STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 174 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS) REGULATIONS, 1999.

S.I. No. 174 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS) REGULATIONS, 1999.

I, MARY O'ROURKE, Minister for Public Enterprise, 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 (EEC) No. 684/92 of 16 March 1992⁽¹⁾ (as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 11/98 of 11 December 1997⁽²⁾ , and Council Decision No. 82/505/EEC of 12 July 1982⁽³⁾ , hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (International Carriage of Passengers) Regulations, 1999.

2. (1) 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 of 12 July 1982⁽³⁾ ;

“control document” means a control document issued in accordance with Article 6 of the ASOR;

“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 (as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 11/98);

“Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 684/92 of 16 March 1992;

“Council Regulation (EC) No. 11/98” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 11/98 of 11 December 1997⁽²⁾ ;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Public Enterprise;

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Council Regulation, has unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Regulation.

(3) In these Regulations--

(a) a reference to a Regulation is a reference to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulations is intended, and

(b) a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

3. Section 7 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 ( No. 2 of 1932 ) (which relates to the prohibition of unlicensed passenger road services) and section 6 of the Road Transport Act, 1935 ( No. 23 of 1935 ) (which relates to the 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 journey form in respect of occasional services,

(b) the holder of a certificate for own-account operations issued in accordance with Article 13 of the Council Regulation,

(c) the holder of an authorisation issued in accordance with, and subject to, all the conditions of Articles 5 to 10 of the Council Regulation, in respect of regular services and special regular services not covered by a contract between the organiser and the carrier,

(d) special regular services covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier,

(e) empty journeys by vehicles in connection with transport operations referred to in paragarphs (a) and (d), or

(f) the holder of a passenger waybill, which forms part of a control document in respect of the occasional service being operated by the vehicle specified in such passenger waybill.

4. (1) For the purposes of Article 13 of the ASOR--

(a) 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,

(b) 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

(c) 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.

(2) A carrier who fails to comply with paragraph (1) or the ASOR shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

5. Whenever an application is made to the Minister for the issue of an authorisation, journey form or control document, the Minister shall not issue to the applicant such authorisation, journey form or control document unless the applicant is the holder of a Community licence, which is for the time being in force, except where such applicant is exempted from the requirement to hold a Community licence.

6. Whenever the Minister is satisfied that a person applying for an authorisation, a journey form or control document has failed at any time before such application to satisfy the provisions of the Council Regulation or the ASOR, or if the Minister has grounds for believing that such a person will not operate an occasional service or a regular 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(1) or a journey form in accordance with Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2121/98⁽⁴⁾ , the Minister may refuse to issue an authorisation, a journey form or a control document, as the case may be, to such applicant.

7. Subject to Regulation 12, a Community licence shall be valid for road passenger transport operations within the State.

8. (1) A person who is not the holder of a Community licence shall not carry out international passenger operations by coach and bus.

(2) A carrier who carries out international passenger transport operations shall comply with Articles 3a(1), 10(1) and (2), and 11(1), (2) and (3) of the Council Regulation.

(3) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) or a carrier who fails to comply with paragraph (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500.

9. (1) A passenger shall comply with Article 14 of the Council Regulation.

(2) A passenger who fails to comply with paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding--

(a) £50, in the case of first conviction,

(b) £100, in the case of a second conviction, or

(c) £250, in the case of a third or subsequent conviction.

10. (1) Until 31 December 1999, a carrier who carries out international transport operations shall comply with Articles 3(2) and (3), 5, 6, 8(1) and 9(1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1839/92.

(2) A carrier who fails to comply with paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

11. (1) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

(2) Where an offence is committed under these Regulations by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or approval of or to have been attributable to the wilful neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he was guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

12. (1) For the purposes of Article 3a of the Council Regulation, a reference in the European Communities (Road Passenger Transport) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 59 of 1991 )--

(a) other than in Regulation 3(1) or (2), to a road passenger transport operator's licence, or

(b) other than in Regulation 4(1), to an international road passenger transport operator's licence,

shall be construed as including a reference to a Community licence.

(2) The appeals procedure provided in Regulation 13 of the aforesaid Regulations shall apply where the Minister refuses an application for, or withdraws, a Community licence.

13. (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.

14. The European Communities (International Carriage of Passengers) Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 341 of 1992 ), are hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE

Regulation 13

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

⁽¹⁾ O.J. No. L74, 20.3.92, p. 1.

⁽²⁾ O.J. No. L4, 8.1.98, p. 1.

⁽³⁾ O.J. No. L230, 5.8.82, p. 38.

⁽³⁾ O.J. No. L230, 5.8.82, p. 38.

⁽²⁾ O.J. No. L74, 20.3.92, p. 1.

⁽⁴⁾ O.J. No. L268, 2.10.98, p. 10.