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Powers of inspectors in relation to consignation of eggs.
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32.—(1) Any inspector shall be entitled at all reasonable times (subject to the production by him if so required of his authority in writing as such inspector) to enter upon and have free access to the interior of—
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(a) any registered premises; or
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(b) any premises in which eggs are sold, or are exposed, kept or stored for sale or in which such inspector reasonably believes or suspects that eggs are sold or are exposed, kept or stored for sale, or
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(c) the premises of any person engaged in the business of carrying goods for reward; or
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(d) any warehouse or other premises of any person engaged in the business of warehousing goods; or
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(e) any pier, quay, wharf, jetty, dock or dock premises; or
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(f) any ship, boat, railway wagon, motor lorry, cart or other vessel or vehicle used for the conveyance of goods.
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(2) Any inspector may do all or any of the following things in or upon any of the places mentioned in the foregoing sub-section of this section or in any public place, that is to say:—
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(a) inspect any package found in or upon any such place;
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(b) open any such package which he reasonably believes or suspects to contain eggs;
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(c) examine any eggs found by him in any such place, whether such eggs are or are not contained in a package;
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(d) take and remove without payment all or any of the following things, that is to say:—
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(i) reasonable samples of any eggs found in any such place, whether such eggs are or are not contained in a package,
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(ii) reasonable samples of any packing material found in any such place,
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(iii) any package of eggs or any one or more of any packages of eggs found in any such place;
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(e) detain for so long as may be reasonably necessary for the purposes of this section, any package or any number of packages found in any such place;
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(f) if the package or all or any of the packages so detained is or are in the hands of a carrier, give a direction in writing to such carrier prohibiting the further carriage (except by way of returning to the consignor) of such package or packages where it appears to the inspector on examination that there has been a contravention or attempted contravention of this Act or of any regulation made thereunder in relation thereto;
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(g) demand of any person in charge of any eggs or any package of eggs in such place the names and other particulars of the owner or of the consignor and the consignee of such eggs or such package.
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(3) Every person who—
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(a) obstructs or impedes an inspector in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section, or
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(b) knowing the name or other particulars of the owner, consignor or consignee of any eggs or of any package which an inspector is entitled to inspect under this section, refuses to give such name or other particulars to the inspector, or
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(c) wilfully or recklessly gives to the inspector any false or misleading name or other particular of any such owner, consignor or consignee,
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shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first such offence to a fine not exceeding five pounds or, in the case of a second or any subsequent such offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.
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(4) Every person who consigns or carries or attempts to consign or carry to any place, whether in or outside Ireland, any package of eggs in respect of which a direction prohibiting the further carriage thereof has been given by an inspector under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.
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(5) Where an inspector gives a direction under this section to a carrier prohibiting the further carriage of any package of eggs, it shall be the duty of such inspector, if the carrier is not the owner of the package, to notify the consignor of the package as soon as possible after the giving of the direction, that the direction was so given.
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(6) Where any sample or package is taken by an inspector under this section it shall be the duty of such inspector to communicate the fact of such taking to the owner or the consignor and the consignee (if and so far as their names and addresses are known to or can reasonably be ascertained by him) and also, where such taking occurred on the premises of a carrier or warehouseman, to such carrier or warehouseman.
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(7) If, on the examination of any package taken under this section, it appears to the Minister that there was a contravention or attempted contravention of this Act or a regulation made thereunder in relation to such package, such package shall be forfeited to the Minister, and in any other case the package shall be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the consignor, or in default of such directions, shall be sold and the net proceeds of such sale paid to the consignor.
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(8) Neither the Minister nor any inspector shall be liable for any loss, damage, or reasonable delay arising from the exercise by an inspector of any of the powers conferred on him by this section, and no action shall lie against the consignor, or any other person, for or on account of any such loss, damage or reasonable delay.
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(9) In the exercise in or upon the premises of any railway or shipping company of the powers conferred on him by this section, an inspector shall conform to such reasonable requirements of the company as are necessary to prevent the working of the traffic on those premises from being obstructed or interfered with.
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(10) Eggs forfeited to the Minister under this section shall, if unfit for human consumption, be destroyed or shall, in any other case, be sold by the Minister and, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, may be so sold to and bought by retailers or registered wholesalers.
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(11) The net proceeds of all eggs sold under the next preceding sub-section of this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.
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(12) For the purpose of this section, whenever a direction prohibiting the further carriage of a package of eggs has been given to a carrier under this section and the package is, at the time the direction is given, actually loaded in a ship or a railway wagon, the carriage of such package on that ship or wagon shall not be deemed a further carriage of such package in contravention of such direction if such carrier proves that—
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(a) at the first available opportunity, he returned such package to and landed or delivered it at the port or station at which it was loaded into such ship or wagon (as the case may be), and
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(b) between the time when such direction was given and the said return and landing or delivery of such package it was in the sole charge of such carrier and was not opened or interfered with in any way.
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(13) In this section—
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the word “place” includes a ship, boat or other vessel and also includes a railway wagon, motor lorry, cart or other vehicle;
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the word “package” includes a package about to be consigned or awaiting consignation or dispatch and a package already delivered to the consignee thereof as well as a package in course of transport from a consignor to a consignee or from one place of business of a person to another place of business of the same person.
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