Railways (Road Motor Services) Act, 1927

Approval of routes.

3.—(1) No railway company shall run a road motor service on any route which is not for the time being approved of by the Minister under this section.

(2) A railway company proposing to run a road motor service either permanently or tentatively for a period not exceeding twelve months shall submit to the Minister particulars of the route on which such company proposes to run such service and particulars of the nature of the service so proposed to be run and the Minister may, if after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health he thinks proper so to do, approve of such route either with or without modification.

(3) Whenever a route submitted to the Minister under this section by a railway company as a route for a road motor service for the conveyance of passengers is in the opinion of the Minister substantially the same in whole or in part as the route on which a road motor service for passengers is at the time of such submission run regularly by some person other than such railway company, the Minister shall not approve under this section of such first-mentioned route until he has given to such person notice of such submission and has considered such (if any) representations as may be made in regard thereto by such person.

(4) When considering whether he will or will not approve under this section of a proposed route, the Minister shall have regard to the extent to which the vehicles to be used for the purposes of the proposed road motor service on such route will be manufactured in whole or in part in Saorstát Eireann and the desirability of promoting such manufacture so far as may be reasonably practicable.

(5) If at any time it appears to the Minister that a route approved of by him under this section ought in the public interest to be re-considered, the Minister shall, after such (if any) inquiry as he thinks fit to make, re-consider such route and on such re-consideration the Minister may, if and as he thinks proper, either withdraw his approval of such route or after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health make such modifications in such route as he thinks proper.

(6) In the case of a permanent road motor service which is run for a particular part only of every year, the approval of the Minister under this section of the route on which such service is run shall (until the withdrawal and subject to any modification thereof under this section) continue in force so long as such service is run for the same or substantially the same part of every consecutive year.