Buildings and structures obstructing view on roads.

33. —(1) Where the Minister, on the application of the council charged with the maintenance of any road, is satisfied that the erection of a proposed building or other structure would obstruct the view of persons using such road so as to render such road dangerous to such persons, he may by order prohibit the erection of any portion of such building or structure within thirty yards of such road.

(2) Where the Minister, on the application of the council charged with the maintenance of any road, is satisfied that a building or other structure which or any portion of which is situate within thirty yards of a road obstructs the view of persons using such road so as to render such road dangerous to such persons, he may order the removal of any portion of such building or structure situate within thirty yards of such road and may by such order specify a time within which such removal is to be completed.

(3) No order shall be made by the Minister under the next preceding sub-section in respect of any occupied dwellinghouse at the passing of this Act unless and until the Minister is satisfied that alternative accommodation, reasonably equivalent as regards rent and suitability in all respects is available for the occupants.

(4) Where the Minister makes an order under this section for the removal of a building or other structure or any portion thereof, the council on whose application the order was made shall pay to every person having an interest in the land upon which such building or structure is situate, by way of compensation for such removal, the amount by which such interest is damaged by such removal, and in appropriate cases to the occupier the amount of any loss or expense occasioned by disturbance of the occupier by such removal, and such amounts shall, in default of agreement between such council and such person, be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919.

(5) No compensation shall be payable under this section by a council in respect of a building or structure the erection of which was begun after the passing of this Act unless not less than one month's notice in writing of the intention to erect such building or structure was given to such council before such erection was begun, nor shall any such compensation be payable in respect of any portion of a building or other structure which was erected in contravention of an order made by the Minister under this section.

(6) Where an order of the Minister under this section for the removal of a portion of a building or structure is duly complied with within the time specified in that behalf therein the council on whose application such order was made shall pay all costs and expenses reasonably incurred in so complying with such order.

(7) If an order of the Minister under this section for the removal of a portion of a building or structure is not complied with within the time specified in that behalf therein the council on whose application such order was made may themselves comply with such order and may do all such acts and things (including entering on land) as may be necessary for that purpose and in such case such council shall be entitled to recover from the occupier of the building or structure in the District Court as a civil debt all expenses incurred by them in so complying with the order.

(8) Before making an application to the Minister under this section in respect of an existing or proposed building or structure, a council shall give not less than one month's notice in writing of the application to the owner and to the occupier of the building or structure or of the site on which the building or structure is proposed to be erected, as the case may be, and such notice may in any case in which the owner or occupier cannot be found be served by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place on such building or structure or on such site, as the case may be.

(9) Where the occupier of a building or structure or the site of a proposed building or structure holds the same under a lease or other contract of tenancy the immediate landlord of the occupier shall be deemed to be the owner of the building, structure, or site for the purpose of this section, and in any other case the occupier of the building, structure, or site shall be deemed to be the owner thereof for the purpose aforesaid.

Hedges and trees prejudicial to roads.

34. —(1) A hedge or tree shall be deemed to be prejudicial to a road within the meaning of this section if and when the hedge or tree—

(a) shades the road to such extent that the maintenance of the road is thereby made unduly difficult or expensive, or

(b) causes an obstruction on the road, or

(c) obstructs the view of persons using the road so that the road thereby becomes dangerous to persons using it.

(2) When a hedge or tree is prejudicial to a road, the county surveyor or the urban district council (as the case may require) may by request in writing served on the owner and on the occupier of the land on which such hedge or tree is growing request such owner and such occupier within twenty-one days after the service of the notice to trim or cut such hedge or tree so that it will no longer be prejudicial to the road, or, where such course appears to be necessary, to cut down and remove such hedge or tree.

(3) A request under the foregoing sub-section may be served on an occupier of land and, where any difficulty arises in ascertaining the name or address of an owner of land, on such owner by posting such request or a copy thereof in a conspicuous position on the land.

(4) If an occupier of land on whom a notice is served under this section could not but for this section lawfully comply with the request without the consent of the owner of the land or of a superior landlord the following provisions shall apply, that is to say:—

(a) the owner or any superior landlord of the land may within ten days after the service of the request on the owner apply to a Justice of the District Court for an order annulling such request, and such application, when notice thereof has been served on the occupier of the land and on the county surveyor or urban district council by whom the request was served, shall operate to suspend the request for one month or until the said application is disposed of by the Justice whichever shall be the shorter period;

(b) on any such application as aforesaid the Justice of the District Court may, if he is satisfied that the request is unreasonable or that compliance with it is unnecessary or unduly prejudicial to the applicant, either annul altogether or amend in such way as he thinks proper the request;

(c) where a Justice of a District Court on the hearing of such application as aforesaid either refuses the application or amends the request, the request in its original form or as so amended (as the case may require) shall be deemed to have been served on the date of the order of the Justice and shall have effect accordingly;

(d) if neither the owner nor any superior landlord gives notice, within ten days after the service on the owner of the request under this section, of such application as aforesaid to a Justice of the District Court, the occupier may at the expiration of such ten days comply with the request without the consent of the owner or any superior landlord, and in such case no action shall lie by or on behalf of the owner or any superior landlord for or in respect of anything bona fide done by the occupier for the purpose of complying with the request;

(e) the person whose consent is necessary to the cutting down of a tree required by a request to be cut down may by notice in writing served on the occupier at any time before the request is complied with claim such tree, and in such case the property in such tree when cut down in compliance with the request shall vest in the person by whom such notice was served and such tree when cut down may be removed by him.

(5) Where a request under this section is not complied with within twenty-one days after the same has been served on the owner and on the occupier, the county surveyor or urban district council by whom the request was served may apply to a Justice of the District Court for an order that the request be complied with and on the hearing of such application the Justice—

(a) if he is satisfied that the hedge or tree mentioned in the request is prejudicial to the road and that compliance with the request is reasonably necessary, shall order the occupier of the land on which the hedge or tree is growing to comply with the request within fourteen days; and

(b) in any other case may either refuse the application or amend the request in such manner as he thinks proper and order the request as so amended to be complied with by the occupier within fourteen days.

(6) Where an occupier of land fails to comply with an order of a Justice of the District Court under the foregoing sub-section within fourteen days from the date of the order, the county surveyor or urban district council on whose application the order was made may himself or themselves comply with the request or amended request to which the order relates and may do all such acts and things (including entering on land) as may be necessary for that purpose, and in such case the said county surveyor or urban district council shall be entitled to recover from the occupier in the District Court as a civil debt all expenses which the District Justice shall consider reasonable.

(7) Where a Justice of the District Court makes an order under this section requiring an occupier to comply with a request or amended request which requires a hedge to be cut down and removed and the Justice is of opinion that the removal of the hedge will be unduly prejudicial to the owner or occupier of the land unless a suitable fence is erected on the site of the hedge, the Justice may fix a sum as a reasonable contribution to be made by the county council or urban district council towards the cost of the erection of such suitable fence and may order such sum to be paid by the county council or urban district council to the occupier (or, if the Justice so thinks fit, to the owner), and the payment thereof to be treated as part of the expenses of maintaining the road.

(8) Nothing in this section shall authorise a county surveyor or urban district council to trim or cut any hedge or tree at any time between the last day of March and the last day of September nor authorise any person to be requested or ordered to trim or cut a hedge or tree between those days.

(9) Where the time limited by a request or order under this section for trimming or cutting a hedge or tree expires between the last day of March and the last day of September such time shall be deemed to be extended to the following seventh day of October.

(10) Where an occupier of land holds that land under a lease or other contract of tenancy, the immediate landlord of the occupier shall be deemed to be the owner of that land for the purpose of this section, and in any other case the occupier of the land shall be deemed to be the owner thereof for the purpose aforesaid.

(11) A Justice of the District Court when making any order (including the refusal of an application) under this section may at his discretion order the costs, to an amount not exceeding three guineas, incurred in relation to the proceedings by any party thereto to be paid by any other party thereto.

(12) So much of the Summary Jurisdiction (Ireland) Act, 1851, as relates to the case of a public road being prejudiced by the shade of any hedge or tree, or to any obstruction being caused in any public road by any hedge or tree shall cease to have effect.

Petrol pumps on roads.

35. —(1) In this section the expression “petrol pump” means and includes any pump, pipe, or other appliance for supplying motor spirit for motive power to motor cars and road locomotives.

(2) The council in whom the duty of maintaining any road is vested under this Act may grant to any person a licence to erect, construct, place, and maintain a petrol pump on, in, or under such road.

(3) A person applying for a licence under this section shall furnish to the council such plans and other information concerning the position, design, and capacity of the petrol pump as the council may require.

(4) A licence may be granted by a council under this section for such period and upon such conditions as the council may prescribe, and where by reason of the increase or alteration of traffic on the road or of the widening of the road or of any improvement of or relating to the road, the petrol pump causes an obstraction or becomes dangerous, the council may by notice in writing withdraw the licence and require the licensee to remove such petrol pump at his own expense

(5) Any person aggrieved by a decision of a council granting, refusing, withdrawing or continuing a licence under this section or by the conditions prescribed by a council for such a licence may appeal to the Minister who may by order do or direct to be done such acts and things in the matter to which the appeal relates as he shall think proper and the council whose decision is appealed against could lawfully have done, and such order shall thereupon have the same effect as if made by the council under this section and shall be carried into effect by the council accordingly.

(6) The Minister may make regulations prescribing the amount of the fee to be paid to a council for the grant of a licence under this section, and any such fees received by a council shall be paid into the Road Fund established under section 3 of the Roads Act, 1920, in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed—

(a) to affect the application to petrol pumps of the regulations for the time being in force relating to the storage or sale of motor spirit or to authorise the use of a petrol pump otherwise than in accordance with those regulations, or

(b) to affect or diminish the rights of the owner of the soil of the road on which any petrol pump is erected or of any person claiming under such owner.

(8) Any person who—

(a) erects, constructs, places, or maintains a petrol pump on any road without having a licence under this section so to do, or

(b) erects, constructs, places, or maintains a petrol pump on any road otherwise than in accordance with a licence under this section, or

(c) contravenes any condition subject to which a licence has been granted to him under this section,

shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.

Regulations in regard to roads.

36. —(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing—

(a) the standard and quality of the materials which may be used in the maintenance and construction of roads;

(b) the size, shape, colour, and character of the signs to be erected on roads for the purpose of—

(i.) indicating the places to which the road leads, and the distances to such places,

(ii.) indicating the distances on the road,

(iii.) warning persons using the road of dangerous portions thereof,

(iv.) guiding traffic on the road with a view to minimising the risk of accidents;

(c) the places at which the several signs hereinbefore mentioned are to be erected;

(d) the conditions upon which such signs as aforesaid may be erected or retained on land adjoining any road by the owner or occupier thereof;

(e) the signals by which persons using roads can indicate their intentions to other such persons.

(2) The Minister shall have power to prescribe, by regulations made under this section, conditions under which any such sign as hereinbefore mentioned may be erected on land adjoining a public road, without the consent of the owner or occupier when erection on such adjoining land, and not on any part of the road itself, is reasonably necessary or desirable for the purposes of any such sign.

(3) Every regulation made 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 subsequent twenty-one days on which such House has sat after the regulation is laid before it annulling the regulation, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such regulation.

(4) The council entrusted by this Act with the maintenance of any road—

(a) shall not use in the maintenance of such road any material of a standard or quality contrary to regulations made under this section, and

(b) shall erect and maintain on such road such and so many of the signs prescribed by the regulations made under this section and in such places as shall be necessary to comply with such regulations, and

(c) shall not erect on such road any sign in contravention of such regulations.

(5) The expenses of a council in erecting any sign in accordance with such regulations as aforesaid on any road and of maintaining such sign shall be part of the expenses of the maintenance of that road.

(6) If it appears to a Justice of the District Court that any sign such as is referred to in this section is erected or retained on land adjoining any road contrary to any regulation made under this section, he may on the application of any police officer or of any officer of the council to whom the maintenance of such road is entrusted by this Act, order the removal of such sign, and, if he thinks it advisable, by such order authorise such officer to enter on such land for the purpose of removing such sign.

(7) If any person, without lawful authority, removes, defaces, or otherwise injures any such sign as is mentioned in this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

Validation of certain direct labour schemes.

37. —Every direct labour scheme under which the roads in a rural district were actually repaired and maintained during the whole or any part of the period beginning on the 1st day of April, 1920, and ending on the 31st day of December, 1923, shall be deemed to have been legally in force during such time as the said roads were repaired and maintained thereunder notwithstanding any illegality or invalidity in such scheme arising from any of the following causes, that is to say:—

(a) the approval required by law not having been obtained,

(b) the period prescribed by law for the duration of the scheme having expired,

(c) the scheme having been adopted for a less period than that prescribed by law for the duration of a direct labour scheme.

Duration of direct labour schemes.

38. —(1) Every direct labour scheme which was or is deemed by virtue of this Act to have been legally in force in any rural district on the 31st day of December, 1923, shall, subject to the provisions of this section, continue in force up to such date as the Minister shall appoint.

(2) Every direct labour scheme which shall be approved of by the Minister after the passing of this Act, shall, subject to the provisions of this section, continue in force for such period as the Minister shall appoint.

(3) Any period appointed by the Minister under this section for the duration of a direct labour scheme may on the request of the county council at any time and from time to time be extended by the Minister for such further period or periods as he shall think proper, and any period so appointed or any extension thereof under this section may at any time on the like request be curtailed by the Minister by such amount as he shall think proper.

(4) Every such direct labour scheme as is mentioned in this section shall expire at the end of the period or of the extended or curtailed period (as the case may be) appointed by the Minister under this section for the duration thereof.

Recovery of penalties under Roads Act, 1920.

39. —Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in any enactment relating to the recovery or application of excise penalties, any penalty imposed by the Roads Act, 1920, as amended by section 14 of the Finance Act, 1922, may be recovered and enforced upon an information by any member of the Dublin Metropolitan Police or the Gárda Síochána before a court of summary jurisdiction, and in any such case the court shall have power to mitigate the penalty to such amount as the court may in its discretion think fit, and the council of the county or county borough shall not have power to mitigate the penalty.

Speed of vehicles on highways.

40. —The Minister may, by an order made under and in accordance with sub-section (4) of section 7 of the Roads Act, 1920, prohibit or restrict the driving of vehicles of any specified class on any specified highway at any speed greater than the speed specified in such order, and all the provisions of the said sub-section shall apply to every such order.

Amendment of Section 8 of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909.

41. —Paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909, shall be construed and have effect as if the word “new” were omitted therefrom.