First Previous (PART V Enforcement) Next (PART VII Related and Consequential Amendments and Commencement)

12 1997

LITTER POLLUTION ACT, 1997

PART VI

General

Minister may issue directions and guidelines, etc.

29. —(1) The Minister may issue policy directions to any local authority in respect of the application and carrying out of the provisions of this Act where the Minister is of the opinion that the local authority should follow such directions in order to effectively exercise its functions under this Act.

(2) The Minister shall prepare and issue to local authorities guidelines and criteria in relation to the prevention and control of litter, including guidelines and criteria on appropriate objectives to be specified by local authorities under section 11 (2).

(3) The Minister may revoke or amend any direction, guideline or criteria issued under this section.

(4) The Minister shall cause a notice of every policy direction issued to a local authority under subsection (1) to be published at least once in a newspaper circulating in the functional area of the local authority.

(5) A local authority shall—

(a) in performing its functions under this Act, have regard to any policy direction issued to it under subsection (1), and

(b) in the making of its litter management plan under section 10 and in performing its functions under this Act, have regard to the guidelines and criteria issued to it under subsection (2).

Extension of purposes for which regulations under Waste Management Act, 1996, may be made.

30. —The purposes for which regulations under sections 28 and 29 of the Waste Management Act, 1996, may be made shall include the purposes of preventing, minimising or controlling litter under this Act.

Regulations.

31. —(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or as may be prescribed and for the purposes of enabling any provision of this Act to have full effect.

(2) Any such regulation may be made to apply to local authorities generally, to any class of local authority or to a particular local authority.

(3) Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Service of notices.

32. —(1) Any notice required to be served or given by or under this Act shall be addressed to the person concerned and served or given in one of the following ways—

(a) by addressing it to the person by name and delivering it to the person,

(b) by leaving it at the address at which the person ordinarily resides,

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to the person at the address at which the person ordinarily resides,

(d) if an address for the service of notices has been furnished by the person, by leaving it at, or sending it by prepaid registered post addressed to the person to, that address, or

(e) where the address at which the person ordinarily resides cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry and notice is required to be served on, or given to, the person in respect of any premises, by delivering it to a person over the age of 16 years of age resident in or employed on the premises, or by affixing it in a conspicuous position on or near the premises.

(2) Where the name of the person concerned cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, a notice under this Act may be addressed to “the occupier”, “the owner” or “person in charge”, as the case may be.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a company registered under the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990, shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business.

(4) A person shall not at any time during the period of 3 months after a notice is affixed under subsection (1)(e) remove, damage or deface the notice without lawful authority.

(5) A person who contravenes subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence.

Expenses.

33. —(1) The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) Expenses under this Act of a local authority being the council of a county shall be charged on the county, exclusive of any borough or urban district therein.

Disposition of moneys received by local authorities.

34. —Moneys received by a local authority under this Act shall be lodged, in the case of a local authority that is—

(a) the corporation of a county or other borough or the council of an urban district, to the credit of the municipal fund of the county borough, borough or urban district, or

(b) the council of a county, to the credit of the county fund,

and may be expended for the same purposes as other moneys credited to that fund.