State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014

PART 9

Amendment of Transport (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Act 1982 and Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act 1995

Amendment of Transport (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Act 1982

54. The Transport (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Act 1982 is amended—

(a) in section 2(1), after the definition of “overseas travel contract” by inserting the following:

‘retailer’ and ‘organiser’ have the meaning assigned to each of them, respectively, in the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act 1995 ;

‘sufficient evidence of security’, in relation to a package, means sufficient evidence of security for the refund of money paid over and for the repatriation of a consumer in the event of insolvency of the retailer or organiser of the package in compliance with the requirements of—

(a) section 22 of the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act 1995 , or

(b) if the retailer or organiser is established in another Member State, measures giving effect to Article 7 of Council Directive No. 90/314/EEC of 13 June 19901 in the other Member State;”,

(b) by substituting for sections 4 and 5 the following:

Restriction on carrying on business as tour operator

4. A person established in the State, shall not carry on business as a tour operator in the State or hold himself or herself out, by advertisement or otherwise, as carrying on such business unless he or she—

(a) is the holder of a licence granted under section 6 to carry on such business, or

(b) being a retailer or organiser of packages established in the State, has—

(i) sufficient evidence of security in respect of packages offered for sale or sold by him or her, and

(ii) has provided a notification to that effect, in the English language, to the Commission for Aviation Regulation before carrying on such business.

Restriction on carrying on business as travel agent

5. A person established in the State, shall not carry on business as a travel agent in the State or hold himself or herself out, by advertisement or otherwise, as carrying on such business unless he or she—

(a) is the holder of a licence granted under section 6 to carry on such business, or

(b) being a retailer or organiser of packages established in the State, has—

(i) sufficient evidence of security in respect of packages offered for sale or sold by him or her, and

(ii) has provided a notification to that effect, in the English language, to the Commission for Aviation Regulation before carrying on such business.

Requirements on a retailer or organiser of packages established in another Member State carrying on business in State

5A. (1) A retailer or organiser of packages whose place of establishment is in another Member State shall not carry on business, including on a temporary basis, either physically or at a distance, as a retailer or organiser of packages or hold himself or herself out, by advertisement or otherwise, as carrying on such business in the State unless he or she—

(a) has sufficient evidence of security in respect of packages offered for sale or sold by him or her in the State, and

(b) has provided a notification to that effect, in the English language, to the Commission for Aviation Regulation before carrying on such business in the State.

(2) A tour operator or travel agent, whose place of establishment is in another Member State, other than a retailer or organiser of packages, may carry on business in the State, including on a temporary basis, either physically or at a distance.

(3) In this section, ‘carrying on business in the State’ means the sale of travel services in the State for travel which commences within the State to destinations outside the State.”,

and

(c) by substituting for section 20 the following:

Offence - contravening section 4 or 5 and penalties

20. (1) A person who carries on business, or holds himself or herself as carrying on business—

(a) as a tour operator, retailer or organiser of packages, in contravention of section 4, or

(b) as a travel agent, retailer or organiser of packages, in contravention of section 5,

commits an offence and is liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €250,000.

(2) A person who for the purposes of obtaining for himself or herself or any other person a licence under section 6 makes a statement which he or she knows to be false or misleading or who recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular commits an offence and is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000,

and any such licence obtained by him or her as a result of that statement is void and of no effect.

(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section the court shall, unless it is satisfied that there are special and substantial reasons for not so doing, order that person to pay to the Minister the costs and expenses, measured by the court, incurred by the Minister in relation to the investigation, detection and prosecution of the offence.”

1 OJ No. L158, 23.6.1990, p. 59