Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023
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Interpretation - general | ||
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2. (1) In this Act— | ||
“AA” means appropriate assessment; | ||
“act” includes an ongoing activity; | ||
“Act of 1869” means the Irish Church Act 1869 ; | ||
“Act of 1878” means the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 ; | ||
“Act of 1882” means the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882; | ||
“Act of 1892” means the Ancient Monuments Protection (Ireland) Act 1892; | ||
“Act of 1903” means the Irish Land Act 1903 ; | ||
“Act of 1910” means the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910; | ||
“Act of 1925” means the Shannon Electricity Act 1925 ; | ||
“Act of 1930” means the National Monuments Act 1930 ; | ||
“Act of 1954” means the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1954 ; | ||
“Act of 1956” means the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 ; | ||
“Act of 1964” means the Registration of Title Act 1964 ; | ||
“Act of 1987” means the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1987 ; | ||
“Act of 1993” means the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act 1993 ; | ||
“Act of 1994” means the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994 ; | ||
“Act of 1995” means the Heritage Act 1995 ; | ||
“Act of 1997” means the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997 ; | ||
“Act of 2000” means the Planning and Development Act 2000 ; | ||
“Act of 2001” means, other than in Chapter 4 of Part 13 , the Local Government Act 2001 ; | ||
“Act of 2014” means the Companies Act 2014 ; | ||
“Act of 2021” means, other than in Chapter 8 of Part 13 , the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021; | ||
“amenity”, in relation to a monument or thing, includes the setting of the monument or thing, and “amenity value” shall be construed accordingly; | ||
“Ancient Monuments Protection Acts” means the Act of 1882, the Act of 1892 and the Act of 1910; | ||
“appropriate assessment” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 2 of the Habitats Regulations; | ||
“archaeological excavation” means digging or excavating in or under any land (whether with or without removing the surface of the land) for the purpose of searching for, identifying, locating or exposing archaeological heritage, whether or not such heritage is known to be on, in or under that land; | ||
“archaeological heritage” means relevant things of archaeological interest and archaeological objects; | ||
“archaeological monitoring” means the monitoring, overseeing or supervising of any digging or excavating on, in or under any land (whether with or without removing the surface of the land) where— | ||
(a) the digging or excavating is not in connection with archaeological excavation or any other archaeological purpose, and | ||
(b) the monitoring, overseeing or supervising is for the purpose of identifying archaeological heritage which may be found or uncovered in the course of or as a result of such digging or excavating, whether or not such heritage is known to be on, in or under that land; | ||
“archaeological object” means— | ||
(a) either— | ||
(i) a chattel, or | ||
(ii) a chattel situated at or removed from a relevant thing of a relevant interest or a monument, | ||
that, by reason of the archaeological interest attaching to it or of its association with any historic event, period, subject or person, has a cultural, monetary or scientific value greater than its intrinsic value, | ||
(b) a chattel collected in the course of the carrying out or undertaking of archaeological excavation, archaeological monitoring or the searching for archaeological objects lying exposed on the surface of land, or | ||
(c) an historic object having no known owner; | ||
“archaeology” means the study of past human societies of all periods, either as a whole or of various aspects of them, through the material remains of all forms, moveable and immoveable, left by those societies and the evidence of their environment, and includes the study of climatological, ecological, geological, geomorphological or pedological factors relevant to understanding the nature or context of those societies or the distribution or nature of their material remains, and “archaeological interest” shall be construed accordingly; | ||
“architectural heritage” means— | ||
(a) structures and buildings together with their settings and attendant grounds, fixtures and fittings, | ||
(b) groups of structures and buildings referred to in paragraph (a), and | ||
(c) sites, | ||
that are of archaeological, architectural, cultural, historic, scientific, social or technical interest; | ||
“architectural history” means the history of architecture, including its cultural, economic and social context; | ||
“art history” means the history of art, including its cultural, economic and social context; | ||
“battlefield” includes— | ||
(a) any area or areas (to the extent (if any) that it or they can be both identified and geographically defined) where the majority of the combat (including any significant military engagement) or related activities of a battle took place, and | ||
(b) any sites or places directly associated with the conduct, command or direction of a battle (including any significant military engagement) or related activities of a battle, whether or not contiguous with or to an area or areas referred to in paragraph (a); | ||
“Board” means the Board of the National Museum of Ireland; | ||
“building” includes— | ||
(a) the trade fixtures, domestic fixtures and ornamental fixtures of the building, | ||
(b) the machinery and equipment fixed or attached to the building, and | ||
(c) any other fixtures of the building; | ||
“chattel” means a chattel of artificial or natural origin (including animal, human or plant remains) and whether or not it has been artificially altered; | ||
“Church Temporalities Commission” means the Commissioners of Church Temporalities in Ireland; | ||
“class” includes a subclass; | ||
“code of practice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 213 ; | ||
“Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland; | ||
“company” means— | ||
(a) a company formed and registered under the Act of 2014, or | ||
(b) an existing company; | ||
“consent” means prior consent in writing; | ||
“contiguous zone” shall be construed in accordance with section 12 of the Act of 2021 and, for the purposes of this Act, includes the land underlying such zone; | ||
“copy” means a copy in any form (including electronic form); | ||
“Council” means the body established by section 5 of the Act of 1995 and known as The Heritage Council; | ||
“cultural interest” includes artistic, literary, linguistic or traditional interest; | ||
“Department” means the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; | ||
“deposit” includes a group, cluster or spread of archaeological objects on, in or under land; | ||
“detection device”— | ||
(a) subject to paragraph (b), means a device designed or adapted for, or capable of being used for, detecting or locating a deposit, feature, metal or mineral underneath the surface of land, and | ||
(b) does not include— | ||
(i) a camera operating in visible wavelengths, or | ||
(ii) equipment the sole function of which is the preparation or compilation of topographical surveys of the surface of land; | ||
“dig” or “excavate” includes augur, bore, core, drill, dredge or tunnel; | ||
“Director” means the Director of the National Museum of Ireland; | ||
“EIA” means environmental impact assessment within the meaning of the EIA Directive; | ||
“EIA Directive” means Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 1 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 20142 ; | ||
“enactment” means— | ||
(a) an Act of the Oireachtas, | ||
(b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of coming into operation of the Constitution and that continued in force by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution, or | ||
(c) an instrument made under an Act of the Oireachtas or a statute referred to in paragraph (b); | ||
“enforcement notice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 193 ; | ||
“environment” includes climate, landscape, flora and fauna life; | ||
“existing company” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Act of 2014; | ||
“export” means the export or removal from the State of any goods (being things of any kind, whether animate or inanimate) to a place outside the State; | ||
“extent of the territorial application of this Act” shall be construed in accordance with section 4 ; | ||
“find”, in relation to the finding of a relevant thing of a relevant interest or an archaeological object on, in or under land, or floating on or under any waters, means find within the extent of the territorial application of this Act, and includes— | ||
(a) to expose, uncover or in any way come upon, locate, identify or encounter a relevant thing of a relevant interest or an archaeological object, whether or not during the course of carrying out any works or searching or other activity and whether or not the works, searching or other activity were or was for the purpose of finding relevant things of a relevant interest or archaeological objects, and | ||
(b) to find with or by the use of a camera, detection device or other form of survey or other equipment; | ||
“functional area”, in relation to a local authority, means the functional area, within the meaning of section 198 of the Act of 2001, of the local authority; | ||
“general protection”, in relation to a thing (howsoever described in this Act), means that section 27 applies to the thing pursuant to— | ||
(a) section 21 , or | ||
(b) section 23 (3); | ||
“geographical area” means any geographical area to which this Act applies by virtue of section 4 ; | ||
“give”, in relation to a notice or other document that is required to be given to a person under this Act, shall be construed in accordance with section 221 ; | ||
“Habitats Directive” means Council Directive 92/43/EC of 21 May 19923 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora as amended by Council Directive 97/62/EC of 27 October 19974 , Regulation (EC) No. 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 September 20035 , Council Directive 2006/105/EC of 20 November 20066 and Council Directive 2013/17/EU of 13 May 20137 ; | ||
“Habitats Regulations” means the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 477 of 2011 ); | ||
“historic” includes historical; | ||
“historic heritage” includes— | ||
(a) archaeological heritage, architectural heritage, landscapes, wrecks one hundred or more years old or otherwise of historic interest and historic objects, and | ||
(b) relevant things of a relevant interest that do not already fall within paragraph (a); | ||
“historic interest” includes association with, or being representative of, historic events, periods, persons, subjects or themes; | ||
“historic object” means a chattel which is of archaeological, architectural, historic or other cultural or scientific interest, and includes— | ||
(a) moveable mechanisms of transport of such interest, and | ||
(b) moveable objects within or associated with relevant things of a relevant interest; | ||
“history” includes architectural, art, economic, military, political, religious, scientific, social or technical history; | ||
“immediate surroundings”, in relation to a monument, means such areas immediately surrounding the monument, in addition to the surrounding area (if any) of the monument, where works, if carried out therein, could adversely affect— | ||
(a) the monument, or | ||
(b) any relevant thing of a relevant interest which, taking into account the type of monument which the monument is, it would be reasonable to consider might be in the vicinity of the monument; | ||
“import” means the import or bringing into the State of goods (being things of any kind, whether animate or inanimate) from a place outside the State; | ||
“internal waters” shall be construed in accordance with section 8 of the Act of 2021; | ||
“Irish vessel” means— | ||
(a) a ship which is an Irish ship within the meaning of— | ||
(i) subject to subparagraph (ii), section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 , or | ||
(ii) on and from the commencement of section 7 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014 , section 33 of that Act, | ||
or | ||
(b) a vessel which is— | ||
(i) not registered under the law of another country, and | ||
(ii) owned by, or leased or chartered to— | ||
(I) an individual resident in the State, or | ||
(II) a company; | ||
“land” includes— | ||
(a) tenements, hereditaments, houses and buildings, land covered by water and any estate, right, title or interest in or over land, | ||
(b) the substratum of land, | ||
(c) the sea bed, and | ||
(d) the substratum of the sea bed; | ||
“land covered by water” includes land normally covered by water and the foreshore within the meaning of section 1 of the Foreshore Act 1933 ; | ||
“landscape” has the same meaning as it has in Article 1 of the European Landscape Convention done at Florence on 20 October 2000; | ||
“licence” means a licence granted under section 151 ; | ||
“licensable activity” means an activity or other thing referred to in this Act the doing of which requires, as specified in this Act, a licence; | ||
“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2001; | ||
“member of the naval service” means a member of the Naval Service of the Defence Forces; | ||
“Minister” means, subject to subsection (7), the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; | ||
“monument” means— | ||
(a) a registered monument, or | ||
(b) a prescribed monument which is not a registered monument; | ||
“monument to which general protection applies” means— | ||
(a) a registered monument other than a registered monument to which special protection applies pursuant to section 20 (1) or 24 (1), | ||
(b) a potential Register action monument ( section 23 ) to which general protection applies pursuant to section 23 (3), or | ||
(c) a prescribed monument (not being a registered monument); | ||
“monument to which special protection applies” means— | ||
(a) a registered monument to which special protection applies pursuant to section 20 (1) or 24 (1), or | ||
(b) a potential Register action monument ( section 22 ) to which special protection applies pursuant to section 22 (3); | ||
“national monument” has the meaning assigned to it by section 74 ; | ||
“national monument (LA)” has the meaning assigned to it by section 74 ; | ||
“national monument (M)” has the meaning assigned to it by section 74 ; | ||
“National Monuments Acts” means the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014; | ||
“national newspaper” means a newspaper published and circulating generally in the State, whether in hard copy or electronic form, or both; | ||
“new authorisation” means a licence, consent, approval, permission or direction granted, issued or given under this Act; | ||
“officer of the Commissioners” includes— | ||
(a) a civil servant (within the meaning of the Act of 1956), whether established or unestablished, who is assigned to perform duties in the Office of Public Works, and | ||
(b) any person employed by the Commissioners whether on a contract of service or for service; | ||
“officer of the Minister” includes— | ||
(a) a civil servant (within the meaning of the Act of 1956), whether established or unestablished, who is assigned to perform duties in the Department of State of which the Minister has charge, and | ||
(b) any person employed by the Minister whether on a contract of service or for service; | ||
“old authorisation” means a licence, consent, approval, permission or direction granted, issued or given under an enactment repealed by section 7 ; | ||
“owner”— | ||
(a) in relation to land, means a person (other than an owner exception or a mortgagee not in possession) who, whether in his or her own right or as trustee or agent of any other person— | ||
(i) is entitled to receive the rack rent of the land, or | ||
(ii) if the land is not let at rack rent, would be entitled to receive the rack rent of the land if it were so let, | ||
(b) in relation to a chattel, means any one or more of the following: | ||
(i) a person for the time being having such estate or interest in the chattel as to entitle him or her to the actual possession of it; | ||
(ii) a bailor of the chattel; | ||
(iii) the donor of the chattel as a conditional gift, | ||
(c) in relation to a requirement under this Act to give notice to an owner of land, shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (a), and | ||
(d) in relation to a requirement under this Act to give notice to the owner of a chattel (including a wreck), shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (b); | ||
“owner exception”, in relation to land, means— | ||
(a) a tenant of the land whose tenancy is for a period of not more than one year, | ||
(b) a tenant at will of the land, | ||
(c) a tenant at sufferance of the land, | ||
(d) a person entitled to occupancy of the land by or under a licence (whether granted under this Act or another enactment), or | ||
(e) a person whose occupancy of the land is adverse to the rights of another person not barred from an action for recovery of the land; | ||
“possession”, in relation to any thing (other than land), includes to control the thing; | ||
“potential Register action ( section 22 )” shall be construed in accordance with section 22 (1); | ||
“potential Register action ( section 23 )”, shall be construed in accordance with section 23 (1); | ||
“potential Register action monument ( section 22 )”, in relation to a potential Register action ( section 22 ), means— | ||
(a) the prescribed monument, | ||
(b) the relevant thing of a relevant interest, or | ||
(c) the registered monument, | ||
as the case may be, that is the subject of that potential Register action ( section 22 ); | ||
“potential Register action monument ( section 23 )”, in relation to a potential Register action ( section 23 ), means— | ||
(a) the prescribed monument, | ||
(b) the relevant thing of a relevant interest, or | ||
(c) the registered monument, | ||
as the case may be, that is the subject of that potential Register action ( section 23 ); | ||
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act; | ||
“prescribed monument” shall be construed in accordance with section 12 (1)(d); | ||
“protect” includes preserve, conserve and maintain; | ||
“public authority” means— | ||
(a) a Minister of the Government (or a Minister of State), | ||
(b) the Commissioners, | ||
(c) a body (not being a local authority) established by or under an enactment (other than the Act of 2014)— | ||
(i) which is not an existing company, and | ||
(ii) the principal function of which is not the provision of financial services to the public, | ||
or | ||
(d) a company (not being a company the principal function of which is the provision of financial services to the public) all of the shares in which are held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government (or a Minister of State); | ||
“publish” includes cause to publish and make available to the public in an electronic or other non-legible form (whether on the internet or otherwise) which is capable of being converted into a permanent legible form; | ||
“Register” means the Register of Monuments established under section 14 (1); | ||
“registered monument” means— | ||
(a) a relevant thing of a relevant interest the particulars of which are entered in the Register pursuant to section 14 (3)(a), | ||
(b) a prescribed monument the particulars of which are entered in the Register pursuant to section 14 (3)(b); | ||
“relevant date” shall be construed in accordance with section 48 (3); | ||
“relevant interest”, in relation to a relevant thing, means that the thing is of known or potential archaeological, architectural, historic or cultural interest (or any combination thereof); | ||
“relevant thing” means any of the following things, whether situated on, in or under land and whether or not attached to the surface of the land or forming part of land and whether or not intentionally or originally in the sites where they respectively are: | ||
(a) any artificial structure, construction, deposit, feature or layer (including any building and any burial or interment); | ||
(b) any artificially altered structure, construction, deposit, feature or layer, whether or not natural in origin; | ||
(c) any wreck; | ||
(d) any ritual or ceremonial site; | ||
(e) any site where an historic event took place, including any other site directly associated with that event; | ||
(f) any battlefield; | ||
(g) any site with legendary or mythological associations; | ||
(h) any feature, deposit or layer, whether or not natural in origin and whether or not artificially altered, containing or providing information or evidence relating to the past environment; | ||
“relevant works” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25 ; | ||
“sea” includes— | ||
(a) an area which is submerged at high water of ordinary spring tides, | ||
(b) an estuary or arm of the sea, and | ||
(c) the tidal waters of a channel, creek, bay, river, canal, waterway or other watercourse; | ||
“sea bed” means land under sea, and includes silts or other deposits lying on the land or on or within a wreck; | ||
“site” includes location and place; | ||
“special protection”, in relation to a thing (howsoever described in this Act), means that section 30 applies to the thing pursuant to— | ||
(a) section 20 (1), | ||
(b) section 22 (3), | ||
(c) section 24 (1), or | ||
(d) section 135 ; | ||
“specified”, in relation to a form, means specified under section 223 ; | ||
“surrounding area”, in relation to a registered monument, shall be construed in accordance with section 14 (4); | ||
“territorial seas” shall be construed in accordance with section 7 of the Act of 2021; | ||
“this Act” includes a statutory instrument made under this Act; | ||
“traditional interest” includes of interest by virtue of folklore, folklife, myth or legend; | ||
“Valletta Convention” means the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised) done at Valletta on 16 January 1992; | ||
“water” includes the water of rivers, streams, canals, waterways, ponds, lakes or any other form of watercourse or body of water or sea; | ||
“works” means any act (whether new or habitual and including an act relating to archaeological excavation) of ground disturbance (including digging, ploughing or excavation), dumping (including dumping at sea or on, in or over land covered by water), planting, cutting (including cutting of vegetation), construction, demolition, deposition, burning (including burning of vegetation), extension, alteration (including any alteration which causes damage or defacement), repair, removal, renovation, refurbishment, renewal, or salvage (including marine or maritime salvage); | ||
“World Heritage Property” shall be construed in accordance with section 91 ; | ||
“wreck” means any form of watercraft or vessel (whether intended for use above or below the surface of the water) or aircraft or any part or element thereof, lying on, in or under the sea bed or land covered by water, and any things contained in or on such watercraft, vessel or aircraft, or any objects which were formerly so contained and are lying on, in or under the sea bed or on or in land covered by water; | ||
“wreck 100 or more years old” means a wreck which has been lying, as referred to in the definition of “wreck”, for a period of 100 or more years and regardless of whether the wreck is exposed or has been exposed at any time. | ||
(2) For the purposes of the definitions of “archaeological object” and “historic object”, a chattel embedded, in whole or in part, in land which, if it were not so embedded, would in the normal course be moveable (including any moveable tool, implement, utensil, ornament or any other similar or like moveable thing or any vehicle, watercraft, vessel or aircraft or any moveable mechanism of transport) shall not be considered to have become annexed to the land. | ||
(3) A reference in this Act to a thing (howsoever described) being done under and in accordance with a licence includes a reference to— | ||
(a) such thing being done in accordance with all the conditions (if any) of the licence, and | ||
(b) the fulfilment or compliance with all the conditions (if any) of such licence before, during or after the doing of such thing. | ||
(4) The functions vested in the Commissioners under this Act may be vested in the Minister pursuant to an order under section 9 (1) or (2) of the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 . | ||
(5) A reference in this Act to any of the following things includes a reference to a part of the thing concerned: | ||
(a) aircraft; | ||
(b) archaeological object; | ||
(c) architectural heritage; | ||
(d) building; | ||
(e) chattel; | ||
(f) deposit; | ||
(g) historic object; | ||
(h) monument; | ||
(i) relevant thing; | ||
(j) wreck. | ||
(6) A reference in this Act to a member of the naval service is a reference to such member acting at the request made, whether specifically or generally, by a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector. | ||
(7) (a) A reference to the Minister in the definition of “officer of the Minister” in subsection (1) or in section 3 (2), 6 , 156 or 222 includes a reference to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media. | ||
(b) A reference to the Minister in the definition of “prescribed” in subsection (1) or in section 5 means, in the case of regulations made or to be made under Part 4 , a reference to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media. | ||
(c) A reference to the Minister in the definition of “prescribed” in subsection (1) or in section 5 includes, in the case of regulations made or to be made under section 152 , a reference to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media. | ||
(d) A reference to the Minister in Part 4 (except in paragraph (a) of the definition of “relevant person” in section 95 ), section 133 , subsection (1) of section 158 (in so far as that subsection relates to inventories of, or in relation to, historic objects) or Schedule 4 means the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media. | ||
2 OJ No. L124, 25.4.2014, p. 1 4OJ No. L305, 8.11.1997, p. 42 5OJ No. L284, 31.10.2003, p. 1 |