PART V

Acquisition of Certain Cultural Objects

52. —In this Part “a cultural object to which this Part applies” means a cultural object that—

(a) is entered in the register, and

(b) for an uninterrupted period of 5 years before the commencement of this section was in the care of an institution specified in the Second Schedule or in any other institution owned or funded wholly or substantially by the State or by any public or local authority.

53. —(1) Whenever the owner of a cultural object to which this Part applies requests the return of the object from an institution referred to in section 52 , then, if it appears to the Minister that the common good requires that the object should be in the ownership, care and control of the State, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, acquire the object by agreement with the owner thereof or, in default of agreement, compulsorily by order made by the Minister (in this Part referred to as a “vesting order”) acquire the object.

(2) Whenever the owner of a cultural object to which this Part applies makes a request referred to in subsection (1), the Minister shall notify the owner within 2 weeks from the date of the request that he or she will decide within 6 weeks from the date of such request whether he or she proposes to acquire the object and the owner shall not be entitled to the return of the object during the said period of 6 weeks and upon the expiration of that period the Minister shall cause the object to be returned to the owner unless he or she proposes to acquire the object under this section and has notified him or her accordingly before such expiration.

(3) Where the Minister acquires a cultural object to which this Part applies by agreement with the owner thereof, the object shall thereupon vest in the Minister for the benefit of the State.

(4) The price or compensation payable on the acquisition of a cultural object to which this Part applies shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

54. —(1) Where the Minister proposes to make a vesting order, the Minister shall—

(a) publish in Iris Oifigiúil and in such newspapers as the Minister thinks fit notice of the proposal, indicating that any person who claims to be entitled to compensation may submit his or her claim to the Minister and indicating the time within which a claim aforesaid may be submitted to the Minister, and

(b) give a copy of the notice referred to in paragraph (a) to every owner of a cultural object to be acquired by the vesting order.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) may be given to the person concerned—

(a) by delivering it to him or her,

(b) by leaving it at the address at which the person ordinarily resides, or

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to the person at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or, in the case of a company (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 ) at its registered office or, in the case of any other body, at its principal office or place of business.

55. —A vesting order shall be in the prescribed form and shall be expressed and shall operate to vest the cultural object to which it relates in the Minister free from encumbrances and all rights, titles and interests of any kind over or in respect of the object on a specified date not earlier than 21 days after the making of the order.

56. —Whenever the Minister makes a vesting order, he or she shall be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of this Part in respect of the cultural object acquired by the order.

57. —(1) Any person claiming to be the owner of a cultural object acquired by a vesting order may apply to the Minister for compensation in respect of the object.

(2) An application for compensation under this section shall be made in such form as may be prescribed or in a form to the like effect.

(3) An application for compensation under this section shall be made to the Minister within 3 months (or such longer period, not exceeding 6 months, as the Minister may in any particular case allow) from the date upon which the notice of the proposal to acquire the cultural object the subject of the application was published in Iris Oifigiúil pursuant to this section.

58. —(1) The Minister shall, within 3 months from the date of the receipt of an application for compensation under this Part duly made to him or her, consider the application and, as he or she thinks fit, either—

(a) make an offer in writing to the applicant in respect of a specified sum of compensation under this section in respect of the cultural object to which the application relates, or

(b) inform the applicant in writing that he or she does not intend to make to the applicant any such offer including his or her reasons therefor.

(2) Where an applicant accepts an offer of compensation made under subsection (1), he or she shall be estopped from making any further claim for compensation under this Part.

59. —(1) A person who has applied to the Minister under the foregoing provisions of this Part for compensation in respect of a cultural object acquired by a vesting order and has either refused an offer of compensation made to him or her by the Minister in respect of the aforesaid object or has been informed by the Minister that he or she does not intend to make any such offer, may apply to the High Court in a summary manner for compensation under this section in respect of the object.

(2) An application under subsection (1) shall be made not later than 3 months after whichever of the following dates is applicable, that is to say—

(a) the date on which the applicant refused the offer by the Minister of a specified sum of compensation, or

(b) the date on which the applicant was informed by the Minister that he or she did not intend to make any such offer.

(3) On application to it under subsection (1), the High Court, shall, if it is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to compensation under this section—

(a) award to the applicant compensation under this section,

(b) fix the amount of such compensation in accordance with this section, and

(c) order that the compensation so awarded and fixed shall be paid to the applicant by the Minister.

(4) In assessing the compensation payable to a person under this section, the High Court shall have regard to the fact that the Minister may refuse to grant a licence to a person in respect of the cultural object concerned.

(5) An order under subsection (3) may contain such consequential or supplementary provisions as the High Court considers appropriate.

(6) The High Court may make such order (if any) as it considers just for the payment of all or part of any costs incurred by a person in respect of an application for compensation under this section.

(7) The High Court shall, on application to it in that behalf by the Minister within one month of the making of an order under subsection (3), by order discharge the order, direct the return of the cultural object to the applicant concerned, annul the vesting order made by the Minister and, if it so thinks fit, award such compensation as it considers appropriate in respect of any loss incurred by the applicant by virtue of the retention by the institution of the object after the request of the applicant for its return.