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Arterial Drainage Act 1945
Restrictions on the construction or alteration of bridges.
50.—(1) No local authority, no railway company, canal company, or other similar body, and no industrial concern shall construct any new bridge or alter, reconstruct, or restore any existing bridge over any watercourse without the consent of the Commissioners or otherwise than in accordance with plans previously approved of by the Commissioners.
(2) If any person shall construct or begin to construct or partially construct a new bridge in contravention of this section, the Commissioners may serve by post on such person a notice requiring him—
(a) if such bridge has not been completely constructed, to desist forthwith from the construction thereof,
(b) in any case, to remove, within a time specified in that behalf in such notice, such bridge or so much thereof as shall have been constructed.
(3) If any person shall alter, reconstruct, or restore an existing bridge in contravention of this section or shall begin so to do or shall partially so do, the Commissioners may serve by post on such person a notice requiring him—
(a) if such alteration, reconstruction, or restoration has not been completed, to desist forthwith therefrom, or
(b) in any case, to remove, within a time specified in that behalf in such notice, all work done on such bridge, or
(c) in any case, within a time specified in that behalf in such notice, to restore such bridge to its original condition.
(4) If any person on whom a notice has been served by the Commissioners under the foregoing provisions of this section fails to comply with such notice, the following provisions shall apply and have effect, that is to say:—
(a) such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable, on summary conviction thereof, to a fine not exceeding F50[£1,500] together with a further fine not exceeding F50[£200] for every day during which such failure is continued;
(b) it shall be lawful for the Commissioners (whether such person has or has not been prosecuted under the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section) to enter upon and remove all work done in contravention of this section and to recover from such person in any court of competent jurisdiction as a simple contract debt the expenses (as certified by the Commissioners) incurred by the Commissioners in effecting such removal.
(5) Any person who claims that the Commissioners have unreasonably refused their approval of plans submitted by him for the construction of a new bridge or the alteration, reconstruction, or restoration of an existing bridge may, by notice in writing to the Commissioners, require such claim to be referred under this sub-section and thereupon—
(a) if such person is a local authority, such claim shall be referred to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, whose decision thereon shall be final, or
(b) in any other case, such claim shall be referred to an arbitrator appointed by the Reference Committee from the Panel of Drainage Arbitrators whose decision thereon shall be final and conclusive.
(6) In this section, the word “bridge” includes a culvert or other like structure.
Annotations
Amendments:
F50
Substituted (17.07.1995) by Arterial Drainage (Amendment) Act 1995 (14/1995), s. 14(1), (2) and table, commenced on enactment.
Modifications (not altering text):
C20
Functions transferred and references Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Governement construed as Transport (1.01.2008) by Roads and Road Vehicles (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 815 of 2007), arts. 2, 3(1)(a) and sch. part 1, in operation as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4-8.
2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any functions transferred by Article 3 are transferred to the Department of Transport.
(2) References to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government contained in any Act or instrument made under such Act and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Transport.
3. (1) The functions vested in the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government by or under—
(a) an Act set out in the first column of Part 1 of the Schedule, and
...
are transferred to the Minister for Transport to the extent specified in the second column of the Part concerned opposite the mention of Act or statutory instrument (as the case may be) so set out.
SCHEDULE
Acts, certain functions under which are transferred from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the Minister for Transport
Part 1
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Extent of transfer of functions to the Minister for Transport |
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Section 50 |
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The history of the Minister for Transport since 2008 can be traced as follows:
• Title of Minister for Transport changed to Transport, Tourism and Sport (2.04.2011) by Transport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 141 of 2011), in operation as per art. 1(2);
• Title of Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport changed to Transport (17.09.2020) by Transport, Tourism and Sport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 351 of 2020), in operation as per art. 1(2).
Editorial Notes:
E33
A fine of £1,500 mentioned in subs. (4)(a) converted (1.01.1999) to €1,904.61. This translates into a class B fine, not greater than €4,000, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 5(3) and table ref. no. 2, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.
A fine of £200 mentioned in subs. (4)(a) converted (1.01.1999) to €253.95. This translates into a Class E fine, not greater than €500, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 8(3) and table ref. no. 2, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.