Workmen's Compensation Act, 1934

Application of Act to crews of certain ships.

66.—(1) This Act applies to masters, seamen and apprentices to the sea service and apprentices in the sea-fishing service who are workmen within the meaning of this Act and are members of the crew of any ship to which this section applies, subject to the following modifications, that is to say:—

(a) the notice of accident may, except where the person injured is the master, be given to the master of the ship as if he were the employer, but where the accident happened and the incapacity commenced on board the ship it shall not be necessary to give any notice of the accident;

(b) the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 29 (which relates to notices of accidents in mines and factories) of this Act shall apply to ships and the masters thereof in like manner as it applies to factories and the occupiers thereof;

(c) in case of the death of the master, seaman or apprentice, proceedings to recover compensation shall be commenced within six months after news of the death by accident has been received by the claimant;

(d) where—

(i) an injured master, seaman, or apprentice is discharged or left behind in any country outside Saorstát Eireann, and

(ii) proceedings are taken under this Act by or in respect of such master, seaman or apprentice, and

(iii) the deposition of any witness respecting the circumstances and nature of the injury has been taken in any such country on oath by a person entitled by the law to take in that country affidavits for use in matters before the High Court, and

(iv) such deposition purports to be sealed with the seal and to have affixed thereto the signature of such person,

such deposition shall, upon due proof that such witness is not in Saorstát Eireann, be received in such proceedings as prima facie evidence of the matters stated therein without proof of the seal or signature of such person or of the status or official character of such person;

(e) in the case of the death of a master, seaman or apprentice leaving no dependants, no compensation shall be payable if the owner of the ship is, under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , liable to pay the expenses of burial;

(f) the weekly payment shall not be payable in respect of the period during which the owner of the ship is, under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , as amended by any subsequent enactments, or otherwise, liable to defray the expenses of the injured master, seaman or apprentice;

(g) any sum payable by way of compensation by the owner of a ship under this Act shall be paid in full notwithstanding anything in section 503 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , but the limitation on the owner's liability imposed by that section shall apply to the amount recoverable by way of indemnity under section 61 (which relates to remedies both against employer and stranger) of this Act, as if the indemnity were damages for loss of life or personal injury;

(h) sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 174 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , shall apply as respects proceedings for the recovery of compensation by dependants of masters, seamen and apprentices lost with their ship as they apply with respect to proceedings for the recovery of wages due to seamen and apprentices, and proceedings for the recovery of compensation shall in such case be maintained if they are commenced within 18 months of the date at which the ship is deemed to be lost with all hands.

(2) This Act shall not by virtue of the immediately preceding sub-section apply to such members of the crew of a fishing boat which is a ship to which this section applies as are remunerated wholly or mainly by shares in the profits or the gross earnings of the working of such boat.

(3) For the purposes of this section a pilot to whom the Pilotage Act, 1913 , applies shall when employed on any ship to which this section applies be deemed to be a seaman and a member of the crew of such ship.

(4) This section applies to—

(a) every ship registered in Saorstát Eireann under the Merchant Shipping Acts, and also

(b) every ship not so registered which complies with the following conditions, namely—

(i) either is a ship qualified for registry in Saorstát Eireann under the Merchant Shipping Acts, or a ship qualified for registry outside Saorstát Eireann under the said Acts, or a ship registered outside Saorstát Eireann under the said Acts; and

(ii) is a ship of which the owner, or (if there is more than one owner) the managing owner, or the manager resides or has his principal place of business in Saorstát Eireann.