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15 1952

TOURIST TRAFFIC ACT, 1952

PART II.

An Bord Fáilte.

Renaming of Irish Tourist Board.

4. —The Board heretofore known as the Irish Tourist Board shall be known as An Bord Fáilte.

Functions.

5. —(1) It shall be the duty of the Board to encourage and promote the development of tourist traffic in and to the State.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) or to the specific functions given to it by the Act of 1939 or elsewhere in this Act, it shall be lawful for the Board—

(a) to inspect, register and grade hotels, guest houses, holiday camps, holiday hostels, and youth hostels;

(b) to assist, financially and otherwise, in the provision, extension or improvement of holiday accommodation;

(c) to assist, financially and otherwise, in the provision, extension or improvement of facilities and amenities, at tourist resorts and elsewhere, which appear to the Board to be calculated to improve tourist traffic;

(d) to establish or assist, financially and otherwise, in the establishment of any form of agency which has as one of its principal functions the development of tourist traffic;

(e) to provide and assist, financially and otherwise, in the provision of schemes for the training of persons for work in relation to tourist traffic;

(f) to protect and maintain and to aid in protecting and maintaining historic buildings, sites and shrines and places of scenic, historic, scientific or other interest to the public and to facilitate visitors thereto by the provision of notices and the provision and improvement of means of access;

(g) to supply local authorities with road signs for erection by such authorities;

(h) to accept gifts and donations, and to undertake and carry out trusts which may be lawfully undertaken by the Board, and may be conducive to its objects.

(3) In the discharge of its functions the Board shall have regard to amenities and services, including transport arrangements, which appear to the Board to be likely to affect tourist traffic.

(4) Nothing in this section shall derogate from the powers of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland or a local authority under the National Monuments Act, 1930 (No. 2 of 1930), the provisions of which shall be binding on the Board in like manner as upon other persons.

Formation of local development companies.

6. —The Board may encourage the formation of companies under the Companies Acts, 1908 to 1924, having the object of providing amenities and facilities at tourist resorts and developing tourist traffic at or to such resorts and may make a grant (not exceeding two hundred pounds) to any such company towards the expenses of its formation.

Erection of notices and fences at, and provision of means of access to, historic sites, etc.

7. —(1) Where the Board proposes to erect a notice or fence at, or to provide or improve means of access to, any historic building, site or shrine, or other place which, in the opinion of the Board, is likely to be of particular interest to the public, and the owner refuses to permit the Board to carry out the proposed work, the Board shall have power to acquire, under section 19 of the Act of 1939, such land as the Board thinks proper to enable the work to be carried out.

(2) The Board shall not exercise its powers under this section in or over a national monument, within the meaning of the National Monuments Act, 1930 (No. 2 of 1930), which is, or is in the course of being, vested in or placed under the guardianship of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland or a local authority or made the subject of a preservation order under that Act.

Power to enter on land.

8. —(1) A person, duly authorised in writing by the Board, may enter on land for the purpose of enabling the Board to carry out its functions under paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section 5.

(2) Any person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

Restrictions of sections 7 and 8.

9. —Sections 7 and 8 shall not apply to any building which is for the time being used for ecclesiastical purposes.

Non-repayable grant.

10. —(1) In each financial year the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may pay to the Board out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas such sums, not exceeding in the aggregate two hundred and fifty thousand pounds in any one financial year, as the Board shall from time to time require.

(2) In respect of the financial year ended on the 31st day of March, 1952, the Minister for Finance, on the recommendation of the Minister, may pay to the Board out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas such sums, not exceeding in the aggregate twenty-seven thousand pounds, as the Board shall require in addition to the sums provided under section 15 of the Act of 1939.

(3) Sums paid under this section shall not be repayable.

Cessation of repayable advances.

11. —No further advances shall be made under section 16 of the Act of 1939.

Accounts and audit.

12. —(1) The Board shall keep in such form as may be approved of by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, all proper and usual accounts of moneys received and expended by it, and in particular shall keep all such special accounts as the Minister may from time to time direct.

(2) The accounts shall be submitted annually by the Board to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit at such time as the Minister shall direct and after the audit a copy of the balance sheet and income and expenditure account as passed by the Comptroller and Auditor General, together with his report thereon, shall be presented to the Minister who shall cause copies thereof to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and shall also publish and put on sale the said documents.

Disqualification of member of Oireachtas for membership of Board.

13. —(1) Where a member of the Board becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas, he shall, upon his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein, cease to be a member of the Board.

(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall be disqualified from being a member of the Board.

Superannuation of members.

14. —(1) The Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, may make a scheme or schemes for the granting of pensions, gratuities and other allowances on retirement to full-time members of the Board and may, with the like concurrence, amend any scheme.

(2) A scheme made under this section shall be carried out by the Board in accordance with its terms.

(3) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any pension, gratuity or other allowance payable in pursuance of a scheme under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for Finance, whose decision thereon shall be final.

(4) Every scheme made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the scheme, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Superannuation of staff.

15. —(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the passing of this Act the Board shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of pensions, gratuities and other allowances on retirement to its permanent staff.

(2) A scheme submitted to the Minister under this section shall, if approved of by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the Board in accordance with its terms.

(3) The Board may at any time, with the approval of the Minister, given with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, amend a scheme under this section.

(4) A scheme submitted and approved of under this section shall fix the time and conditions of retirement for all persons to whom pensions, gratuities, or allowances on retirement are payable under the scheme, and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(5) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any pension, gratuity or allowance payable in pursuance of a scheme under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for Finance, whose decision thereon shall be final.

(6) Every scheme submitted and approved of under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is approved of and if either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the scheme, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Amendment of section 4 of Act of 1939.

16. —Section 4 of the Act of 1939 is hereby amended as follows:—

(a) by the deletion in subsection (3) (which relates to the number of members of the Board) of the word “five” and the substitution of the word “seven”;

(b) by the deletion in subsection (6) (which relates to fixing the remuneration of members) of the words “when appointing him”.