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18 1960

INTOXICATING LIQUOR ACT, 1960

PART IV.

Miscellaneous.

Extension of powers of search and seizure under the Illicit Distillation (Ireland) Act, 1831.

22. —(1) Sections 17 and 18 (which sections relate to search for and seizure of illicit spirits) of the Act of 1831 are hereby extended as follows:—

(a) they shall apply in relation to a house or place irrespective of whether distillation does or does not take place therein, and

(b) they shall apply in relation to a house or place in which it is known or suspected that there are spirits in respect of which an offence under section 22 or section 23 (which sections relate to the possession of illicit spirits) of the Act of 1831 is being committed, and to any such spirits found therein.

(2) Nothing in section 18 of the Act of 1831, or in that section as extended by subsection (1) of this section, shall authorise the search without a warrant of a house used as a dwelling.

(3) A member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of customs and excise—

(a) if he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a vehicle is being used in connection with the commission of an offence under section 25 (which relates to the movement of stills and spirits) of the Act of 1831, may require the driver thereof to halt the vehicle and may search the vehicle, and

(b) if he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person is engaged in the commission of an offence under the said section 25, may require the production by that person of any bottle or other container carried by him or on his person and may examine and test the contents of the bottle or container.

(4) If any person obstructs, resists or interferes with, or does not comply with a requirement of, a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of customs and excise in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by subsection (3) of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under the Act of 1831 and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to an excise penalty of fifty pounds.

(5) In this section—

the Act of 1831” means the Illicit Distillation (Ireland) Act, 1831;

distillation” has the meaning it has in the Act of 1831;

warrant” has the meaning it has in section 17 of the Act of 1831.

Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1902.

23. —(1) Section 2 (which restricts the grant of new licences) of the Act of 1902 is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (1) of the following paragraph:—

“(1) For premises (not being premises which were licensed by virtue of paragraph (2) of this section) which were licensed at any time during the period of five years immediately before the day on which notice of an application for the grant of a certificate entitling the holder to receive a licence in respect of the premises is given, pursuant to rules of court, to the appropriate County Registrar or to the appropriate District Court Clerk, as the case may be; or”.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on the expiration of the period of two years beginning on the day of the passing of this Act.

Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1902.

24. —Section 6 (which provides for the licensing of premises adjoining premises licensed in 1902) of the Act of 1902 is hereby amended by the substitution for “at the date of the passing of this Act” of “at any time during the period of five years immediately before the day on which notice of an application for the grant of a certificate entitling the holder thereof to receive any such new licence is given, pursuant to rules of court, to the appropriate County Registrar or to the appropriate District Court Clerk, as the case may be”.

Amendment of section 19 of the Act of 1943.

25. —(1) Section 19 of the Act of 1943 is hereby amended by the deletion of the definitions of “licence”, “publican's licence” and “beerhouse licence” and the insertion of the following definition:

licence” means a licence for the sale of intoxicating liquor for the grant of which the production of a certificate of the Circuit Court or of the District Court is required.

(2) Reference to the Circuit Court in sections 21 and 22 (which relate to the grant of new licences in respect of more convenient premises or premises substituted for destroyed premises) of the Act of 1943 shall, in relation to applications made thereunder by virtue of the amendment effected by subsection (1) of this section for certificates entitling the applicants to the grant of off-licences, be construed as references to the District Court and the reference in the said section 22 to the County Registrar shall, in relation to such applications, be construed as a reference to the District Court Clerk and the sections shall have effect accordingly.

Amendment of sections 21, 22 and 31 of the Act of 1943.

26. —(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 21 or 31 of the Act of 1943 (which sections relate to the grant of licences in respect of more convenient premises and the transfer of beerhouse licences), where the person making an application under either of those sections is not the holder of the licence to be extinguished or transferred under the section but shows to the satisfaction of the Court hearing the application that he has procured the consent of the holder thereof to the extinguishing or transfer thereof, as the case may be, the application shall not be refused on the ground that the person making it was not the holder of the licence to be extinguished or transferred and the said sections shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(2) Subsection (1) of section 22 (which relates to the grant of new licences in respect of premises substituted for destroyed premises) of the Act of 1943 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in paragraph (a) of “two years” for “twelve months”, and

(b) the insertion in paragraph (c) after “remains thereof” of “or that he has procured the consent of the lawful occupier of such premises or of the site and remains thereof to the making of the application, and if the licence referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection is then subsisting, to the extinguishing thereof if and when a licence is granted pursuant to this section”.

(3) (a) A conviction recorded on a licence transferred under the said section 31 shall, upon such transfer, cease for all purposes to be so recorded and shall be deemed never to have been so recorded.

(b) Where a new licence is granted to any person pursuant to an application under the said section 21 or the said section 22, a conviction recorded on the licence extinguished pursuant to the application (not being a conviction which became so recorded at a time, if any, when that person was the holder thereof) shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the said sections, not be deemed to be recorded on the new licence and the said sections shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

Grant of full licence for premises having a restricted licence.

27. —(1) In this section—

full licence” means a publican's licence within the meaning of Part II of the Act of 1910 which is neither a six-day licence nor an early-closing licence;

restricted licence” means—

(a) a publican's licence which is not a full licence, or

(b) a beerhouse licence within the meaning of Part II of the Act of 1910.

(2) Where a person who holds a restricted licence in respect of any premises (in this subsection and in subsection (3) of this section referred to as the relevant premises) shows to the satisfaction of the District Court on application thereto at any sitting thereof for the Court area in which the relevant premises are situate that, in relation to—

(a) another restricted licence in respect of premises situate in that Court area, or

(b) each of two other restricted licences in respect of premises both of which are situate elsewhere than in that Court area, or

(c) a full licence,

either—

(i) he is the holder thereof, or

(ii) he has procured the consent of the holder thereof to the extinguishing thereof if and when a full licence in respect of the relevant premises is granted pursuant to this section,

the Court shall cause a certificate to be given to that person entitling him to receive a full licence in respect of the relevant premises.

(3) Upon the grant pursuant to an application under subsection (2) of this section of the full licence in respect of the relevant premises—

(a) the restricted licence in respect of the relevant premises shall be extinguished, and

(b) the other licence or licences, as the case may be, to which the application related shall be extinguished and the other premises or each of the other premises, as the case may be, to which the application related shall, for the purposes of the Act of 1902, be deemed never to have been licensed.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Licensing Acts, 1833 to 1960, the Revenue Commissioners shall, upon application within two years after the passing of this Act by a person who holds a restricted licence in respect of any premises and upon payment by that person of the sum of two hundred pounds to the Revenue Commissioners, grant to that person a full licence in respect of the premises.

(5) Upon the grant under subsection (4) of this section of a full licence in respect of any premises, the restricted licence in respect thereof shall be extinguished.

(6) The sum payable under subsection (4) of this section in relation to the grant of a licence shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any sum payable on the licence under section 43 of the Act of 1910.

(7) (a) There shall be established a fund which shall be managed by the Minister for Finance and shall be known as the Restricted Licences Conversion Fund and all sums received by the Revenue Commissioners under subsection (4) of this section shall be paid by them to that Minister for the credit of the Fund.

(b) The assets of the Fund shall be disposed of in such manner and for such purposes as may be determined by Act of the Oireachtas.

(c) An account of the Fund shall be prepared for each financial year by the Minister for Finance and the account shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and, together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

Transfer of licences held by nominees.

28. —A licence held by a nominee of a body corporate in respect of premises in which the lowest estate or tenancy is held by the body corporate may, on application by the body corporate to the Court at any sitting thereof for the Court area within which the premises are situate, be transferred, by endorsement made by the Court on the licence or, if the licence is not available, on a copy thereof, to such other person as the body corporate may nominate.

Transfer of off-licences.

29. —The provisions of section 1 (which relates to the interim transfer of licences by the Court) of the Public House (Ireland) Act, 1855, shall apply in relation to off-licences for the grant of which the production of a certificate of the Court is required.

Power in certain cases to grant transfers or renewals of licences in respect of premises to persons other than the owners.

30. —(1) Where the holder of a licence in respect of any premises (not being a person who holds the licence as a nominee) ceases, for any reason other than death, transfer of the premises or forfeiture of the licence, to carry on the business authorised by the licence, and, if he is ordinarily resident in the State, either ceases to be so resident or cannot be found, the Court may, subject to the provisions of the Licensing Acts, 1833 to 1960, on due application being made to it at any sitting thereof for the Court area within which the premises are situate—

(a) if the licence has not expired, transfer the licence to the applicant, in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of the Public House (Ireland) Act, 1855, and

(b) if the licence has expired and the application is made within one year after such expiry, grant to the applicant the certificate or certificates required to be produced before a renewal of the licence is granted in respect of the premises, and, for the purposes of the application and of the grant of the renewal of the licence by the Revenue Commissioners, the applicant shall be deemed to be the holder of the lowest estate or tenancy in the premises.

(2) An application to the Court under subsection (1) of this section shall not be granted if—

(a) the holder of the licence objects, or

(b) the Court does not consider that the applicant is a suitable person in all the circumstances to be granted the certificate.

(3) Where an application under subsection (1) of this section in respect of a licence is granted by the Court after the licence has expired, the licence shall be deemed to have been renewed immediately after the expiration thereof.

(4) Where the holder of a licence to whom a transfer or renewal thereof was granted by virtue of subsection (1) of this section applies to the Court for the grant of the certificate or certificates required to be produced before a grant of a renewal of the licence is made, he shall be deemed, for the purposes of the application and of the grant of the renewal of the licence by the Revenue Commissioners to be the holder of the lowest estate or tenancy in the premises to which the licence relates.

(5) The holder of the lowest estate or tenancy in any premises in respect of which a licence which is in force, is not held by him and has been transferred or renewed by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section shall be entitled, on due application being made to the Court—

(a) to have the licence in respect of the premises transferred to him in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of the Public House (Ireland) Act, 1855, and

(b) whether the licence has or has not been transferred to him under paragraph (a) of this subsection, to be granted, subject to the provisions of the Licensing Acts, 1833 to 1960—

(i) in case he is the person referred to in subsection (1) of this section as the holder of the licence, the certificate or certificates required to be produced before a renewal of the licence is granted, and

(ii) in any other case, the certificate or certificates required to be produced before the grant of a licence by way of transfer is made in respect of the premises.

(6) A licence in respect of any premises which has been transferred or renewed by virtue of subsection (1) of this section and is held by a person other than the holder of the lowest estate or tenancy in the premises shall not be capable of being extinguished under or for the purposes of section 4 of the Act of 1902, section 11 of the Act of 1927, section 21 or section 31 of the Act of 1943 or section 13 or section 19 of this Act.

Objection by health authority to grant of licences.

31. —Section 4 (which relates to objections to applications for certificates for licences) of the Licensing (Ireland) Act, 1833, is hereby amended by the insertion after “inhabitant of said parish” of “or the health authority within the meaning of the Health Acts, 1947 to 1958, in whose functional area the house is situate”.

Objection to renewal of licences on ground of unfitness of premises.

32. —(1) Any person may object to an application to the Court for the grant of a certificate under section 11 (which relates to the renewal of licences) of the Spirits (Ireland) Act, 1854, in relation to any premises on the ground of the unfitness of the premises to be licensed and, subject to subsection (2) of this section, if the Court is satisfied that the premises are unfit to be licensed, it may refuse to grant the certificate.

(2) An objection under this section shall not be entertained by the Court unless notice in writing of the intention to make the objection together with particulars in writing of the unfitness alleged is given not less than twelve months before the hearing of the application to the person who, at the time of the giving of the notice, holds the licence in respect of which the application is brought.

Rateable valuations in applications for licences.

33. —(1) (a) Section 5 (which provides for minimum valuations of certain licensed premises) of the Act of 1902 is hereby amended by the substitution for “the premises shall be valued under the Irish Valuation Acts at” of “the rateable valuation, as defined in the Interpretation Act, 1937 , of the premises shall be”.

(b) Section 21 (which provides for the grant of new licences in respect of more convenient premises) of the Act of 1943 is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of the following paragraph:

“(d) that the rateable valuation of the new premises is not less than the rateable valuation of the existing premises, and”.

(2) In construing section 5, as amended by this section, of the Act of 1902, section 21, as amended by this section, of the Act of 1943, and section 13 of this Act, “rateable valuation” shall be deemed to include a provisional valuation issued by the Commissioner of Valuation.

Restriction on grant of cider retailer's off-licences.

34. —Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other Act, the Revenue Commissioners shall not grant, whether by way of new licence or of transfer or renewal of an existing licence, a cider retailer's off-licence under the Act of 1910 to any person other than a person who is for the time being the holder of a spirit retailer's off-licence under the Act of 1910 or of a wholesale dealer's licence for the sale of spirits, beer or wine under the Act of 1910.

Sale of spirits thirty degrees under proof without notice.

35. —Section 6 (which permits the sale of spirits at specified reduced strengths without giving notice of the reduction) of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act Amendment Act, 1879, is hereby amended by the substitution of “thirty degrees” for “twenty-five degrees”.

Amendment of section 25 of the Intoxicating Liquor (General) Act, 1924.

36. Section 25 (which relates to the searching of clubs by the Garda Síochána) of the Intoxicating Liquor (General) Act, 1924 , is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) of “member” for “officer”.

Amendment of section 25 of the Act of 1927.

37. —(1) Section 25 (which relates to the recording of convictions on licences) of the Act of 1927 is hereby amended by—

(a) the deletion in subsection (1) of “if the Court in its discretion so thinks proper” (inserted by the Act of 1943) and the substitution therefor of “subject to subsection (4) of this section”,

(b) the substitution of “two years” for “five years”, “four years” for “seven years” and “six years” for “ten years” in subsection (2), and

(c) the addition to the section of the following subsection:

“(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of this section, where a person is convicted in relation to any premises in respect of which he holds a licence for the sale of intoxicating liquor by retail of an offence to which this Part of this Act applies and the conviction is the first conviction of that person in relation to those premises of an offence to which this Part of this Act applies, the conviction shall not be recorded on the licence.”

(2) (a) Every conviction which, immediately before the passing of this Act, stood recorded under section 25 of the Act of 1927 on a licence then in force, shall, upon the passing of this Act, cease for all purposes to be so recorded and where, before the passing of this Act, the holder of a licence then in force had been convicted of an offence to which Part III of the Act of 1927 applies, such holder shall, for the purposes of subsection (2) and subsection (4) (inserted by this section) of the said section 25, be deemed never to have been so convicted.

(b) Where the holder of a licence is convicted after the passing of this Act of an offence to which Part III of the Act of 1927 applies and which was committed before such passing, the conviction shall not be recorded on the licence under section 25 of the Act of 1927 and such holder shall for the purposes of the said subsection (2) and the said subsection (4) be deemed never to have been so convicted.

Restriction of consumption of intoxicating liquor in refreshment houses.

38. —(1) A person who consumes, or permits the consumption of, intoxicating liquor during prohibited hours in a refreshment house which is not a licensed premises shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to the fine to which he would have been liable if the conviction had been in relation to premises which, at the time of the commission of the offence, were licensed premises.

(2) In this section—

refreshment house” means premises, or any portion thereof, deemed for the purposes of the Refreshment Houses (Ireland) Act, 1860, to be a refreshment house;

licensed premises” and “prohibited hours” have the meanings they have in the Act of 1927.

Restriction of sections 28 and 29 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1878.

39. —(1) Where an order under section 9 of the Intoxicating Liquor (General) Act, 1924 , prescribing the sizes of bottles in which an intoxicating liquor specified in the order may be sold is in force, neither section 28 nor section 29 of the Act of 1878 shall apply in relation to a bottle to which this section applies.

(2) The denomination of a bottle to which this section applies and a line defining its capacity shall be indicated on the bottle by indelible marks.

(3) The Minister for Industry and Commerce may make regulations in relation to bottles to which this section applies—

(a) prescribing the size and position of the line defining the capacity of the bottles,

(b) prescribing the denomination marks for the bottles, their sizes and their positions on the bottles,

(c) prescribing the limits of error to be allowed in relation to the capacity of the bottles as defined by the line aforesaid,

(d) prohibiting any feature in the design of the bottles which appears likely to facilitate the perpetration of fraud.

(4) Where in relation to a bottle to which this section applies there is a contravention of subsection (2) of this section or of regulations made under subsection (3) of this section, the bottle shall be deemed to be an unjust measure for the purposes of section 25 of the Act of 1878.

(5) 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 annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(6) In this section—

the Act of 1878” means the Weights and Measures Act, 1878;

bottle to which this section applies” means a bottle which is required by an order referred to in subsection (1) of this section to be of a size prescribed thereby.

Sale of intoxicating liquor in sealed containers.

40. —(1) Intoxicating liquor shall not be sold by retail in a sealed container unless the quantity of the contents of the container is indicated on the container.

(2) A person who contravenes or permits a person under his control or in his employment to contravene subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall on summary conviction thereof be liable, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds and, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 8 (which prohibits certain sales of intoxicating liquor otherwise than in marked measures) of the Licensing Act, 1872, a person who sells intoxicating liquor in a sealed container on which the quantity of the contents of the container is indicated shall be deemed not to act in contravention of that section.

(4) In this section “container” does not include a bottle.

Extension of power of local authority in relation to the issue of certificates under section 6 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1953.

41. —(1) A local authority may, if they think fit and with the consent of the holder thereof, cancel a certificate issued by them under section 6 (which provides for the issue by local authorities of certificates approving of sites for licensed premises in substitution for licensed premises demolished by them) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 1953 , and may issue under the section another certificate declaring that a site acquired by them, other than the site declared in the cancelled certificate to be approved by them, is approved by them as a site for licensed premises in substitution for the licensed premises which the cancelled certificate declared had been or were to be demolished.

(2) A certificate under the said section 6 may not be cancelled if an application under section 7 or section 8 (which sections provide for the licensing of premises on sites declared by certificates under the said section 6 to be approved by local authorities) of the aforesaid Act grounded on the certificate has been granted.

(3) A certificate under the said section 6 which is cancelled under this section shall be deemed never to have been issued.