Road Traffic Act 1961

Provision of car parks by local authorities.

101

101.(1) In this section—

local authority” means a sanitary authority within the meaning of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1952;

car park” means a place (not being part of a public road) for the parking of mechanically propelled vehicles.

(2) A local authority may provide such one or more car parks (and access thereto) as they consider desirable in order to relieve or prevent traffic congestion.

(3) A local authority may, with the consent of the Minister, assist any person providing a car park, and the assistance may consist either of a contribution of money or the execution of works or the grant or lease of land.

(4) F203[]

(5) F203[]

(6) Subsection (2) of this section shall be construed as conferring on a local authority—

(a) power, subject to the consent of the Minister, to erect a building used wholly or mainly for parking mechanically propelled vehicles,

(b) power, subject to the consent of the Minister, to erect waiting rooms, cloak rooms F204[, petrol stations, shops] and similar facilities for any car park provided by them,

(c) power to adapt land for use as a car park.

(7) A local authority may make bye-laws as to the use of any car park provided by them under this section, and, in particular, in relation to all or any of the following matters:

(a) restricting the classes of vehicles which may be admitted to the car park;

(b) specifying the charges to be made for the use of the car park;

(c) specifying the periods for which vehicles may remain in the car park.

F204[(d) specifying the conditions subject to which vehicles may use the car park.]

F204[(7A) A person who contravenes a bye-law under subsection (7) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.]

F205[(7B) Where, in relation to a mechanically propelled vehicle, there is a contravention of a bye-law under subsection (7) of this section, each of the following persons shall be guilty of an offence

(a) the registered owner of the vehicle,

(b) if the vehicle is the subject of a hire-drive agreement on the occasion in question, the person to whom the vehicle is hired under the agreement, and

(c) if the person who parked the vehicle is not its registered owner or the person to whom it is hired under a hire-drive agreement, the first-mentioned person.

(7C) (a) Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (7B) (inserted by the Road Traffic Act, 1994) of this section is the registered owner of the vehicle concerned, it shall be a defence for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that

(i) such use was unauthorised, or

(ii) the vehicle was on that occasion the subject of a hire-drive agreement.

(b) Where a person charged with an offence under subsection (7B) (as so inserted) of this section is a person to whom the vehicle concerned stood hired at the time of the commission of the offence, it shall be a defence for him to show that the vehicle was being used on the occasion in question by another person and that such use was unauthorised.]

(8) F206[]

(9) Where a local authority become of opinion that the land used for a car park provided by them under this section should be used for a different purpose for which they may lawfully use land, the local authority may terminate the use of the land for a car park.

(10) A local authority who have provided under this section a car park may, with the consent of the Minister, sell or lease the car park or any part thereof F204[or any facilities provided for the car park under subsection (6) of this section] to any person subject to such conditions as they think proper.

(11) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, F207[make grants from moneys provided by the Oireachtas] towards the expenses incurred under this section by a local authority.

F204[(12) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and on such terms and conditions as to repayment as that Minister thinks proper, make loans from the Road Fund towards the expenses incurred under this section by a local authority.

(13) The operation of a car park (including the operation of facilities therefor) on or in property leased by a local authority shall be deemed not to be a business within the meaning of the Landlord and Tenant Acts, 1931 to 1967.]

Annotations

Amendments:

F203

Deleted (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s. 6 and sch., S.I. No. 169 of 1968.

F204

Inserted (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s. 6 and sch., S.I. No. 169 of 1968

F205

Inserted (22.07.1994) by Road Traffic Act 1994 (7/1994), s. 49(1)(i), S.I. No. 222 of 1994.

F206

Repealed (22.07.1994) by Road Traffic Act 1994 (7/1994), s. 4(1), S.I. No. 222 of 1994.

F207

Substituted (18.07.1980) by Road Fund (Winding Up) Regulations 1980 (S.I. No. 230 of 1980), reg. 2 and sch.

Modifications (not altering text):

C73

References construed (1.01.2014) by Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (50/2013), s. 7(4), S.I. No. 575 of 2013.

Transfer of functions from water service authorities to Irish Water

7

...

(4) References to a sanitary authority in any enactment or instrument under any enactment shall, on and after the transfer day, in so far as they relate to any function transferred by subsection (3), be construed as references to Irish Water.

...

C74

Functions transferred and references to “Department of Finance” and “Minister for Finance” construed (29.07.2011) by Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011), arts. 2, 3, 5 and sch. 1 part 2, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 6-9.

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

(2) References to the Department of Finance contained in any Act or instrument made thereunder and relating to the administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

3. The functions conferred on the Minister for Finance by or under the provisions of —

(a) the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and

(b) the statutory instruments specified in Schedule 2,

are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

...

5. References to the Minister for Finance contained in any Act or instrument under an Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Order shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

...

Schedule 1

Enactments

...

Part 2

1922 to 2011 Enactments

Number and Year

Short Title

Provision

(1)

(2)

(3)

...

...

...

No. 24 of 1961

Road Traffic Act 1961

Sections 9, 87(1)(e), 101(11) and (12) and 120(2)

...

...

...

C75

Requirement of ministerial consent for local authority to perform function under subss. (3), (6) and (10) removed (6.09.1993) by Local Government Act 1991 (Removal of Controls) Regulations 1993 (S.I. No. 172 of 1993), reg. 4(1) and sch.

Removal of Controls.

4. (1) Subject to sub-article (2), a function which is performed by a local authority under a provision specified in column (3) of an enactment specified in column (2), and which pursuant to that provision is subject to a requirement (which confers a function on the Minister) specified in column (4), may be performed by the local authority without compliance with that requirement and the said provision shall be so construed and shall apply and have effect accordingly.

...

Editorial Notes:

E891

Prospective affecting provision: offence under subs. (7B) declared to be a fixed charge offence (1.01.2023) by Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act 1975 (Fixed Charge Offences) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 525 of 2022), reg. 3 and sch. 5 part 1, in effect as per reg. 1(2).

E892

Certain offences under section declared to be fixed charge offences (3.04.2006) by Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2005 (Fixed Charge Offences) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 135 of 2006), regs. 4, 5(a)(i) and sch. 1 part 1, in effect as per reg. 2.

E893

Previous affecting provision: application of section restricted by Dublin Transport Authority Act 1986 (15/1986), s. 36(12), not commenced; repealed (1.01.1988) by Dublin Transport Authority (Dissolution) Act 1987 (34/1987), s. 13, commenced as per s. 15(5).

E894

Previous affecting provision: provision made for prosecution of summary offence under section (12.11.1986) by Dublin Transport Authority Act 1986 (15/1986), s. 53(5), S.I. No. 357 of 1986; repealed (1.01.1988) by Dublin Transport Authority (Dissolution) Act 1987 (34/1987), s. 13, commenced as per s. 15(5).

E895

Previous affecting provision: subs. (8) amended (1.09.1968) by Road Traffic Act 1968 (25/1968), s. 6 and sch., S.I. No. 169 of 1968; repealed as per F-note above.