Roads Act, 1993

Temporary dwellings on national roads, etc.

69.—(1) (a) Any person who without lawful authority erects, places or retains a temporary dwelling on a national road, motorway, busway or protected road shall be guilty of an offence.

(b) Any person who without lawful authority or the consent of a road authority erects, places or retains a temporary dwelling on any other prescribed road or prescribed class, subclass or type of road shall be guilty of an offence.

(c) A consent under paragraph (b) may be given by the road authority subject to such conditions, restrictions or requirements as it thinks fit and any person who fails to comply with such conditions, restrictions or requirements shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) An authorised person may remove a temporary dwelling from a national road, motorway, busway, protected road or any other prescribed road or prescribed class, subclass or type of road.

(3) An authorised person may store, or procure the storage of, a temporary dwelling removed by him under subsection (2).

(4) Where the name and address of the owner of a temporary dwelling removed and stored under this section can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, the road authority concerned or the Commissioner shall serve a notice upon the owner informing him of the removal and storage and of the address of the place where the temporary dwelling may be claimed and recovered, requiring him to claim and recover it within one month of the date of the service of the notice and informing him of the statutory consequences of his failure to do so.

(5) A temporary dwelling removed and stored under this section shall be given to a person claiming the temporary dwelling if, but only if, he makes a declaration in writing that he is the owner of the temporary dwelling or is authorised by its owner to claim it and, at the discretion of the road authority concerned or the Commissioner, pays the amount of the expenditure reasonably incurred in removing and storing the temporary dwelling.

(6) The road authority concerned or the Commissioner may dispose, or procure the disposal, of a temporary dwelling removed and stored under this section if—

(a) the owner of the temporary dwelling fails to claim it and remove it from the place where it is stored within one month of the date on which a notice under subsection (4) was served on him, or

(b) the name and address of the owner of the temporary dwelling cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry.

(7) A temporary dwelling shall not be disposed of under this section within six weeks of the date of its removal under this section.

(8) The provisions of this section are without prejudice to the functions of a public authority under any other enactment.

(9) In this section—

“authorised person” means—

(a) a person authorised in writing by a road authority for the purposes of this section;

(b) a member of the Garda Síochána;

“temporary dwelling” means any tent, caravan, mobile home, vehicle or other structure or thing (whether on wheels or not) which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by towing, transport on a vehicle or trailer, or otherwise), and—

(a) is used for human habitation, either permanently or from time to time, or

(b) was designed, constructed or adapted for such use,

but does not include any such temporary dwelling—

(i) used by a State authority, road authority, local authority or a statutory undertaker during the course of works on, in or under a national road, motorway, busway, protected road, or any other prescribed road or prescribed class, subclass or type of road, or

(ii) used in connection with a fire or other emergency.