Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Act, 1984

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Number 25 of 1984

REGISTRATION OF POTATO GROWERS AND POTATO PACKERS ACT, 1984

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Number 25 of 1984

REGISTRATION OF POTATO GROWERS AND POTATO PACKERS ACT, 1984

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A REGISTER OF POTATO GROWERS AND POTATO PACKERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH. [19th December, 1984]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Interpretation.

1.—In this Act—

“authorised officer” means a person appointed under section 6 of this Act to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture;

“package” means a container in which potatoes are packed at any time before being offered for sale by retail and includes a bag, box, carton, container, envelope, net or sack in which potatoes are so packed;

“potato” means a potato grown in the State and not intended for planting;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“the Register” means the Register established under section 2 (1) of this Act;

“registered grower” means a person registered for the time being in Part I of the Register;

“registered packer” means a person registered for the time being in Part II of the Register;

“registration number” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (4) (e) of this Act;

“sell” includes agree to sell, expose for sale, invite an offer to buy and offer to sell (which expression includes a notification by a person of the price proposed by him for the sale of potatoes made by the publication of a price list or by exposing the potatoes for sale in association with a mark indicating price).

Register of growers of potatoes and of packers of potatoes.

2.—(1) The Minister shall establish and maintain a register of growers of potatoes and packers of potatoes to be known as “the Register of Potato Growers and Potato Packers” and referred to in this Act as “the Register”.

(2) Every person who—

(a) on the commencement of this Act is a grower of potatoes for sale or is a packer of potatoes for sale, or

(b) after the commencement of this Act becomes a grower of potatoes for sale or a packer of potatoes for sale,

shall, not later than thirty days after such commencement or the date on which he becomes such a grower or packer, whichever is the later, apply to the Minister to be registered in the Register.

(3) An application under subsection (2) of this section shall—

(a) be made in writing,

(b) be accompanied by a fee of £15 or such other fee as may for the time being stand prescribed, and

(c) specify the name and postal address of the applicant and whether the applicant is a grower of potatoes or a packer of potatoes or both and such other particulars, if any, as may be prescribed.

(4) Where an application is made in accordance with subsection (3) of this section and accompanied by the appropriate fee referred to in paragraph (b) of that subsection, is received by the Minister—

(a) in case the applicant is a grower of potatoes, there shall be entered in Part I of the Register the name and postal address of the applicant.

(b) in case the applicant is a packer of potatoes, there shall be entered in Part II of the Register the name and postal address of the applicant,

(c) in case the applicant is both a grower and a packer of potatoes, there shall be entered in Parts I and II of the Register the name and postal address of the applicant,

(d) there shall be entered into the Register such other particulars (if any) contained in the application and prescribed under subsection (3) (c) of this section, and

(e) in respect of each entry in the Register the Minister shall assign a number (in this Act referred to as “a registration number”) and shall cause each registration number to be entered in the Register opposite the entry to which it is assigned.

(5) (a) Where a registered grower or a registered packer becomes aware that the particulars entered in relation to him in the Register are incorrect or incomplete, he shall, as soon as may be, convey to the Minister such particulars as are required to correct or complete the entry in the Register.

(b) The Minister may at any time cause an entry in the Register to be corrected.

(6) Where a person who is a registered grower or a registered packer is convicted of an offence under section 3 (2) of this Act the Minister may cause the registration or registrations in the Register of the person so convicted to be suspended for such period, as he thinks fit, not exceeding two months and the person so convicted shall be neither a registered grower nor a registered packer during such period.

(7) (a) The Minister, from time to time, may prescribe, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, an annual fee to be paid by registered growers and registered packers.

(b) This subsection shall come into operation on such day as shall be fixed therefor by order of the Minister.

(8) Any moneys due and owing to the Minister in respect of fees under this section may be recovered by him as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Restriction on sale of potatoes.

3.—(1) A person who grows potatoes shall not sell such potatoes unless he is a registered grower.

(2) A person shall not sell potatoes in a package unless—

(a) such potatoes have been grown by a registered grower and packed by a registered packer,

(b) in case the seller is a registered packer only or is both a registered grower and a registered packer, the package bears the registration number of the registered packer, and

(c) in case the seller is not a registered grower, a registered packer or a seller of potatoes by retail, the package bears the registration number of the registered grower or the registration number of the registered packer and the name and address of the seller of such potatoes or such other identifications as may be approved of by the Minister.

(3) It shall be an offence to contravene any provision of this section.

Evidence of contents of register.

4.—(1) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act prima facie evidence of any entry in the Register may be given by the production of a document purporting to be a copy of such entry and to be certified as being a true copy by an officer of the Minister authorised in that behalf by the Minister, and it shall not be necessary in such a prosecution to prove that the officer was in fact an officer of the Minister or was in fact so authorised.

(2) In a prosecution for an offence under this Act the production of a document purporting to be a certificate signed by an officer of the Minister authorised in that behalf by the Minister and stating that a person is not a registered grower or a registered packer shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein and without proof of either the signature thereon or that the signature is that of such officer or that he was in fact so authorised.

Regulations.

5.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this Act:

Provided that, in so far as such regulations are made for the purposes of section 2 (3) (b) of this Act, such Regulations shall not be made without the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may make regulations providing for the keeping of records by registered growers and registered packers in relation to such matters as may be specified in the regulations.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.

Authorised officers.

6.—(1) The Minister may appoint such and so many of his officers as he thinks fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of this Act.

(2) An authorised officer appointed under subsection (1) of this section shall not be a grower or packer of potatoes for sale.

(3) Every authorised officer shall be furnished with a warrant of his appointment as an authorised officer, and, when exercising any power conferred on an authorised officer by this Act, shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the warrant to that person.

Powers of authorised officers.

7.—(1) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of obtaining any information which the Minister may require for enabling him to exercise any of the functions conferred on him by this Act—

(a) enter and inspect, at all reasonable times, any land on which the officer reasonably believes that potatoes are being grown for sale, packed for sale or offered for sale and require the occupier of such land—

(i) to produce to the officer any books, records or documents relating to the growing of potatoes, packing of potatoes or sale of potatoes on such land,

(ii) to give to the officer such information within his knowledge as the officer may reasonably require with regard to entries in such books, documents or records, or

(iii) to give to the officer such packages of potatoes found on such land as the officer may reasonably require for the purposes of any proceedings in respect of offences under this Act,

and

(b) enter and inspect, at all reasonable times, any vehicle which the officer believes to contain packages of potatoes, and require the person in charge of such vehicle—

(i) to produce to the officer any records or documents in his possession relating to any packages of potatoes on such vehicle,

(ii) to give to the officer such information within his knowledge as the officer may reasonably require with regard to entries in such documents or records, or

(iii) to give to the officer such packages of potatoes found on the vehicle as the officer may reasonably require for the purposes of any proceedings in respect of offences under this Act.

(2) Any person who obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the exercise of any of his powers under subsection (1) of this section or does not comply with a requirement of an authorised officer under the said subsection (1), shall be guilty of an offence under this section.

Offences.

8.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(2) An offence under this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister.

Offences by bodies corporate.

9.—Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, any person who, when the offence was committed, was a director, member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the body concerned, or the manager, secretary or other officer of the body, that person shall also be deemed to have committed the offence and may be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Expenses of Minister.

10.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Short title and commencement.

11.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Registration of Potato Growers and Potato Packers Act, 1984.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister shall by order appoint.