Institutional Burials Act 2022
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Application to court for order authorising relevant works on principal burial land | ||
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86. (1) Where subsection(5) or (8) of section 85 applies, a Director may, where the owner or the occupier of principal burial land, or both, as the case may be, do not consent within the period of 28 days referred to in the subsection concerned, apply to the relevant court at the expiration of that period for an order authorising the Director to carry out relevant works on that land. | ||
(2) On application to it under subsection (1), the relevant court may make an order authorising the Director to carry out relevant works on the principal burial land concerned where it is satisfied that— | ||
(a) the owner or occupier, as the case may be, was the owner or occupier of the land at the time the manifestly inappropriate burials were carried out on that land, | ||
(b) the owner or occupier, as the case may be, entered into a legally binding agreement (howsoever described) to acquire the land (in the case of an owner) or to occupy the land (in the case of an occupier), on or after the 10th day of December 2019, or | ||
(c) the carrying out of relevant works on the land is proportionate in all the circumstances. | ||
(3) An appeal shall lie on a point of law only— | ||
(a) where the relevant court is the Circuit Court, from a decision of the High Court on appeal, and | ||
(b) where the relevant court is the High Court, from a decision of the High Court. | ||
(4) An application by a Director under this section or an appeal in respect of a decision of a relevant court under this section may, at the request of the owner or occupier, as the case may be, be heard otherwise than in public. | ||
(5) In this section, “relevant court” means— | ||
(a) where the market value of the principal burial land concerned is less than €3 million, the Circuit Court, or | ||
(b) where the market value of the principal burial land concerned is €3 million or greater, the High Court unless both parties agree to the Circuit Court having jurisdiction to hear the application. |