No. 19/1942:

EMERGENCY POWERS (CONTINUANCE AND AMENDMENT) ACT, 1942

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I PRELIMINARY

1 Short title.

2 The Principal Act.

3 Repeal of the Emergency Powers (Continuance) Act, 1941.

PART II CONTINUANCE OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

4 Continuance of the Principal Act.

PART III AMENDMENT AND EXTENSION OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

5 Definitions in Part III.

6 General powers of the Government under section 2 of the Principal Act.

7 Retrospective amendment of Government orders and subsidiary instruments.

8 Amendment of section 5 of the Principal Act.

9 Penalty for continued non-compliance with certain orders.

10 Amendment of section 6 of the Principal Act.

11 Duration of Part III.

12 Collective citation of Emergency Powers Acts, 1939 and 1940, and Part III.

AN ACT TO EXTEND, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SECURING THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE PRESERVATION OF THE STATE IN TIME OF WAR, THE PERIOD DURING WHICH THE EMERGENCY POWERS ACT, 1939 , SHALL REMAIN IN FORCE AND TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SAID ACT FOR THE PURPOSE AFORESAID.

[29th July, 1942.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I PRELIMINARY

1.—This Act may be cited as the Emergency Powers (Continuance and Amendment) Act, 1942 .

2.—In this Act the expression "the Principal Act" means the Emergency Powers Act, 1939 (No. 28 of 1939).

3.—The Emergency Powers (Continuance) Act, 1941 (No. 16 of 1941), is hereby repealed.

PART II CONTINUANCE OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

4.—(1) The Principal Act shall, unless previously terminated under sub-section (2) of this section, continue in force until the 2nd day of September, 1943, and shall then expire unless the Oireachtas otherwise determines.

(2) The Government may by order declare that the Principal Act shall expire on a specified day, being earlier than the 2nd day of September, 1943, and in that case the Principal Act shall expire accordingly.

PART III AMENDMENT AND EXTENSION OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

5.—In this Part of this Act—

references to the Principal Act shall be construed as including references to the Principal Act as amended by any subsequent enactment (including this Part of this Act) for the time being in force;

the expression "Government order" means an order made by the Government (whether before or after the passing of this Act) under the Principal Act;

the expression "subsidiary instrument" means any order, regulation, rule, bye-laws, scheme or direction in writing made or given (whether before or after the passing of this Act) in exercise of the powers conferred by a Government order.

6.—(1) For the purpose of removing doubts it is hereby enacted and declared that nothing contained in sub-section (2) of section 2 of the Principal Act shall be construed as limiting the general powers conferred on the Government by sub-section (1) of the said section.

(2) Sub-section (1) of this section shall be deemed to have come into operation and shall have effect as on and from the 3rd day of September, 1939.

7.—A Government order or a subsidiary instrument may be amended with retrospective effect by a Government order or a subsidiary instrument (as the case may be), but the said power shall not extend to the making of any amendment which would cause acts to be infringements of the law which were not so at the date of their commission.

8.—Section 5 of the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects, that is to say:—

( a ) by the substitution of the following two sub-sections for sub-section (6), that is to say:—

"(6) Every person who, being an Irish citizen or ordinarily resident in the State, commits or is deemed to have committed, whether within or without the State, an offence under this section and every person who, not being an Irish citizen or ordinarily resident within the State, commits or is deemed, to have committed within the State an offence under this section shall—

( a ) on summary conviction thereof, be liable to—

(i) in case the offence is one in respect of which any order, made by virtue of the next following sub-section, is in force at the time the offence is committed, the penalties provided by such order, and

(ii) in any other case, a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the Court, imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both such fine and such imprisonment, or

( b ) on conviction thereof on indictment, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand pounds (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the Court, to penal servitude for a term not exceeding ten years or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such penal servitude or imprisonment.

(6A) The Government may, whenever and so often as they think fit, by order under section 2 of this Act, do one of the following things, that is to say:—

( a ) declare that the punishment which may be awarded, in respect of a specified offence under this section, on summary conviction thereof shall be a fine of not less than a specified amount (not exceeding one hundred pounds) nor more than five hundred pounds (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the Court, imprisonment for a term not less than six months nor more than twelve months or both such fine and such imprisonment;

( b ) declare that the punishment which may be awarded, in respect of a specified offence under this section, on summary conviction thereof shall be a fine of whichever of the following amounts is the less—

(i) five hundred pounds,

(ii) an amount calculated by reference to such things as may be specified in the order,

(together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the Court, imprisonment for a term not less than six months nor more than twelve months or both such fine and such imprisonment";

( b ) by the deletion in sub-section (7) of the words "or in lieu of";

( c ) by the substitution in sub-section (7) of the words and figure "to which such person is liable under sub-section (6)" for the words "provided by the foregoing sub-section";

9.—(1) Where—

( a ) a person is convicted of an offence under section 5 of the Principal Act by reason of his failure, neglect or refusal to comply with a provision in a Government order or a subsidiary instrument requiring him to perform a specified act within a specified period or before a specified date, and

( b ) the said act remains, after the date of such conviction, unperformed by him,

such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day, after the date of such conviction, on which the said act remains unperformed by him or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment or a term not exceeding twelve months.

(2) An offence under this section shall be a continuing offence and accordingly fresh proceedings in respect thereof may be taken from time to time.

(3) Sub-sections (5) and (8) of section 5 of the Principal Act shall apply in relation to an offence under this section in like manner as they apply in relation to an offence under the said section 5.

(4) This section shall not apply in respect of any provision in a Government order relating to the cultivation of land by occupiers thereof.

10.—Section 6 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following sub-section for sub-section (1), that is to say:—

"(1) A Minister, having obtained the consent of the Government, may by order delegate any power or duty conferred or imposed on him to another Minister or to a Parliamentary Secretary."

11.—This Part of this Act shall continue in force so long as the Principal Act continues in force and no longer.

12.—The Emergency Powers Acts, 1939 and 1940, and this Part of this Act may be cited together as the Emergency Powers Acts, 1939 to 1942.