S.I. No. 133/1974 - European Communities (International Carriage of Passengers) Regulations, 1974.

S.I. No. 133 of 1974.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS) REGULATIONS, 1974.

I, PETER BARRY, T.D., Minister for Transport and Power, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (International Carriage of Passengers) Regulations, 1974.

2. Section 7 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 (No. 2 of 1932), which prohibits unlicensed passenger road services, and section 6 of the Road Transport Act, 1935 (No. 23 of 1935), which imposes restrictions on the importation of certain mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, shall not apply to—

( a ) the holder of a certificate issued in accordance with Article 1 of EEC Regulation 1016/68,¹

¹ OJ No. L173/8, 22 July, 1968.

( b ) the holder of a passenger waybill issued in accordance with Article 2 of EEC Regulation 1016/68,

or

( c ) the holder of an authorisation issued in accordance with Article 1 or 4 of EEC Regulation 1172/72,²

² OJ No. L134/1, 12 June, 1972.

in respect of the vehicle specified in such certificate, passenger waybill or authorisation.

3. Section 8 (8) of the Transport Act, 1958 (No. 19 of 1958), which empowers Córas Iompair Éireann to refuse any particular traffic offered to it, shall not apply in relation to an authorisation issued in accordance with Article 1 of EEC Regulation 1172/72.

4. For the purposes of Article 6 of EEC Regulation 1016/68—

( a ) the period of validity of a book of passenger waybills shall be the period of three years;

( b ) one copy of the passenger waybill shall be returned to the Minister for Transport and Power in the period of 30 days beginning on the date of the completion of the journey to which it relates;

( c ) the other copy of the passenger waybill shall not be detached from the book until the expiry of the period of validity of the book.

5. (1) Where a person who is the holder, in respect of a vehicle registered in the State, of a certificate issued in accordance with Article 1 of EEC Regulation 1016/68, a passenger waybill issued in accordance with Article 2 of that Regulation or an authorisation issued in accordance with Article 1 or 4 of EEC Regulation 1172/72, contravenes a provision of EEC Regulation 117/66,³ 1016/68, 516/72, ⁴ 517/72, ⁵ 1172/72 or 2442/72, ⁶ he shall be guilty of an offence.

³ OJ No. 147/66, 9 August, 1966.

⁴ OJ No. L67/13, 20 March, 1972.

⁵ OJ No. L67/19, 2 March, 1972.

⁶ OJ No. L265/7, 24 November, 1972.

(2) ( a ) where the offence is a first offence or is in the opinion of the court of a slight nature, the person charged shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £25,

( b ) where the offence is not a first offence or is in the opinion of the court of a grave nature, the person charged shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50,

( c ) where the offence is the second or subsequent offence committed by the person charged in a period of twelve months, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100,

( d ) in a case where the offence is a continuing offence the person convicted shall be liable to a further fine, in addition to any fine imposed under subparagraph (a) to (c) above, not exceeding £5 for each day on which the offence is continued.

(3) Proceedings in relation to an offence under these regulations may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister for Transport and Power.

6. (1) An authorisation issued by the Minister under EEC Regulation 517/72 for a regular service or a special regular service shall not be transferable, whether by operation of law or otherwise, without the prior consent of the Minister, which may be given only to a transfer—

( a ) to the holder's spouse, parents or relatives to the second degree,

( b ) to a company formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1963 , if the transferor has subscribed for and controls not less than 50 per cent of the shares of the company and has undertaken to continue such participation in the company for not less than three years or until the expiry of the authorisation, if that occurs within three years from the transfer,

( c ) to a person who has actively participated for not less than three years in the operation of the enterprise of the transferor,

or

( d ) to Córas Iompair Éireann.

(2) ( a ) The business of a regular service or a special regular service in respect of which an authorisation under EEC Regulation 517/72 has been issued by the Minister shall not be transferable, whether by operation of law or otherwise, without the prior consent of the Minister, which may be given only in exceptional circumstances, (including the death of the holder, the serious disruption of the holder's business or serious damage to the holder's transport equipment) which in the opinion of the Minister render impracticable the continued operation of the service by the holder.

( b ) A consent under this subparagraph shall not be granted for any period exceeding six months, but shall be renewable upon the expiry of the period for which it is granted for a further period not exceeding six months.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 10th day of May, 1974.

PETER BARRY,

Minister for Transport and Power.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of the Regulations is to give effect to a number of EEC Council Regulations, viz. EEC Regulations Nos. 117/66, 1016/68, 516/72, 517/72, 1172/72 and 2442/72, which govern the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus, by:

( a ) providing that the relevant provisions of the Road Transport Acts governing the issue of road passenger licences and importation licences shall not apply in relation to authorisations, etc., issued in accordance with the EEC Regulations;

( b ) prescribing conditions for the transfer of certain businesses and authorisations;

( c ) prescribing penalties for offences.