Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986

Traffic wardens.

15.—(1) With effect from the commencement of this section, such persons, being authorised persons appointed by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána in accordance with section 103 of the Act of 1961 and employed in the Authority's functional area immediately before such commencement, as are designated by him, after consultation with the Authority, shall be deemed to be in the employment of the Authority.

(2) (a) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union concerned, a person deemed to be in the employment of the Authority in accordance with subsection (1) shall not, while in such employment, receive a lesser scale of pay or have imposed on him less beneficial conditions of service than the scale of pay to which he was entitled and the conditions of service to which he was subject immediately before the commencement of this section.

(b) Until such time as the scales of pay and conditions of service of persons deemed to be in the employment of the Authority in accordance with subsection (1) are varied by the Authority following consultation with a recognised trade union, the scales of pay to which such persons were entitled and the conditions of service of such persons before their transfer under that subsection shall continue to apply to them.

(c) In this subsection “recognised trade union” means a trade union recognised by the Authority for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration or conditions of employment, or the working conditions, of the persons deemed to be in the employment of the Authority in accordance with subsection (1).

(3) The following subsections are hereby substituted for subsections (1) and (2) of section 2 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 :

“(1) (a) The Dublin Transport Authority, after consultation with the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, may make arrangements for the carrying out of the functions specified in subsection (2) of this section in the Authority's functional area by persons employed by the Authority.

(b) A local authority all or part of whose functional area is not situate in the functional area of the Dublin Transport Authority may, after consultation with the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, make arrangements for the carrying out of the functions specified in subsection (2) of this section in the functional area of the authority or in such part of the functional area of the authority not situate in the Authority's functional area by persons employed by the authority.

(2) The functions referred to in subsection (1) of this section are—

(a) functions in respect of offences under the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1984, or the Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986, which relate to the prohibition or restriction of the stopping or parking of mechanically propelled vehicles,

(b) functions relating to the offence under regulations made under the Roads Act, 1920 , of not attaching to and carrying on a vehicle in the manner prescribed by those regulations a licence in respect of the vehicle issued under that Act,

(c) such other functions as may be declared by the Minister by regulations made with the consent of the Minister for Justice, and different regulations may be made under this subsection for different areas.”.

(4) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (1) of section 3 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 :

“(1) This section applies to such of the following offences as may be declared by the Minister by regulations, made after consultation with the Minister for Justice, to be offences to which this section applies, namely, any offence under regulations made under section 2 (c) (inserted by the Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986) of this Act and any offence under the Road Traffic Acts, 1961 to 1984, or the Dublin Transport Authority Act, 1986, which relates to the prohibition or restriction of the stopping or parking of mechanically propelled vehicles and the offence under regulations made under the Roads Act, 1920 , of not attaching to and carrying on a vehicle in the manner prescribed by those regulations a licence in respect of the vehicle issued under that Act.”.

(5) The following subsections are hereby substituted for subsections (2) to (4) of section 3 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 :

“(2) Where a traffic warden has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence to which this section applies he may deliver to the person a notice in the prescribed form stating—

(a) that the person is alleged to have committed the offence,

(b) that the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the local authority or to the Dublin Transport Authority (as may be specified in the notice) a payment of a prescribed amount, accompanied by the notice,

(c) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during 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 will be instituted.

(3) Where a traffic warden has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence to which this section applies, involving the use of a mechanically propelled vehicle, is being or has been committed, he may affix to the vehicle a notice in the prescribed form stating—

(a) that the offence is alleged to have been committed,

(b) that a person liable to be prosecuted for the offence may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the local authority or to the Dublin Transport Authority (as may be specified in the notice) a payment of a prescribed amount, accompanied by the notice,

(c) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, that no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

(4) Where a notice is delivered under subsection (2) or affixed under subsection (3) of this section—

(a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the local authority or to the Dublin Transport Authority (as may be specified in the notice) the payment specified in the notice, accompanied by the notice,

(b) the local authority or the Dublin Transport Authority (as the case may be) may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money so paid for disposal in accordance with this Act, and no payment so received shall in any circumstances be recoverable by the person who made it,

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted during 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.”.

(6) The following section is hereby substituted for section 5 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 :

“5. A prosecution for an offence to which section 3 of this Act applies, an offence under section 3 (5) of this Act or an offence under section 4 of this Act may be brought by a local authority or, where the offence is alleged to have been committed in the functional area of the Dublin Transport Authority, by the Authority.”.

(7) All moneys paid to the Authority in respect of offences to which section 3 of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 , relates shall be paid into the Exchequer in accordance with such directions as may from time to time be given by the Minister for Finance.