No. 19/1970:

HORSE INDUSTRY ACT, 1970

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1 Short title.

2 Definitions.

3 Expenses.

4 Establishment day.

5 Laying of orders and regulations before Houses of Oireachtas.

PART II BORD NA GCAPALL

6 Establishment of Board.

7 Functions of Board.

8 Members of Board.

9 Chairman of Board.

10 Seal of Board.

11 Disclosure by member of Board of interest in proposed contract.

12 Meetings and procedure of Board.

13 Grants to Board.

14 Miscellaneous powers of Board.

15 Expenditure by Board.

16 Investment by Board.

17 Acquisition and disposal of land.

18 Accounts and audits.

19 Annual report and information to the Minister.

20 Officers and servants of Board.

21 Performance of functions of Board by officers or servants.

22 Superannuation of officers and servants of Board.

23 Membership of either House of Oireachtas by officer or servant of Board.

24 Acceptance of gifts by Board.

25 Committees of Board.

PART III LICENSING OF RIDING ESTABLISHMENTS

26 Power to restrict application of Part III.

27 Interpretation (Part III).

28 Licences.

29 Provisions in relation to licences.

30 Entry and inspection of premises.

31 Miscellaneous offences.

32 Penalties.

33 Transfer of functions of Minister to Board.

34 Commencement (Part III).

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE SETTING UP OF A BOARD TO BE KNOWN AS BORD NA gCAPALL WHICH SHALL ESTABLISH A NATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRAINING IN EQUITATION, ADVISE THE MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES, AND PERFORM CERTAIN OTHER FUNCTIONS, IN RELATION TO THE BREEDING, SALE AND EXPORT OF HORSES AND ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING PARTICIPATION BY NATIONAL TEAMS IN, AND THE HOLDING IN THE STATE OF, INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN COMPETITIONS), TO PROVIDE FOR THE LICENSING OF RIDING ESTABLISHMENTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID.

[10th August, 1970.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1.—This Act may be cited as the Horse Industry Act, 1970 .

2.—In this Act—

"the Board" means Bord na gCapall established by this Act;

"the establishment day" means the day appointed to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act under section 4 of this Act;

"functions" includes powers and duties, and references to the performance of functions include references to the exercise of powers;

"horse" includes any mare, gelding, pony, foal, colt, filly or stallion and also any ass, mule or jennet;

"licence" means a licence for the time being in force granted under section 28 of this Act;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries;

"premises" includes lands.

3.—Any 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.

4.—The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

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

PART II BORD NA GCAPALL

6.—(1) There shall, by virtue of this section, be established on the establishment day a board to be known as Bord na gCapall (in this Act referred to as the Board) to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name.

7.—(1) The functions of the Board shall be—

( a ) to advise the Minister—

(i) in relation to the breeding, sale and export of horses and associated activities,

(ii) in relation to the conditions to be attached to licences,

(iii) in relation to the matters specified in paragraphs (b) to (k) of this subsection and any functions transferred to the Board under section 33 of this Act,

( b ) to co-ordinate (with the consent of the organisations or groups affected) the work of organisations or groups wholly or mainly concerned with the breeding of horses or equitation or matters connected with the matters aforesaid;

( c ) to establish, equip and operate or cause to be operated on its behalf a national centre or national centres for training in equitation;

( d ) to consult with the relevant equestrian organisations (if requested by them) about the choice of international equestrian competitions in which to enter Irish national teams or members thereof and, where such teams or members and the competitions for which they are entered are approved of by the Board, to assist the teams, or members, as the case may be in either or both of the following ways, that is to say, the provision of money to meet, in whole or in part, the costs of entering and taking part in the competitions or the provision of horses for use by the teams or members, as the case may be, in the competitions;

( e ) to encourage the holding of international equestrian competitions in the State and to assist, whether by the provision of money or otherwise, in the holding and running of such competitions;

( f ) to provide for the training of persons in the giving of instruction in equitation:.

( g ) to co-ordinate and undertake publicity on horses;

( h ) to promote the organisation of sales of horses other than thoroughbred horses,

( i ) to promote and develop the export trade in horses older than thoroughbred horses;

( j ) to provide for persons outside the State an information service of such kind as it considers appropriate in relation to horses;

( k ) to establish and administer a scheme of apprenticeship in farriery;

( l ) to undertake such other functions as may be transferred or assigned to the Board under section 33 of this Act.

(2) The Board shall have all such powers as are necessary for or incidental to the performance of its functions.

8.—(1) The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister from time to time as occasion requires but shall not exceed eleven in number.

(2) Before appointing a member of the Board, the Minister shall consult with such organisations (if any) as he thinks appropriate in relation to the appointment.

(3) The period of office of a member of the Board hall be such period, not exceeding five years, as the Minister may determine when appointing him.

(4) A member of the Board whose term of office expires by effluxion of time shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(5) A member of the Board may at any time resign his office as member by letter sent to the Minister, and the resignation shall take effect on receipt of the letter.

(6) Where a member of the Board or of a committee established by the Board is nominated either as a candidate for election to either House of the Oireachtas or as a member of Seanad Eireann, he shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Board or of the committee, as the case may be.

(7) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall, while so entitled, be disqualified from becoming a member of the Board or of a committee established by the Board.

(8) A member of the Board shall hold office on such terms as the Minister may determine from time to time.

(9) A member of the Board or of any committee established by the Board shall be paid, out of funds at the disposal of the Board, such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, considers reasonable.

(10) A member of the Board shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudicated a bankrupt or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer imprisonment or penal servitude or ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State.

(11) The Minister may at any time remove a member of the Board from office.

9.—(1) The Minister may from time to time as occasion requires appoint a member of the Board to be chairman thereof.

(2) The chairman of the Board may at any time resign his office as chairman by letter sent to the Minister, and the resignation shall, unless it is previously withdrawn in writing, take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the Board has been informed by the Minister of the resignation.

(3) Where the chairman of the Board ceases during his term of office as chairman to be a member of the Board, he shall also then cease to be chairman of the Board.

10.—(1) The Board shall as soon as may be after its establishment provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Board or some other member thereof authorised by the Board to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

(3) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Board, and every document purporting to be an instrument made by the Board and to be sealed with the seal (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with this section) of the Board shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

11.—A member of the Board who has—

( a ) any interest in any company with which the Board proposes to make any contract, or

( b ) any interest in any contract which the Board proposes to make,

shall disclose to the Board the fact of the interest and the nature thereof, and shall take no part in any deliberation or decision of the Board relating to the contract, and the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board.

12.—(1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due fulfilment of its functions.

(2) The first meeting of the Board shall be held on or as soon as conveniently may be after the establishment day.

(3) At a meeting of the Board—

( a ) the chairman of the Board shall, if present, be chairman of the meeting,

( b ) if and so long as the chairman of the Board is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

(4) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question, and in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(5) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members.

(6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate its procedure by rules or otherwise.

(7) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, be five.

13.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, there may, subject to such conditions, if any, as the Minister thinks proper, be paid to the Board in each financial year out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas a grant or grants of such amount or amounts as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and after consultation with the Board in relation to its programme of expenditure for that year, may fix.

(2) In fixing the amount of a grant under this section in respect of any year regard shall be had to the amount of the Board's income (excluding any income under this section or section 14 (c) of this Act) in that year, and, if the amount of the income exceeds such amount as may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, the amount of the grant shall be increased by such amount (if any) as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may fix.

14.—For the purpose of the due performance of its functions the Board may—

( a ) provide, equip and maintain offices and other premises,

( b ) purchase, take or let on lease or sell horses,

( c ) with the consent of the Minister, borrow money for capital or current purposes.

15.—The funds of the Board may be used—

( a ) for the payment of expenses incurred by it in the performance of its functions, and

( b ) for the making of payments, grants or loans for any purpose that, in the opinion of the Board, is conducive to the promotion and development of the export of horses (excluding thoroughbred horses).

16.—The Board may invest any of its funds (not being funds to which section 24 (3) of this Act applies) in any manner in which a trustee is empowered by law to invest trust funds.

17.—(1) The Board may acquire by agreement any land or any easement, wayleave or other right in respect of land.

(2) The Board may dispose of any land vested in it which it no longer requires.

18.—(1) The Board shall keep in such form as may be approved by the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it, including an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet, and, in particular, shall keep in such form as aforesaid all such special accounts as the Minister, on his own motion, or at the request of the Minister for Finance, shall from time to time direct.

(2) Accounts kept in pursuance of this section shall be submitted annually by the Board to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and, immediately after the audit, a copy of the income and expenditure account and of the balance sheet and of such other (if any) of the accounts kept pursuant to subsection (1) of this section as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, may direct and a copy of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the accounts shall be presented to the Minister who shall cause copies thereof to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

19.—(1) The Board shall within ninety days after the end of each accounting period of the Board or such longer time as the Minister shall in any particular case allow, make a report to the Minister of its proceedings under this Act during the period, and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(2) The Board shall supply the Minister with such information regarding the performance of its functions as he may from time to time require.

20.—(1) The Board shall appoint such and so many persons to be officers and servants of the Board as the Board from time to time thinks proper.

(2) An officer or servant of the Board shall hold his office or employment on such terms and conditions as the Board from time to time determines.

(3) There shall be paid by the Board to its officers and servants out of moneys at its disposal such remuneration and allowances as the Board, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time determines.

(4) The Board may at any time remove any officer or servant of the Board from being its officer or servant.

21.—The Board may perform any of its functions through or by any of its officers or servants duly authorised by the Board in that behalf.

22.—(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the establishment day, the Board shall prepare and submit to the Minister for Finance for his approval, a contributory scheme or contributory schemes for the granting of pensions, gratuities and other allowances on retirement or death to or in respect of such wholetime officers or wholetime servants of the Board as it may think fit.

(2) The Board may at any time, prepare and submit to the Minister for Finance, a scheme amending a scheme under this section.

(3) A scheme submitted to the Minister for Finance under this section shall, if approved of by the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the Board in accordance with its terms.

(4) A scheme submitted and approved of under subsection (1) of this section shall fix the time and conditions of retirement for all persons to whom pensions, gratuities or other allowances are payable under the scheme, and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(5) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any pension, gratuity or other allowance payable in pursuance of a scheme under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister for Finance whose decision shall be final.

(6) Every scheme submitted and approved of under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is approved of and if either House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the scheme, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

23.—(1) Where a person who is either an officer or a servant in the employment of the Board becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas—

( a ) he shall during the period (in this section referred to as the secondment period) commencing upon his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein and ending either when he ceases to he a member of that House or, if it should sooner happen, upon his resignation or retirement from such employment or upon the termination of such employment by the Board, stand seconded from such employment.

( b ) he shall not be paid by, or entitled to receive from, the Board any remuneration or allowances in respect of the secondment period,

( c ) he shall not be entitled to reckon the whole or any part of the secondment period for any superannuation benefits payable under this Act.

(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall, while so entitled, be disqualified from becoming an officer or servant of the Board.

24.—(1) The Board may accept gifts of money, land or other property upon such trusts and conditions, if any, as may be specified by the donor.

(2) The Board shall not accept a gift if the conditions attached to the acceptance by the donor are inconsistent with the functions of the Board.

(3) Any funds of the Board, being a gift or the proceeds of a gift to it, may, subject to any terms or conditions of the gift, be invested by the Board in any manner in which a trustee is empowered by law to invest trust funds.

25.—(1) The Board may from time to time establish committees to perform such (if any) of the functions of the Board as, in the opinion of the Board, may be better or more conveniently performed by a committee and are assigned to a committee by the Board.

(2) A committee established under this section may, if the Board thinks fit, include in its membership persons who are not members of the Board.

(3) The appointment of a person to act as a member of a committee established under this section shall be subject to such conditions (including conditions in relation to the term and tenure of office of the member) as the Board may think fit to impose when making the appointment.

(4) A member of a committee established under this section may be removed from office at any time by the Board.

(5) The Board may at any time dissolve a committee appointed under this section.

(6) The acts of a committee established under this section shall be subject to confirmation by the Board unless the Board dispenses with the necessity for such confirmation.

(7) The Board may regulate the procedure of committees established under this section, but, subject to any such regulation, committees established under this section may regulate their own procedure.

PART III LICENSING OF RIDING ESTABLISHMENTS

26.—The Minister may by regulations under this section provide that this Part shall not apply to any class of riding establishment specified in the regulations (by reference to such matters, including the numbers of horses kept, as the Minister may consider appropriate), and this Part shall apply and have effect in accordance with the provisions of any regulations for the time being in force under this section.

27.—(1) References in this Part to the keeping of a riding establishment shall be construed as references to the carrying on of a business of keeping horses for either or both of the following purposes, that is to say, the purpose of their being let out on hire for riding or the purpose of their being used in providing, in return for payment, instruction in riding.

(2) For the purposes of this Part a person keeping a riding establishment shall be taken to keep it at the premises where the horses employed for the purposes of the business concerned are kept.

28.—(1) ( a ) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall not keep a riding establishment except under and in accordance with a licence.

( b ) Paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not apply—

(i) in relation to a person who kept a riding establishment immediately before the commencement of this Part, during the period of three months beginning on such commencement,

(ii) in relation to a person who acquires, by purchase or otherwise, a riding establishment the subject of a licence, during the period of three months beginning on the date of such acquisition, or

(iii) in relation to the personal representative of the holder of a licence, during the period of six months beginning on the date of the death of the holder.

(2) The Minister may, on application being made to him in that behalf and on payment to him of any appropriate fee (which shall accompany the application) for the time being standing prescribed under subsection (4) of this section grant or refuse to grant a licence to a person authorising the keeping of a riding establishment at the premises specified in the licence,

(3) ( a ) A licence shall be subject to such conditions (if any) as the Minister may think necessary or expedient for securing the objects of this Part and may impose at the time of the grant thereof or at any time thereafter and specify in the licence and the person who keeps a riding establishment shall comply with any conditions specified in the licence relating to the establishment.

( b ) The Minister may, if he so thinks fit, amend or revoke a condition attached to a licence.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, from time to time prescribe a fee which shall be paid to the Minister on an application for a licence.

(5) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees paid under this section.

(6) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or subsection (3) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.

29.—(1) In determining whether to grant or refuse to grant or revoke, as the case may be, a licence for the keeping of a riding establishment at any premises, the Minister shall in particular have regard to whether the person who is or will be keeping the establishment is, in the opinion of the Minister, suitable and qualified either by experience in the management of horses or otherwise to be the keeper of such an establishment and to the need for securing—

( a ) that there will be available at all times, for horses, accommodation suitable as respects construction, size, number of occupants, lighting, ventilation, drainage, and cleanliness,

( b ) that, in the case of horses maintained at grass, there will be maintained for them at all times during which they are so maintained adequate pasture and shelter,

( c ) that horses will be adequately supplied with food, drink and (except, in the case of horses maintained at grass so long as they are so maintained) bedding material, and will be adequately exercised and rested and (so far as necessary) visited at suitable intervals,

( d ) that all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent and control the spread among horses of infectious or contagious diseases,

( e ) that appropriate steps will be taken for the protection of horses in case of fire,

( f ) that horses will be maintained in a good state of health and that, in the case of a horse kept for the purpose of its being let out on hire for riding or a horse kept for the purpose of its being used in providing instruction in riding, the horse and any equipment to be supplied with it will be suitable for the purpose for which in that case it is kept,

( g ) that adequate accommodation will be provided for forage, bedding, stable equipment and saddlery,

( h ) that where horses are used for the purpose of providing in return for payment instruction in riding, the person giving the instruction shall have the necessary skill and ability for the purpose,

and shall specify such conditions in the licence, if granted by him, as appear to the Minister necessary or expedient in the particular case for securing all the objects specified in paragraphs (a) to (h) of this subsection.

(2) A licence may be granted with or without limitation on its period of validity.

(3) ( a ) Whenever the Minister proposes to refuse to grant a licence, he shall, before doing so, notify in writing the applicant for the licence of his intention and of the reasons therefor, and, if any representations are made by the applicant to the Minister within fourteen days after the date of the giving of the notification the Minister shall consider them.

( b ) Whenever the Minister proposes to revoke a licence, he shall, before doing so, notify the person keeping the riding establishment to which it relates of his intention and of the reasons therefor, and

(i) if any representations are made by the person within thirty days after the date of the giving of the notification the Minister shall consider them, and

(ii) if the person makes a request to the Minister, within seven days after the date of the giving of the notification, for the holding of an inquiry in relation to the matter,

the Minister shall cause an inquiry to be held (unless as a result of the consideration of representations made to him, the Minister has decided not to revoke the licence).

( c ) Where an inquiry is held under this subsection, the Minister shall not revoke the licence until he has considered the report of the person holding the inquiry.

( d ) The Minister shall appoint a person who is a practising barrister of at least ten years standing to hold any inquiry under this subsection and the person so appointed shall have power to take evidence on oath which he is hereby authorised to administer and shall make a report to the Minister of his findings at the inquiry.

( e ) The Minister shall give to the person who requested the holding of the inquiry notice of the time and place of the holding of the inquiry and the person shall be entitled to appear at the inquiry personally or by counsel or solicitor and to adduce evidence.

( f ) There shall be paid to a person holding an inquiry under this subsection such remuneration as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may fix.

(4) Whenever the Minister revokes a licence, he shall cause a statement of his reasons for doing so to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

30.—(1) An officer of the Minister duly authorised in that behalf by the Minister or a member of the Garda Síochána may enter and inspect at all reasonable times—

( a ) premises where he has reason to believe a person is keeping a riding establishment,

( b ) premises to which a licence relates, and

( c ) premises in respect of which an application for a licence has been made and in relation to which the Minister has neither granted nor refused to grant the licence,

and

(i) may examine any horses thereon or any thing therein,

(ii) may require any person having in his possession or control any records or documents relating to the premises or the business carried on there to produce such records or other documents, and

(iii) may inspect, examine, copy or take extracts from them.

(2) Any person who wilfully obstructs or delays any person in the exercise of his powers under subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) An officer of the Minister performing functions under this Act shall be furnished with a certificate of his authorisation to perform those functions, and when entering on premises in the performance of those functions, shall, if so required, produce the certificate to the person who is keeping or proposes to keep a riding establishment at the premises or any other person holding a responsible position of management at the premises.

31.—(1) If a person—

( a ) at a time when a horse is in such a condition that its riding would be likely to cause suffering to the horse, lets out the horse on hire or uses it for the purpose of providing, in return for payment, instruction in riding or for the purpose of demonstrating riding,

( b ) supplies for a horse which is let out on hire by him for riding, equipment which is used in the course of the hiring and suffers, at the time it is supplied, from a defect of such a nature as to be apparent on inspection and as to be likely to cause suffering to the horse or an accident to the rider,

( c ) fails to provide such curative care as may be suitable, if any, for a sick or injured horse which is kept by him with a view to its being let out on hire or used for a purpose mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection,

( d ) with intent to avoid inspection under section 30 of this Act, conceals, or causes to be concealed, any horse maintained on the premises to which the inspection relates,

he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

(2) A person who for the purpose of obtaining the grant of a licence gives any information which he knows to be false (which in this subsection means false in a material particular) or makes a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly gives any information which is false or recklessly makes any statement which is false shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

32.—A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of ten pounds for each day on which the offence is continued.

33.—(1) The Minister may from time to time, if he so thinks fit, by order transfer to the Board any function conferred on him by this Part or assign to the Board such functions (in addition to the functions conferred on it by this Act) in relation to the breeding, sale and export of horses, equitation and matters connected with the matters aforesaid as he thinks fit.

(2) The function in relation to officers of the Minister conferred on the Minister by section 30 of this Act shall, if it is transferred to the Board under this section, be deemed to be a function in relation to officers of the Board.

(3) The Minister may include in an order under this section such provisions as he thinks desirable or necessary in relation to matters ancillary to or arising out of the transfer or assignment to the Board under this section of functions or the performance by the Board of those functions, including provisions making any modifications or adaptations of this Part that are necessitated by a transfer of functions under this section.

(4) The Minister may by order revoke or amend an order under this section (including an order under this subsection).

34.—This Part of this Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.