Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995

Amendment of sections 1, 3, 7 and 10 of Act of 1968.

4.—(1) Section 1 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following definition after the definition of “designated area”:

“‘energy product’ means electricity, natural gas, petroleum or any derivative of petroleum;”;

and

(b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “installation” (inserted by the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987 ):

“‘installation’ includes—

(a) any floating structure or device maintained on a station by whatever means,

(b) any vessel which is for the time being within the vicinity of an installation (including a structure or device aforesaid) and being used in connection with the operation of the installation;”.

(2) The following section is hereby substituted for section 3 of the Act of 1968:

“3.—(1) (a) Any act which—

(i) is done on an installation in a designated area, and

(ii) would, if done in the State, constitute an offence under the law of the State,

shall be deemed, for all the purposes relating to the offence, to be done in the State.

(b) Any act which—

(i) is done on any waters in a designated area or under or above any waters or installation in a designated area and—

(I) is done in connection with the exploration of the sea bed or subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources, or

(II) is done in connection with the operation of a pipe-line or cable for the transport or transmission of an energy product derived from the said natural resources or for the transport or transmission of an energy product to or from the State, or

(III) interferes with, or could interfere with, such exploration or exploitation or the operation of such a pipe-line or cable,

and

(ii) would, if done in the State, constitute an offence under the law of the State,

shall be deemed, for all the purposes relating to the offence, to be done in the State.

(2) (a) Any act which—

(i) is done on an installation in a designated area, and

(ii) would, if done in the State, constitute a wrong,

shall be deemed, for all the purposes relating to the wrong, to be done in the State.

(b) Any act which—

(i) is done on any waters in a designated area or under or above any waters or installation in a designated area and—

(I) is done in connection with the exploration of the sea bed or subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources, or

(II) is done in connection with the operation of a pipe-line or cable for the transport or transmission of an energy product derived from the said natural resources or for the transport or transmission of an energy product to or from the State, or

(III) interferes with, or could interfere with, such exploration or exploitation or the operation of such a pipe-line or cable,

and

(ii) would, if done in the State, constitute a wrong,

shall be deemed, for all the purposes relating to the wrong, to be done in the State.

(3) (a) References in this section to an act include references to an omission and references to the doing of an act include references to the making of an omission.

(b) In this section ‘wrong’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Civil Liability Act, 1961 .

(4) Any jurisdiction conferred on any court under this section shall be without prejudice to any jurisdiction exercisable apart from this section by that or any other court.”.

(3) Section 7 (inserted by the Sea Pollution Act, 1991 ) of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution, in subsection (1), for “in consultation with the Minister for the Marine” of “with the consent of the Minister for the Marine”;

(b) by the substitution, in subsection (1), of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) from a pipe-line or cable of any kind or in connection with the operation of a pipe-line or cable for the transport or transmission of an energy product (whether derived from natural resources referred to in paragraph (b) or not), or”;

(c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Where there is a contravention of any such regulations the owner of the pipe-line or cable or, as the case may be, the person carrying on the operations shall be guilty of an offence.”;

and

(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) In this section—

‘discharge’ in relation to any oil, oily mixture, noxious liquid substance, harmful substance, sewage or garbage means any release, howsoever caused, of such a substance, including any escape, disposal, spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting or emptying of such a substance, but does not include—

(a) dumping, within the meaning of the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981 , or

(b) the release of any oil, oily mixture, noxious liquid substance or harmful substance for the purpose of legitimate scientific research into pollution abatement or control;

‘oil’, ‘oily mixture’, ‘noxious liquid substance’, ‘harmful substance’, ‘sewage’ and ‘garbage’ have the same meanings as in the Sea Pollution Act, 1991 .”.

(4) (a) Section 10 of the Act of 1968 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) treating as insurable employment for all or any of the purposes of the Social Welfare Acts any employment prescribed by the regulations which is employment in connection with—

(i) the exploitation of the resources mentioned in section 2 (1) of this Act,

(ii) the exploration of the sea bed or subsoil in any designated area, or

(iii) the operation of a pipe-line or cable for—

(I) the transport or transmission of an energy product derived from resources as aforesaid,

(II) the transport or transmission of an energy product to or from the State,

being a pipe-line or cable situate in a designated area,

notwithstanding that such employment is not employment in the State,”.

(b) Regulations in force immediately before the passing of this Act under paragraph (a) of section 10 of the Act of 1968 shall continue in force as if made under the paragraph inserted in that section by this subsection and may be amended or revoked accordingly.