PART IV.

MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL.

16. —(1) It shall not be lawful for any person, otherwise than under and in accordance with a permit in writing granted to him under this section—

(a) to print or publish or cause or procure to be printed or published, or

(b) to sell or expose, offer, or keep for sale, or

(c) to distribute, offer or keep for distribution,

any book or periodical publication (whether appearing on the register of prohibited publications or not) which advocates or which might reasonably be supposed to advocate the unnatural prevention of conception or the procurement of abortion or miscarriage or any method, treatment, or appliance to be used for the purpose of such prevention or such procurement.

(2) Every person who acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(3) A book or periodical publication containing an advertisement relating to a book or periodical publication which advocates or might reasonably be supposed to advocate within the meaning of sub-section (1) of this section one or more of the matters mentioned in that sub-section shall not, by reason only of its containing such advertisement, be deemed itself to advocate any of such matters, provided such advertisement is inserted for reward and is not and could not reasonably be supposed to be itself an advocacy of any such matter.

(4) Where a person who carries on the business of selling or distributing books or periodicals or other publications is charged with an offence under this section it shall be a good defence to such charge to prove that he committed the act alleged to constitute such offence in the ordinary course of his said business, and that he could not by the exercise of reasonable care have known or ascertained the contents of the book or other publication in respect of which such act was committed.

(5) The Minister may if he thinks fit for reasons which appear to him sufficient grant to any person a permit in writing to do all or any of the following things, that is to say, to print, publish, import, sell, keep for sale, distribute, or keep for distribution any book or periodical publication the printing, publishing, importing, selling, or distributing of which without such permit would be a contravention of this section and the Minister may grant any such permit subject to such (if any) conditions and limitations as he may think fit to impose and shall specify in such permit.

(6) The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs may by order under this section make regulations for the purpose of preventing the sending or delivery by post (otherwise than under and in accordance with a permit in writing granted under this Act) of any book or periodical publication the distribution of which is prohibited by this section.

17. —(1) The reference contained in section 3 of the Indecent Advertisements Act, 1889, to printed matter which is of an indecent or obscene character shall be deemed to include advertisements which relate or refer or may be reasonably supposed to relate or refer to any disease affecting the generative organs of either sex, or to any complaint or infirmity arising from or relating to sexual intercourse, or to the prevention or removal of irregularities in menstruation, or to drugs, medicines, appliances, treatment, or methods for procuring abortion or miscarriage or preventing conception.

(2) Any person summarily convicted of an offence under section 3 of the Indecent Advertisements Act, 1889 shall, in lieu of the punishments mentioned in that section, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months.

(3) Any person summarily convicted of an offence under section 4 of the Indecent Advertisements Act, 1889 shall, in lieu of the punishments mentioned in that section, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.

18. —(1) It shall not be lawful for any person to sell or offer, expose, or keep for sale, or import for sale any indecent picture and every person who sells or offers, exposes, or keeps for sale or imports for sale any indecent picture in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment with or without hard labour for any term not exceeding six months and, in any case, to forfeiture of every indecent picture so sold or offered, exposed, or kept for sale by him.

(2) The word “indecent” where the same occurs in section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 shall have the same meaning and construction as it has in this Act and the said section 42 shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

19. —(1) Where a Justice of the District Court is satisfied on the information on oath of an officer of the Gárda Síochána not below the rank of chief superintendent that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that in any specified building, land, premises or other place there are kept for sale any indecent pictures, such Justice may issue to such officer such search warrant as is mentioned in this section.

(2) A search warrant issued by a Justice of the District Court under this section shall be expressed and shall operate to authorise a named officer of the Gárda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent, accompanied by such other members of the Gárda Síochána as such officer shall think proper, at any time within forty-eight hours after the issue of the search warrant, and if needs be by force, to enter and search the specified building, land, premises, or other place aforesaid (which place shall be also specified in the warrant) for indecent pictures and to seize and remove all such pictures found on such search.

(3) The Obscene Publications Act, 1857 is hereby repealed.

20. —(1) The Minister may by order make regulations prescribing all or any of the following matters and things, that is to say:—

(a) the manner and form in which complaints are to be made to the Minister under this Act,

(b) the procedure of the Censorship of Publications Board and the forms to be used by them for the purposes of this Act,

(c) any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed by the Minister by regulations made under this Act.

(2) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which such House has sat after such regulation is laid before it annulling such regulation, such regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such regulation.

21. —All expenses incurred in carrying this Act into execution shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.