First Previous (PART IV Travellers' Protection Fund)

3 1982

TRANSPORT (TOUR OPERATORS AND TRAVEL AGENTS) ACT, 1982

PART V

Miscellaneous

Offences and penalties.

20. —(1) Any person who carries on business, or holds himself out as carrying on business, as a tour operator in contravention of section 4 of this Act, or as a travel agent in contravention of section 5 of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £100,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(2) Any person who obstructs or impedes a person authorised by the Minister in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 11 of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or, to both such fine and imprisonment.

(3) Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining for himself or for any other person, a licence under this Act, makes a statement which he knows to be false, or who recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(4) A Justice of the District Court shall have jurisdiction to try summarily an offence under this section if—

(a) that Justice is of opinion that the facts proved or alleged against a defendant charged with such an offence constitute a minor offence fit to be tried summarily,

(b) the Director of Public Prosecutions consents, and

(c) the defendant (on being informed by the Justice of his right to be tried by a jury) does not object to being tried summarily,

and, upon conviction under this subsection, the said defendant shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(5) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to an offence under this section as if, in lieu of the penalties specified in subsection (3) of the said section 13, there were specified therein the penalty provided for in this section, and the reference in subsection (2) (a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for in the said subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

Provisions in relation to offences.

21. —(1) Summary proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.

(2) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted—

(a) in every case, within two years from the date of the offence, and

(b) if at the expiry of that period, the person to be charged is outside the State, within six months of the date on which he enters the State.

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body, shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Indictment of bodies corporate.

22. —(1) A body corporate may be sent forward for trial on indictment for an offence under section 20 of this Act with or without recognisances.

(2) On arraignment before the Circuit Court, the body corporate may enter in writing by its representative a plea of guilty or not guilty and, if it does not appear by a representative appointed by it for the purpose, or, though it does so appear, fails to enter any plea, the court shall order a plea of not guilty to be entered and the trial shall proceed as though the body corporate had duly entered that plea.

Provisions as to proceedings in court or in liquidation.

23. —In determining, in proceedings in any court, or in any liquidation, a claim by a person in respect of an overseas travel contract against a tour operator or travel agent, the extent, if any, to which such person may have benefited pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall be taken into account by the court or, as the case may be, by the liquidator.

Payments to Fund and Bond not part of tour operator's or travel agent's assets.

24. —Neither payments made to the Fund pursuant to section 15 of this Act by a tour operator nor any moneys payable on foot of the Bond entered into by such tour operator or by a travel agent pursuant to section 13 of this Act shall be reckoned to be part of the assets of such tour operator or travel agent and none of such moneys shall be used to discharge any liability of the tour operator or travel agent otherwise than in accordance with this Act.

Orders and regulations.

25. —(1) Any order or regulation made by the Minister under this Act may contain such incidental or consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Act.

(2) The Minister may make such orders or regulations as appear to him to be necessary or expedient to implement the provisions of this Act and the Minister may amend or revoke any order made under this section.

(3) Every order and regulation made by the Minister 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 the order or regulation, as the case may be, is passed by either House, within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation is laid before it, the order or regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.