No. 349/1947:

COMMITTEES OF AGRICULTURE (OFFICERS' TRAVELLING EXPENSES AND MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE AND EXPENSES) REGULATIONS, 1947.

COMMITTEES OF AGRICULTURE (OFFICERS' TRAVELLING EXPENSES AND MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE AND EXPENSES) REGULATIONS, 1947.

I, PATRICK SMITH, Minister for Agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 28 of the Agriculture Act, 1931 (No. 8 of 1931), and of every and any other power me in this behalf enabling, hereby make the following regulations :—

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Committees of Agriculture (Officers' Travelling Expenses and Maintenance Allowance and Expenses) Regulations, 1947.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the twenty-seventh day of October, 1947.

3. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to these Regulations.

4. The cases in which travelling and maintenance expenses shall be allowed to officers of committees of agriculture who have to travel in the performance of their duties and the rates of travelling and maintenance expenses shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule hereto.

5. Every question, doubt, or dispute which shall arise as to the application of these Regulations shall be determined by the Minister for Agriculture, and every such determination shall be final and conclusive.

6. The Committees of Agriculture (Officers' Travelling Expenses and Maintenance Allowance and Expenses) Regulations, 1936 ( S. R. & O. No. 97 of 1936 ) and the Committees of Agriculture (Officers' Travelling Expenses and Maintenance Allowance and Expenses) (Amendment) Regulations, 1945 ( S. R. & O. No. 95 of 1945 ), are hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE

TRAVELLING EXPENSES AND MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES OF OFFICERS OF COMMITTEES OF AGRICULTURE.

PART I.

PRELIMINARY.

1. In this Schedule—

the expression " the Minister " means the Minister for Agriculture ;

the word " committee " means a committee of agriculture ;

the expression " the county " means, in relation to a committee, the county in respect of which such committee is the committee and

the expressions " within the county " and " outside the county " shall be construed accordingly ;

the expression " district " means, in relation to an officer of a committee, the part of the county assigned by a committee to such officer for the performance of his official duties.

PART II.

TRAVELLING EXPENSES.

2.—(1) Every committee shall, subject to the provisions of this paragraph, pay to each of its officers, in respect of all necessary travelling within the county done by him in the course of his duties as such officer, travelling expenses at the rates fixed by this Part of this Schedule.

(2) Each committee shall in each year fix in respect of each one of its officers the sum which, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, appears to the committee to be the maximum amount of travelling expenses which it would be reasonable for the officer to incur in that year.

(3) The total amount of travelling expenses paid under this paragraph to any officer in respect of travelling in any year shall not exceed, without the consent in writing of the Minister, the maximum amount fixed under subparagraph (2) of this paragraph.

3. Travelling expenses, at the rates fixed by this Schedule, may be paid by a committee to its officers in respect of necessary travelling by the officers outside the county in the course of or in connection with the duties of such officers, if, in the opinion of the committee, such expenses should be paid and if the Minister approves in writing of such payments being made by the committee.

4. The rates at which travelling expenses shall be paid by a committee to its officers in respect of necessary travelling by the officer whether within the county or outside the county shall be as follows, that is to say :—

(a) the actual railway fare expended by the officer on such class as is approved by the committee and the Minister, or the actual omnibus fare expended by the officer, and

(b) a rate of two pence per mile in respect of the use of a pedal cycle or a motor-assisted pedal cycle or a pedal-assisted motor-cycle, and

(c) a rate of three pence per mile in respect of the use of a saddle-horse or a saddle-pony, or a motor-cycle without a side-car, and

(d) a rate of four pence per mile in respect of the use of a pony-drawn vehicle, or a motor-cycle and side-car, and

(e) a rate of five pence per mile in respect of the use of a horse-drawn vehicle, and

(f) a rate of five pence half-penny per mile in respect of the use of a motor-car of which the horse-power is less than ten, and

(g) a rate of six pence half-penny per mile in respect of the use of a motor-car of not less than ten horse-power, and

(h) the amount paid for hire of a conveyance where the hire is justified by special circumstances and subject to such directions as may be given by a committee to its officers in connection with arrangements for the hiring of conveyances, and

(i) in all cases other than those hereinbefore expressly provided for such rates as may be approved from time to time by the Minister.

PART III.

MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES.

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph a maintenance allowance towards subsistence expenses shall be granted and paid at the rates mentioned in this subparagraph by a committee to the following officers in respect of travelling within the county in the course of their official duties, that is to say—

(a) at the rate of £50 per annum to Chief Agricultural Officers and Instructors in Agriculture, and

(b) at the rate of £40 per annum to Instructors in Horticulture, Instructors in Horticulture and Bee-keeping, Instructors in Poultry-keeping, Instructors in Butter-making, and Instructors in Poultry-keeping and Butter-making.

(2) Whenever any of the officers mentioned at (a) and (b) of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph are, in any period of twelve months, absent from their duties for more than six weeks on account of sick leave or for a period or periods of sick and annual leave which together amount to more than eight weeks the said sum of £50 mentioned at (a) and the said sum of £40 mentioned at (b) of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall be so reduced that the sums by which the said sums to £50 and £40 respectively are reduced shall bear the same proportion of £50 and £40 as the period of sick leave in excess of six weeks or the period of sick and annual leave in excess of eight weeks (as the case may be) bears to the said period of twelve months.

6. Maintenance expenses in the form and by way of a night and day allowance shall be paid at the rates mentioned in this Part of this Schedule by a committee to its Secretary and to Clerical Assistants to its Chief Agricultural Officers in respect of subsistence expenses incurred by the Secretary and the Assistants when travelling within the county in the course of their official duties.

7. Maintenance expenses in the form and by way of a day and night allowance shall, if the consent in writing of the Minister is first obtained, be paid by a committee to its officers in respect of subsistence expenses incurred by the officers when travelling outside the county in the course of, or in connection with, their official duties.

8. Maintenance expenses in the form and by way of a night and day allowance shall, when the Minister so directs, and may, in exceptional circumstances on the application of a committee and with the written approval of the Minister, be paid to an officer of the committee in respect of subsistence expenses incurred by the officer in the course of, or in connection with, his official duties when travelling within the county but outside his district.

9.—(1) The following shall be the rates of maintenance expenses in the form and by way of a night allowance which shall be payable by a committee to its officers, that is to say—

(a) where the salary of an officer exceeds £420 per annum the rate shall be twenty shillings and six pence per night covering a period of twenty-four hours' absence from the officer's headquarters ; after a continuous period of absence of fourteen nights in any one place the rate of twenty shillings and six pence shall be reduced to the rate of seventeen shillings per night for the remainder of the officer's stay, but if the officer knew or might have known in the first instance that his stay would or was likely to exceed fourteen nights in such one place the rate of seventeen shillings per night shall be payable in respect of the whole period, and

(b) where the salary of an officer is not less than £250 but does not exceed £420 per annum the rate shall be seventeen shillings and sixpence per night covering a period of twenty-four hours' absence from headquarters ; after a continuous period of absence of fourteen nights in any one place the rate of seventeen shillings and sixpence shall be reduced to the rate of fourteen shillings per night for the remainder of the officer's stay, but if the officer knew or might have known in the first instance that his stay would or was likely to exceed fourteen nights in such one place the rate of fourteen shillings per night shall be payable in respect of the whole period, and

(c) where the salary of an officer is less than £250 per annum the rate shall be fifteen shillings per night covering a period of twenty-four hours' absence from the officer's headquarters ; after a continuous period of absence of fourteen nights in any one place the rate of fifteen shillings shall be reduced to the rate of eleven shillings per night for the remainder of the officer's stay, but if the officer knew or might have known in the first instance, that his stay would or was likely to exceed fourteen nights in such one place the rate of eleven shillings per night shall be payable in respect of the whole period.

(2) In this paragraph the word " salary " shall be construed as excluding any allowance for travelling and maintenance expenses.

10. The following shall be the rates of maintenance expenses in the form and by way of a day allowance payable by a committee to such of its officers as are entitled to a day allowance, that is to say :—

(a) where an officer of a committee is absent from headquarters for a period of not less than ten hours (not extending overnight) or a period of not less than ten hours immediately following the period of twenty-four hours covered by a night allowance, the rate shall be one-third of the rate payable to the officer in the case of a night allowance applicable to a continuous period of absence by the officer of not more than fourteen nights in any one place ;

(b) where an officer of a committee is absent from headquarters for a period of not less than seven but less than ten hours (not extending overnight) or a period of not less than seven but less than ten hours immediately following the period of twenty-four hours covered by a night allowance, the rate shall be :—

(i) three shillings, in case the rate of night allowance payable to the officer in respect of a continuous period of absence of not more than fourteen nights in any one place is twenty shillings and six pence.

(ii) two shillings and six pence, in any other case.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 27th day of October, 1947.

PATRICK SMITH,

Minister for Agriculture.