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15 1988

AIR NAVIGATION AND TRANSPORT ACT, 1988

PART V

Miscellaneous

Detention of aircraft.

41. —(1) The Minister may direct the detention of any aircraft (other than a State aircraft) subject to such conditions, and for such time, as he may specify for the purpose of securing compliance with—

(a) any provision of the Principal Act, or any instrument made thereunder;

(b) the Chicago Convention, or any order made under Part II of the Act of 1946 (as amended by this Act), or any regulation made or direction given under any such order;

(c) the provisions of the Convention relating to Co-operation for the Safety of Air Navigation signed at Brussels on the 13th day of December, 1960, or with any instrument made under the Act of 1963; or

(d) any provision of the Act of 1965, or any instrument made or direction given under that Act.

(2) (a) Where the Minister has, pursuant to subsection (1), directed the detention of an aircraft, an authorised officer may detain such aircraft and, in any such case, shall, as soon as may be practicable, notify the appropriate air traffic services authority and, where the authorised officer is not an officer of customs and excise, he shall, as soon as may be practicable, notify the appropriate officer of customs and excise.

(b) For the purpose of exercising his functions under this subsection, an authorised officer shall have power to enter any aerodrome, and to enter and inspect any aircraft he finds thereon.

(3) If an aircraft, after service on the pilot in command of any notice or order for the detention of the aircraft, or whilst it is detained pursuant to a direction of the Minister under subsection (1), take-off, or attempts to take-off, without the prior permission of an authorised officer, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the pilot in command and also the owner or operator (where such person is not the owner) of the aircraft, and any person who causes the aircraft to take-off, or to attempt to take-off, shall each be guilty of an offence;

(b) if such aircraft, when so taking-off, has on board in the execution of his duty an authorised officer, the pilot in command, and also the owner or operator (if such person is not the owner), of such aircraft shall each be guilty of an offence, and shall also be liable to pay to the Minister all expenses of and incidental to such officer being so taken on such aircraft.

(4) Where a person charged with an offence under this section is not the pilot in command of the aircraft in respect of which such offence is alleged to have been committed, it shall be a good defence for such person to prove that, on the occasion on which such offence is alleged to have been committed, he was not a party or privy to the taking-off or attempted taking-off of such aircraft.

(5) Any expenses payable to the Minister under subsection (3) (b) may be recovered by him as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(6) Each of the following shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this section, that is to say:—

(a) a commissioned officer of the Defence Forces of the State;

(b) an officer of the Minister;

(c) an officer of customs and excise;

(d) any person authorised by the Minister in that behalf.

(7) Where, pursuant to subsection (1), an aircraft is to be detained, an officer of customs and excise shall, and where, pursuant to that subsection, an aircraft may be detained, may, refuse to clear that aircraft outwards or to grant a transire to such aircraft.

(8) Air traffic services shall not be provided for any aircraft for the purpose of contravening a direction for the detention of that aircraft pursuant to subsection (1).

(9) In this section, “air traffic services” includes the following services, that is to say, flight information service, alerting service, air traffic advisory service, air traffic control service, area control service, approach control service and aerodrome control service.

(10) Subsections (2) (a) and (3) to (9) shall also apply to any aircraft detained under section 16 , 18 or 32 .

Impersonation of authorised officer or authorised person.

42. —Any person who falsely represents himself to be an authorised officer or an authorised person shall be guilty of an offence.

False alarms.

43. —Every person who knowingly gives, or causes to be given, a false alarm which interferes with the operation of any aircraft, aerodrome or air navigation installation shall be guilty of an offence.

Transfer to Minister of powers of Government under certain Acts.

44. —(1) The powers conferred on the Government by—

(a) section 17 (which relates to the Warsaw Convention having the force of law in Saorstát Éireann) of the Principal Act, or

(b) section 7 (which relates to the 1955 Protocol to the Warsaw Convention having the force of law in the State) of the Act of 1959, or

(c) section 2 (which relates to the Guadalajara Convention having the force of law in the State) of the Act of 1965,

are hereby transferred to the Minister.

(2) Before exercising any of the powers referred to in subsection (1), the Minister shall consult with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Transfer of certain functions to Minister.

45. —(1) The functions under the Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , which are vested in the Minister for Communications under or by virtue of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1983 , are hereby transferred to the Minister and the said Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(2) The functions under the Free Ports Act, 1986 , in relation to the establishment, management and control of a free port at or adjacent to an aerodrome and the licensing of persons to carry on any trade, business or manufacture within any such free port which are vested in the Minister for the Marine under or by virtue of the Communications (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1987 (S.I. No. 91 of 1987), are hereby transferred to the Minister and the said Free Ports Act, 1986 , shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(3) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by subsection (1) or (2) are hereby transferred to the Department of Tourism and Transport.

(4) (a) References to the Minister for Communications or the Department of Communications in any statute or statutory instrument shall, in so far as it relates to any function transferred by subsection (1), be construed as references to the Minister or the Department of Tourism and Transport as the case may require.

(b) References to the Minister for the Marine or the Department of the Marine in any statute or statutory instrument shall, in so far as it relates to any function transferred by subsection (2), be construed as references to the Minister or the Department of Tourism and Transport as the case may require.

(5) In this section—

functions” includes powers, duties and obligations and reference to the performance of a function includes, as respects powers, duties and obligations, reference to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties and obligations;

statutory instrument” has the meaning assigned to it by the Interpretation Act, 1937 .

Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act.

46. —Section 18 (inserted by the Act of 1965) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:

“(b) In deducing any relationship for the purposes of this section—

(i) the relationship between every person and his father and mother shall be determined in accordance with section 3 of the Status of Children Act, 1987 , and all other relationships shall be determined accordingly;

(ii) a person in loco parentis to another shall be considered the parent of that other.”.

Amendment of sections 55 and 56 (4) of Principal Act.

47. —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 55 (which relates to the restrictions on actions for damages in respect of damages for trespass or nuisance by aircraft) of the following section:

“55. An action shall not lie in respect of trespass or in respect of nuisance by reason only of the flight of aircraft over any property at a height above the ground which, having regard to wind, weather and all the circumstances of the case is reasonable, or the ordinary incidents of the flight, so long as the provisions of any order made under Part II of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946 , to give effect to, or to supplement, the Chicago Convention have been duly complied with.”.

(2) Section 56 (which relates to the penalty for dangerous flying) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection:

“(4) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any order made under Part II of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1946 , to give effect to, or to supplement, the Chicago Convention.”.

Amendment of section 2 of Hire-Purchase Act, 1946.

48. Section 2 of the Hire-Purchase Act, 1946 (which relates to the application of the Act) is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion in paragraph (b) after “members,” of “or”, and

(b) the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:

“(c) an agreement relating to aircraft or spare parts for aircraft,”.

Amendment of Customs-free Airport Act, 1947.

49. —The Customs-free Airport Act, 1947 , is hereby amended by the substitution for section 13 (as amended by the Customs-free Airport (Amendment) Act, 1958 ) of the following section:

“13. (1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, make Regulations for the management and control of the airport:

Provided that the power of the Minister to make Regulations under this section shall not extend to the making of Regulations permitting the carrying on of any trade, business or manufacture within the airport.

(2) A Minister of the Government, other than the Minister or the Minister for Finance, may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, make Regulations extending, with or without modifications, to the airport any law for the time being in force which is administered by the Minister making the Regulation and which, but for section 4 of this Act, would apply to the airport.

(3) A person who contravenes any Regulation under this section shall be guilty of an offence.”.

Amendment of section 7 of Act of 1965.

50. —Section 7 (which relates to the power to authorise by order the operation of air services) of the Act of 1965 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (5) of the following subsection:

“(6) (a) The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may, in any order under this section, provide for the payment of fees on the grant of an authorisation to operate an air service under this section and, with the consent aforesaid, prescribe the amount of the fees (including different amounts in respect of authorisations in relation to different categories of air services and in relation to air services previously the subject of authorisations under this section).

(b) All fees received under this subsection shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs.

(c) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply to any fees payable under this subsection.”.

Amendment of sections 3 and 5 of Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1975.

51. —The Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1975 , is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1) of section 3:

“(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if anywhere he unlawfully and intentionally—

(a) commits on board an aircraft in flight any act of violence which is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft,

(b) destroys an aircraft in service or so damages it as to render it incapable of flight or to endanger its safety in flight,

(c) places or causes to be placed on an aircraft in service any device or substance which is likely to destroy the aircraft or so damage it as to render it incapable of flight or to endanger its safety in flight,

(d) destroys, damages or interferes with the operation of any air navigation facility if such act is likely to endanger the safety of aircraft in flight,

(e) communicates any information which he knows to be false where the communication of the information endangers, or is likely to endanger, the safety of an aircraft in flight,

(f) (i) performs an act of violence against a person

(I) at an aerodrome in the State (other than an aerodrome under the control of the Minister for Defence), or

(II) at an aerodrome outside the State serving international civil aviation,

which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death, or

(ii) destroys or seriously damages the facilities or disrupts the services of any aerodrome referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (other than an aerodrome under the control of the Minister for Defence) or destroys or seriously damages any aircraft not in service located on that aerodrome,

if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety at that aerodrome.”,

and

(b) the substitution of the following section for section 5:

“Application of the Extradition Act, 1965, to persons arrested under this Act.

5.—(1) Any person arrested under section 4 (1) of this Act shall—

(a) if the aircraft concerned is registered in a state to which Part II of the Act of 1965 applies, or if the aerodrome concerned is in a state to which that Part of that Act applies, and (in the case of a citizen of Ireland) the extradition of the person is not prohibited by section 14 of that Act, be deemed to have been arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under section 27 of that Act, and

(b) if the aircraft concerned is registered in a place to which Part III of that Act applies, or if the aerodrome concerned is in a place to which that Part of that Act applies, be deemed to have been arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under section 49 of that Act.

(2) Section 15 of the Act of 1965 shall not apply in relation to the extradition of a person to whom subsection (1) of this section applies.”.

Amendment of section 3 of Air Transport Act, 1986.

52. —The Air Transport Act, 1986 , is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in section 3 (2) for “twenty-one days” of “fourteen days or such lesser period as the Minister may prescribe by order under this subsection”,

and

(b) the insertion in section 3 after subsection (2) of the following subsections:

“(2A) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made under subsection (2) of this section.

(2B) Every order made by the Minister under subsection (2) or (2A) of this section shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil and 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 is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.”.

Repeals.

53. —The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column.