PART V

Labourers Cottages.

55. —(1) Section 17 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1883, shall be amended by the substitution therein of the words “two shillings” for the words “one shilling” in the proviso to the said section.

(2) Section 12 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906, shall be amended by the substitution of the word “sixpence” for the word “three-pence” in the said section.

56. —(1) The operation of section 15 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1883, shall be suspended until the expiration of a period of five years from the passing of this Act and where any provisional order has been confirmed before the passing of this Act or is confirmed after the passing of this Act but before the expiration of the said period, time shall for the purposes of the said section be reckoned as if the order had been confirmed on the last day of the said period and not previously.

(2) Nothing in this section shall affect any right, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the said section 15 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1883, before the passing of this Act, for the enforcement whereof proceedings have been commenced in any court before the first day of October, 1931, and are pending at the passing of this Act and any such proceedings may be continued as if this Act had not been passed.

57. —A sanitary authority may in the exercise of any power of borrowing conferred upon them by the Labourers (Ireland) Acts, 1883 to 1930, borrow money from the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland and the said Commissioners may with the consent of the Minister for Finance and on the recommendation of the Minister lend such money to such sanitary authority under the Public Works (Ireland) Acts, 1831 to 1886, as amended by the Public Works Loans Act, 1897, and notwithstanding anything contained in the said Acts such loan may be made by the said Commissioners for such period and at such rate of interest as the Minister for Finance may from time to time prescribe.

58. —Notwithstanding anything contained in the Labourers (Ireland) Acts, 1883 to 1930, a sanitary authority acting in the execution of these Acts may with the sanction of the Minister for the purpose of providing accommodation for agricultural labourers acquire any building and may alter, enlarge, improve or repair any such building so acquired by them so as to render such building in all respects fit for habitation by agricultural labourers.