Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006

Chapter 6

Dumping at Sea

Amendment of Dumping at Sea Act 1996.

103.— The Dumping at Sea Act 1996 is amended—

(a) in section 1—

(i) by inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘exclusive economic zone of the State’ and ‘inland waters and territorial seas of the State’ have the meanings assigned by Part 3 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006;”,

(ii) by substituting for the definition of “the maritime area” the following:

“ ‘ the maritime area ’ comprises—

(I) the inland waters and territorial seas of the State, and the seabed and subsoil beneath them,

(II) any area for the time being standing designated by order under section 2 of the Continental Shelf Act 1968 for the purposes of that Act, and the waters above it, and

(III) the exclusive economic zone of the State;”,

and

(iii) by deleting the definition of “territorial seas of the State”,

(b) in section 6(1), by substituting for paragraph (f) the following:

“(f) Every member of the Permanent Defence Forces (not below the rank of leading seaman or corporal) for the time being serving on board any ship, vessel or aircraft belonging to or employed in the service of the State shall be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.”,

(c) in section 10(2)(b), by inserting after “Attorney General” the following:

“or the Director of Public Prosecutions, from the day appointed by an order made under section 12 (inserted by section 103 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006) of this Act,”,

and

(d) by inserting the following section after section 11:

“Prosecution of offences by DPP.

12.— (1) The Government, on the request of the Attorney General, may by order appoint a day from which the Director of Public Prosecutions, subject to subsection (2), is the prosecutor, in lieu of the Attorney General, of offences under this Act. That order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.

(2) Any proceedings which have been instituted in the name of the Attorney General before the commencement of an order under subsection (1) are still pending and have not been determined before that commencement continue in the name of the Attorney General after that commencement.

(3) Section 11 of this Act stands repealed upon the commencement of an order made under subsection (1).”.