Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023
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Fixed payment notice for relevant offence | ||
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88. (1) Subject to section 87 (5), for the purposes of assisting in the protection and proper management of national monuments through effective sanctions for a failure or contravention referred to in the definition of “relevant offence” in section 86 , where an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed a relevant offence, the authorised officer may give to the person a notice (in this section referred to as a “fixed payment notice”) in writing and in the prescribed form stating— | ||
(a) the name and address of the person, | ||
(b) that the person is alleged to have committed that offence, | ||
(c) that the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the relevant authority, at the address specified in the notice, a payment of the amount specified in subsection (3) in respect of that offence, accompanied by the notice, | ||
(d) that the person is not obliged to make the payment specified in the notice, and | ||
(e) that a prosecution of the person to whom the notice is given in respect of the relevant offence concerned will not be instituted during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of that offence will be instituted. | ||
(2) Where a fixed payment notice is given— | ||
(a) the person to whom it applies may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the relevant authority, at the address specified in the notice, the payment specified in the notice, accompanied by the notice, | ||
(b) the relevant authority shall receive the payment and shall, upon receipt of the payment, issue a receipt for it and any payment so received shall not be recoverable by the person who made it and the relevant authority shall retain the money for disposal in accordance with subsection (4), and | ||
(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted. | ||
(3) The amount to be specified in a fixed payment notice in respect of a relevant offence shall be— | ||
(a) such amount not exceeding €200 as may be prescribed, or | ||
(b) if no such amount stands prescribed, €100. | ||
(4) Moneys received by the relevant authority pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall— | ||
(a) if the Commissioners are the relevant authority, be applied by them towards meeting the expenses incurred by them in performing their functions under Chapter 17, and | ||
(b) if a local authority is the relevant authority, be lodged to the credit of the local fund maintained by the local authority pursuant to, and in accordance with, section 97 of the Act of 2001 and expended in accordance with that section. |