Intoxicating Liquor (General) Act, 1924

PART IV.

ILLICIT DISTILLATION.

Restrictions on sale and possession of certain materials.

26.—(1) Any person who sells, purchases, or has in his possession in any area or place to which this section for the time being applies, or who brings into any such area or place, or sells to any person in such area or place, any quantity of any material to which this section for the time being applies in relation to that area or place without having a permit issued under this section so to do, shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and on summary conviction thereof shall be liable in the case of a first offence to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds, and in the case of any subsequent offence to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(2) Where any person having a permit issued to him under this section, sells, purchases, or has in his possession in, or brings into, or sells to a person in the area or place to which the permit relates a greater quantity of the materials specified in the permit than is thereby permitted, such person shall for the purpose of this section be deemed to have sold, purchased, had in his possession in, or brought into, such area or place without a permit the excess of such materials above the quantity permitted by the permit.

(3) On any conviction under this section the court may, if it thinks expedient so to do declare all the materials in respect of which the offence was committed and the cases and vessels containing such material to be forfeited.

(4) The Minister for Justice may issue permits to persons to sell, purchase, or have possession of any specified quantity of any material to which this section for the time being applies in any specified area or place to which this section for the time being applies or to bring any specified quantity of any such material into any such specified area or place

(5) The Minister for Justice may make regulations prescribing the terms and conditions on which permits will be issued by him under this section and may in such regulations provide for such permits being issued through members of the Gárda Síochána or (with the consent of the Minister for Finance) through officers of excise, and may also, subject to the approval of the Minister for Finance, prescribe the fees (not exceeding five shillings on each permit) to be charged by him for such permits.

(6) This section shall apply to such areas and places as the Minister for Justice shall from time to time by order appoint and shall apply to such materials capable of being used as ingredients of illicitly distilled spirits as the Minister shall, in relation to any particular area or place by order from time to time appoint.

(7) Not less than one week before making an order applying this section to any area or place or to any material in relation to any area or place, the Minister for Justice shall publish notice of his intention to make the order at least twice in each of two newspapers circulating in such area or place.