Agricultural Produce (Meat) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1978

Fees payable by licensees.

5.—(1) The following section is hereby substituted for section 28 of the Act of 1935:

“28.—(1) Every person who holds or has held a licence shall, for every month during which (or any part of which) he held the licence, pay to the Minister in respect of the licence a fee (in this section referred to as the ‘bacon curer's fee’) calculated at the rate of a prescribed sum for every pig presented at the premises to which the licence relates for veterinary examination under this Part of this Act, during that month.

(2) As soon as may be after the expiration of every month the Minister shall ascertain, in respect of every person who during the whole or any part of that month held a licence, the amount of the bacon curer's fee payable by that person for that month in respect of that licence.

(3) As soon as the amount of any bacon curer's fee has been ascertained under this section, the Minister shall make a certificate (in this section referred to as a ‘certificate of indebtedness’) certifying the month for which the fee is payable, the person by whom and the premises in respect of which the fee is payable and the amount of the fee.

(4) Every certificate of indebtedness shall be sufficient evidence until the contrary is shown of all matters purported to be certified in the certificate and any document purporting to be a certificate of indebtedness issued under this section shall, on production of the document in any proceedings to recover the amount certified to be payable by the document, be deemed until the contrary is shown to be a certificate of indebtedness duly issued under this section and shall be admitted in evidence accordingly.

(5) As soon as may be after the issue of a certificate of indebtedness, a copy of the certificate shall be served on the person certified by the certificate as liable to pay the amount of the bacon curer's fee mentioned in the certificate and, immediately on the service, that amount shall become and be payable by that person to the Minister and shall, after the expiration of fourteen days from the service, be recoverable by the Minister as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(6) Where any licensee fails or neglects to pay the amount certified by a certificate of indebtedness to be payable by him within four weeks after the service of a copy of the certificate on him, the Minister may revoke the licence in respect of which that amount is payable, but the revocation shall not relieve the licensee from liability to pay that amount.

(7) Where regulations are proposed to be made in relation to any sum referred to in this section as prescribed, a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1978, and section 28 of the Act of 1935 (as amended by this Act) shall apply and have effect accordingly.