“Special speed limits.

46.—(1) (a) The council of a county or the corporation of a county borough may make bye-laws specifying in respect of any specified public road or of all public roads within its administrative county the speed (which shall be known as ‘a special speed limit’) which shall be the speed limit on such road or roads for mechanically propelled vehicles.

(b) The corporation of a county borough may, in bye-laws under this section, provide that the built-up area speed limit shall not apply to any specified public road in its administrative county by declaring the said public road not to be a public road in a built-up area for the purposes of section 45 of this Act.

(c) The council of a county may, in bye-laws under this section—

(i) provide that the built-up area speed limit shall not apply to any specified public road which is in a borough, an urban district or a town within its administrative county by declaring the said public road not to be a public road in a built-up area for the purposes of section 45 of this Act, and

(ii) provide that the built-up area speed limit shall apply to any specified public road which is not in a borough, an urban district or a town within its administrative county by declaring the said public road to be a public road in a built-up area for the purposes of section 45 of this Act.

(d) The council of a county or the corporation of a county borough may, in bye-laws under this section, provide that the motorway speed limit shall not apply to any specified motorway or part thereof within its administrative county by declaring the said motorway or part not to be a motorway for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Before making bye-laws under this section—

(a) the council of a county shall give notice to the corporation of any borough, the council of any urban district and the commissioners of any town in the administrative county concerned of the provisions in the proposed bye-laws relating to public roads in their respective administrative areas and shall consider any representations made in writing to the council of the county by such corporation, council or commissioners within the period (not being less than one month after the date of service of the notice) specified in the notice, and

(b) the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough shall give notice to the Commissioner and shall consider any representations made in writing to the council or corporation by the Commissioner within the period (not being less than one month after the date of service of the notice) specified in the notice.

(3) The council of a county or the corporation of a county borough shall not make bye-laws under this section relating to national roads or motorways without the prior consent of the National Roads Authority.

(4) (a) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of giving full effect to this section.

(b) Regulations under this subsection may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) of this subsection, make provision in relation to all or any of the following matters:

(i) the speed limits which may be specified in bye-laws under this section;

(ii) the class or classes of mechanically propelled vehicle which may be exempted from speed limits specified in bye-laws under this section.

(5) The making of bye-laws under this section and the making of representations under subsection (2) (a) shall be reserved functions.

(6) Any regulation made under section 46 of this Act and in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall, after such commencement, continue in force and be deemed to be a bye-law under this section and shall as respects any public road be capable of being amended or revoked by the council of the county or corporation of the county borough in the administrative county of which the road is situated.

(7) In this section ‘administrative county’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898.”.