S.I. No. 341/1992:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, MÁIRE GEOGHEGAN-QUINN, Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Regulation 56/83/EEC,⁽¹⁾ Council Decision 82/505/EEC⁽²⁾ Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92⁽³⁾ and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92⁽⁴⁾, hereby make the following Regulations:

⁽¹⁾OJ No. L10/1 13.1.83.

⁽²⁾OJ No. L230/38 5.8.82.

⁽³⁾OJ No. L74/1 20.3.92.

⁽⁴⁾OJ No. L187/5 7.7.92.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (International Carriage of Passengers) Regulations, 1992.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 17th day of November, 1992.

2. In these Regulations:--

"the ASOR" means the Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services approved of on behalf of the European Economic Community by Council Decision 82/505/EEC⁽⁵⁾;

⁽⁵⁾OJ No. L230/38 5.8.82.

"control document" means a control document supplied in accordance with the provisions of Section 1 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92⁽⁶⁾ or Article 6 of the ASOR;

⁽⁶⁾OJ No. L187/5 7.7.92.

"the Minister" means the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications;

"model document" means the model control document prescribed by Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 and as set out in Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92⁽⁶⁾ or by Article 11 of the ASOR;

⁽⁶⁾OJ No. L187/5 7.7.92.

"regular services", "special regular services", "shuttle services", "occasional services", "residual services" and "own-account transport operations" have the respective meanings as defined in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92.

3. Section 7 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 (No. 2 of 1932), (prohibition of unlicensed passenger road services) and section 6 of the Road Transport Act, 1935 (No. 23 of 1935), (imposition of restrictions on the importation of certain mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers) shall not apply to--

( a ) the holder of a control document in respect of shuttle services with accommodation,

( b ) the holder of a control document in respect of occasional services,

( c ) the holder of a certificate for own-account operations issued in accordance with Article 13 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 and Article 9 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92,

( d ) the holder of an authorisation issued in accordance with, and subject to, all the conditions of Articles 5 to 10 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 in respect of regular services, shuttle services without accommodation, residual services, special regular services other than those referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92, and own account road transport operators other than those defined in paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the same Regulation,

( e ) special regular services referred to in Article 2 (1.2) second subparagraph, (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 and shall not require authorisation if they are covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier,

( f ) empty journeys by vehicles in connection with transport operations referred to at (a), (b) and (c) of this Regulation,

( g ) the holder of a passenger waybill, which forms part of a control document issued pursuant to Section III of the ASOR in respect of the occasional service being operated by the vehicle specified in such passenger waybill.

4. For the purposes of Article 13 of the ASOR--

(i) the period of validity of a control document consisting of detachable passenger waybills in duplicate in books of 25 shall be the period of 3 years;

(ii) the top copy of each passenger waybill shall be returned to the Minister in the period of 30 days beginning on the date of the completion of the journey to which it relates; and

(iii) the other copy of each passenger waybill shall not be detached from the control document until the expiry of the period of validity of the document.

5. Whenever an application is made to the Minister for the issue of an authorisation or of a control document or model document, the Minister shall not issue such authorisation, control document or model document unless the applicant is the holder of an international road passenger transport operator's licence issued pursuant to the European Communities (Road Passenger Transport) Regulations, 1991 and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92, and which is for the time being in force, unless such applicant is exempted from the requirement to hold such licence.

6. Whenever the Minister is satisfied that a person applying for an authorisation or a control document or a model document has failed at any time before such application to satisfy the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92, or of the ASOR or if the Minister has grounds for believing that such a person will not operate an occasional service in a proper manner, or that the proper treatment of the passengers will not be insured, or that such a person has not returned a passenger waybill in accordance with Regulation 4 (ii) of these Regulations or of Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92, the Minister may refuse to issue a control document or a model document to such applicant.

7. (1) Where any person contravenes a provision of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92, or Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92, or contravenes any of the provisions of the ASOR, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) ( a ) Where the offence is a first offence the person convicted shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

( b ) Where the offence is not a first offence the person convicted shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £750.

( c ) Where the offence is the second or subsequent offence committed by the person convicted in a period of twelve months, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(3) Proceedings in relation to an offence under these Regulations may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications.

8. (1) There shall be charged by and paid to the Minister in respect of a matter specified in column (2) of the Schedule to these Regulations at any reference number a fee of the amount specified in column (3) of the Schedule at that reference number.

(2) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to all fees payable to the Minister under these Regulations--

( a ) the fees shall be collected in such manner as the Minister for Finance may from time to time direct, and shall be paid into the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

( b ) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of such fees or charges.

9. The European Communities (International Carriage of Passengers) Regulations, 1974 and 1985, are hereby revoked.

Regulation 8

SCHEDULE

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 17th day of November, 1992.

MÁIRE GEOGHEGAN-QUINN,

Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of the Regulations is to give effect to revised EC regulations on common rules for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus. They revoke the former Regulations on these common rules, but retain the necessary provisions for the implementation of the Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services approved of an behalf of the European Economic Community by Council Decision 82/505/EEC (ASOR).

The Regulations also revise charges in relation to international road passenger services and in regard to the amount and scope of penalties for contraventions.