Transport Act, 1944
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Grant of merchandise licences to certain carriers. |
114.—(1) Where— | |
(a) any person applies, before the 1st day of April, 1945, to the Minister for a merchandise licence authorising the licensee to carry on a merchandise road transport business in respect of specified merchandise within a former exempted area, and | ||
(b) such person satisfies the Minister that he or his predecessor in title carried on an existing merchandise road transport business within that former exempted area, | ||
the Minister shall, notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (5) of section 12 of the Act of 1933, grant the licence, and any licence so granted shall commence on the 1st day of July, 1945. | ||
(2) For the purposes of this section, the following provisions shall have effect— | ||
(a) each of the following shall be an existing merchandise road transport business, that is to say:— | ||
(i) any merchandise road transport business which was commenced after the 1st day of June, 1939, and before the 31st day of May, 1940, and was carried on in the manner required by this subsection during the whole of the period beginning on the date of such commencement and ending on the date of the passing of this Act, | ||
(ii) any merchandise road transport business which was carried on in the manner required by this subsection during the whole of the period beginning on the 1st day of June, 1939, and ending on the date of the passing of this Act; | ||
(b) a merchandise road transport business shall be regarded as having been carried on in the manner required by this subsection during any period if, but only if, during that period— | ||
(i) such business was carried on with reasonable continuity, having regard to its nature and, as respects so much of that period as began on the 1st day of June, 1940, and ends on the date of the passing of this Act, to any restrictions on the carrying on of that business due to conditions resulting from the present war, and | ||
(ii) such business was carried on with mechanically propelled vehicles duly licensed in the State under section 13 of the Finance Act, 1920 , as amended by subsequent enactments. | ||
(3) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to applications under this section for merchandise licences, that is to say:— | ||
(a) every application shall be made to the Minister in such form and in such manner as the Minister may direct; | ||
(b) every application shall state— | ||
(i) the former exempted area in which the applicant proposes to carry on a merchandise road transport business, | ||
(ii) the class or classes of merchandise then actually carried by the applicant, | ||
(iii) the merchandise road transport business which the applicant claims is an existing merchandise road transport business, | ||
(iv) the vehicle plate issuing station at which the applicant, in the event of the application being granted, desires that vehicle plates should be available for issue to him, | ||
(v) the number of mechanically propelled vehicles being lorries or tractors, and so classified in the application, which, at any specified date (in this section referred to as the critical date) between the 1st day of June, 1939, and the 31st day of May, 1940, selected by applicant, complied with the following conditions (in this section referred to as the qualifying conditions), that is to say:— | ||
(I) were duly licensed in the State by the applicant under section 13 of the Finance Act, 1920 , as amended by subsequent enactments, | ||
(II) were in use and available for the purpose of such merchandise road transport business, | ||
(vi) particulars (including the unladen weights) of each such mechanically propelled vehicle, | ||
(vii) such other particulars as the Minister may direct; | ||
(c) every application shall be accompanied by the registration books relating to the mechanically propelled vehicles particulars of which are stated in the application or by registration particulars of those vehicles certified by the appropriate local authority under the Roads Act, 1920 ; | ||
(d) subsection (4), (5) and (6) of section 11 of the Act of 1933 shall apply as if enacted in this section. | ||
(4) The Minister, before granting a merchandise licence under this section, shall— | ||
(a) in case any of the mechanically propelled vehicles specified in the application for the licence were lorries which, in his opinion, at the critical date complied with the qualifying conditions, ascertain the total unladen weight of those lorries and the total unladen, weight so ascertained shall, for the purposes of the Act of 1933, be the standard lorry weight for the licensee under the licence; | ||
(b) in ease any of the mechanically propelled vehicles specified in the application were tractors which in his opinion, at the critical date complied with the qualifying conditions, ascertain the total unladen weight of those tractors and the total unladen weight so ascertained shall, for the purposes of the Act of 1933, be the standard tractor weight for the licensee under the licence. | ||
(5) Each of the following areas shall, for the purposes of this section, be a former exempted area, that is to say:— | ||
(a) the area included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Ballina; | ||
(b) the area included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Drogheda; | ||
(c) the area (except so much thereof as is situate in Northern Ireland) included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Dundalk; | ||
(d) the area included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Sligo; | ||
(e) the area included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Tralee; | ||
(f) the area included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Westport; | ||
(g) the area included within a circle having a radius of ten miles and its centre at the principal post office in the town of Wexford. | ||
(6) Every merchandise licence granted by virtue of this section shall, for the purposes of the Act of 1933, the Road Transport Act, 1934 (No. 17 of 1934), the Road Transport Act, 1935 (No. 23 of 1935), and this Act be deemed to be a merchandise (existing carrier's) licence. |