No. 14/1955:

SEED PRODUCTION ACT, 1955

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1 Short title.

2 Interpretation generally.

3 Inspector's certificate of appointment.

4 Service of documents.

5 Orders and regulations.

6 Collection and disposal of fees.

7 Expenses.

8 Prosecution of offences.

PART II REGULATION OF SEED PRODUCTION

9 Seeds to which Part II applies.

10 Application for licence to produce seeds.

11 Grant of licence.

12 Conditions attached to licence.

13 Revocation or variation of licence.

14 Restriction on production of seeds by licensees.

15 Restriction on sale of seeds.

16 Prohibition of growing of certain plants in certain areas.

17 Powers of inspector.

18 Records to be kept by licensees.

19 Returns by licensees.

20 Permits.

PART III CERTIFICATION OF SEEDS

21 Certified seed schemes.

22 Misuse of marks etc.

23 Fees.

AN ACT TO MAKE FURTHER AND BETTER PROVISION IN RELATION TO PRODUCTION AND SALE OF AGRICULTURAL SEEDS

[13th July 1955.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1.—This Act may be cited as the Seed Production Act, 1955 .

2.—(1) In this Act—

"home-grown" means grown in the State;

"inspector" means a person appointed by the Minister to be an inspector for the purposes of this Act;

"Irish company" means a company which is registered under—

( a ) the Joint Stock Companies Acts as defined in section 285 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908,

( b ) the Companies Act, 1862, or

( c ) the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908,

and which has its registered office in the State;

"license" means a license granted under section 11;

"the Minister" means the Minister for agriculture;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

"producing seeds" means the growing of plants to the stage at which they produce seeds, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly ;

"qualified Irish citizen" means a person who is a citizen of Ireland and is ordinarily resident in the State;

"qualified person" means—

( a ) a qualified Irish citizen,

( b ) an Irish company,

( c ) a society registered in the State under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893.

(2) A person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to produce seeds of a particular class if he has entered into a contract for the production for him by another person of such seeds.

3.—An inspector shall be furnished by the Minister with a certificate of his appointment and when exercising a power conferred on him by this Act shall, on request, produce the certificate to a person affected.

4.—(1) Where a document is required or permitted by this Act to be served on any person, the document may be served in any of the following ways:—

( a ) by delivering the document to the said person,

( b ) by delivering the document to any person, of not less than sixteen years of age, who is in the employment of the said person,

( c ) by sending the document by registered post in a prepaid envelope addressed to the said person at the address where he ordinarily resides or carries on business.

(2) Where a document is required or permitted by this Act to be served on the occupier of land, the document may be addressed to "the occupier" without naming him and, in addition to the ways mentioned in subsection (1), the document may be served by affixing it in a prominent position on such land.

(3) For the purposes of this section, an Irish company or a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893, shall be deemed to carry on business at its registered office and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to carry on business at its principal office or place of business in the State.

5.—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) Orders and regulations under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling any such instrument is passed by either House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the instrument has been laid before it, the instrument shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

6.—(1) All fees payable under this Act shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall from time to time direct and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of that Minister.

(2) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees payable under this Act.

7.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

8.—An offence under any section of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister.

PART II REGULATION OF SEED PRODUCTION

9.—(1) This Part applies to the following classes of home-grown seeds:—

( a ) seeds of kale (including hungry gap kale, marrow stem kale and thousand-headed kale),

( b ) seeds of mangel (including sugar mangel),

( c ) seeds of rape,

( d ) seeds of sugar beet,

( c ) seeds of turnip (including swede turnip),

( f ) seeds of fodder beet,

( g ) any other class to which it is applied by order of the Minister.

(2) The Minister may by order provide that this Part shall cease to apply to any class mentioned in subsection (1).

(3) The Minister may by order revoke or amend any order under this section.

10.—(1) A qualified person may apply to the Minister for a licence authorising him to engage in the business of producing, processing and selling seeds of a particular class or classes to which this Part applies.

(2) Every application shall—

( a ) be in writing,

( b ) be sent to the Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Dublin,

( c ) specify the class or classes of seeds to which the applicant desires the licence to relate,

( d ) specify the area or areas to which the applicant desires the licence (in so far as it relates to production) to relate,

( e ) be accompanied by the fee (which shall be returned if the application is refused) directed by the Minister for Finance to be paid in respect of a licence,

( f ) be accompanied by such information as the Minister may require.

11.—(1)The Minister may, as he thinks proper, grant or refuse the application or grant it in part.

(2) The Minister shall not grant an application, in whole or in part, save after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

(3) In exercising his discretion the Minister shall have regard, in particular, to—

( a ) the desirability of ensuring so far as practicable that the total volume of seeds of any class that will be available for sale in a particular period is related to the probable market demand for seeds of that class in that period,

( b ) the desirability of confining to a particular area or areas of the State the production of a particular class of seeds,

( c ) the extent to which the applicant was, prior to the commencement of this Act, engaged in the production, processing and sale in the State of seeds of a class specified in the application,

( d ) the extent to which the applicant is prepared to provide the technical staff, premises and equipment necessary, in the opinion of the Minister, for carrying on the business.

(4) A licence under Article 4 of the Emergency Powers (No. 254) Order, 1943 (S. R. & O. No. 37 of 1943), in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be a licence under this Act

12.—(1) The Minister may attach to a licence such conditions as he thinks proper, including conditions in regard to any of the following matters—

( a ) the particular class or classes of seeds to be produced,

( b ) the area or areas in which the seeds are to be produced,

( c ) the acreage to be used for their production,

( d ) the inspection, at any stage, of the plants from which they are to be produced and the removal of impurities,

( e ) the provision to be made for drying, processing and cleaning the seeds and testing them for purity and germination,

( f ) the prices to be charged by the licensee in selling the seeds,

( g ) the premises to be used for the business authorised to be carried on,

( h ) the extent to which the capital invested in the business is from time to time to be owned by qualified Irish citizens,

( i ) the extent to which the management of the business is to be controlled by qualified Irish citizens,

( j ) if the licensee is an Irish company, the extent to which the directors of the company are to be qualified Irish citizens,

( k ) the period during which seeds may be produced under the licence,

( l ) the period during which the seeds so produced may be processed and sold.

(2) If the licensee does not comply with a condition attached to the licence, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction of a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

13.—The Minister may at any time revoke, or vary the conditions of, a licence, but before doing so, he shall give not less than seven days' notice of his intention to the licensee and shall consider any representations made to him by the licensee within that time.

14.—(1) The licensee shall not produce seeds to which this Part applies unless—

( a ) the conditions of his licence relating to production are complied with, or

( b ) he is the holder of a permit under section 20 authorising such production and the conditions of the permit relating to production are complied with.

(2) A person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable of summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

15.—(1) No person shall sell, as seed for sowing, any seeds to which this Part applies unless—

( a ) he is the holder of a licence relating to seeds of that class, or

( b ) the seeds have been originally procured from a person who was then the holder of a licence relating to seeds of that class, or

( c ) the person to whom the seeds are sold is the holder of a licence relating to seeds of that class, or

( d ) the seeds are sold in accordance with a permit under section 20.

(2) A person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(3) In this section, "sell" includes barter and offer for sale and "sold" shall be construed accordingly.

16.—(1) The Minister may by order declare a specified area to be a seed production area for a specified class or classes of seeds to which this Part applies.

(2) The Minister may by order prohibit, during such period or periods as he thinks proper, the growing in a seed production area, except in accordance with a permit, under section 20, of any specified class of plants which would, in his opinion, be likely to interfere with the production of pure strains of the seeds concerned.

(3) Where plants are growing in any land contrary to this section—

( a ) the occupier of the land shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds,

( b ) an inspector may serve on the occupier a notice requiring him to destroy the plants or render them harmless in a manner satisfactory to the inspector within the time specified in the notice,

( c ) if the occupier does not comply with the notice, then, without prejudice to prosecution for failure to do so, an inspector may, with such assistants, vehicles and equipment as he considers necessary, enter on the lands and destroy the plants or render them harmless.

(4) ( a ) Any costs and expenses incurred under paragraph (c) of subsection (3) shall be a debt due by the occupier to the Minister and shall be recoverable by the Minister as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

( b ) In any proceedings under this subsection, a certificate, purporting to be under the hand of an officer of the Minister authorised in that behalf by the Minister, certifying the amount of the costs and expenses shall be evidence of that amount, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of the officer, or that he was in fact such officer, or so authorised.

(5) If a person does not comply with a notice served on him under subsection (3), he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

17.—(1) An inspector may at all reasonable times enter and inspect any premises in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that seeds to which this Part applies are kept and may examine and take samples of any such seeds which he finds in the premises.

(2) The inspector may request the person in charge of the premises to give him the name and address of the person from whom seeds found in the premises were obtained.

(3) Where an order under section 16 is in force in relation to the growing of plants in any area, an inspector may at any reasonable times enter and inspect any land in the area and may examine and take samples of any such plants which he finds growing on the land.

(4) A person who—

( a ) obstructs or impedes an inspector in the exercise of any powers conferred by this section, or

( b ) fails or refuses to furnish in writing to an inspector any name or address within his knowledge or procurement which is lawfully requested of him by the inspector, or furnishes on such request a name or address which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

18.—(1) The licensee shall keep such records as may be prescribed and shall from time to time make the appropriate entries in the records.

(2) Every record kept in pursuance of this section may be inspected at all reasonable times by an inspector.

(3) The licensee shall produce for the inspection of the inspector on request the record and also all invoices, consignment notes, receipts and other documents (including copies where the originals are not available) reasonably requested by the inspector for the purpose of verifying any entry in or explaining any omission from the record.

(4) A person who—

( a ) fails to keep any record or make any entry required by this section, or

( b ) fails to produce for inspection by an inspector on request any record, document or copy of a document which he is required by this Section to produce, or

( c ) wilfully or negligently makes or causes to be made in the record any entry which is false or misleading in any material particular,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(5) For the purposes of this section—

( a ) inspection of a record shall include taking copies of it or making extracts from it,

( b ) a request for inspection of a record or other document shall be deemed to have been duly made to the licensee if made orally on premises in which he carries on business to any person in his employment,

( c ) refusal or failure to produce a record or other document for inspection, if made or committed in premises in which the licensee carries on business, by a person in his employment shall be deemed to have been made or committed by the licensee.

19.—(1) The Minister may make regulations requiring licensees to make periodical returns to the Minister, and the Minister may prescribe the times at which and the form and manner in which the returns are to be made.

(2) A person who fails or refuses to make a return required by the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

20.—(1) The Minister may issue permits for the purposes of this Part and may attach to any permit such conditions as he thinks proper.

(2) When the holder of a permit does not comply with a condition attached to it, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

PART III CERTIFICATION OF SEEDS

21.—(1) The Minister may prescribe a scheme for the certification of any particular class of seeds.

(2) A scheme may—

( a ) prohibit the description of seeds as certified unless they have been certified in accordance with the scheme;

( b ) prohibit the sale of seeds unless they have been so certified;

( c ) prescribe the conditions and circumstances subject to which seeds may be certified;

( d ) provide for the sealing, marking and labelling of sacks and other containers of certified seeds;

( e ) prohibit the use or possession of marked sacks or other containers except in accordance with the scheme;

( f ) prescribe the description by which certified seeds are to be marketed, the mark to be applied to packages of certified seed and the manner in which it is to be applied.

(3) A scheme may, if the Minister so thinks proper, make separate provision with respect to the description by which and the manner in which imported seeds may be sealed, marked, labelled or marketed.

(4) No liability shall attach to the Minister in respect of the use of any seal, mark, label or certificate.

(5) A person who contravenes any provision of a scheme shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

22.—(1) Whenever a seal, mark or label is prescribed for use in accordance with a scheme this section shall have effect.

(2) The Minister shall be the proprietor of the seal, mark or label.

(3) The seal, mark or label shall be a trade mark for the purpose of the Merchandise Marks Acts, 1887 to 1931, and its use or the use of any prescribed certificate or of a colourable imitation of any such certificate, in connection with any seeds which are not certified shall be a false trade description within the meaning of those Acts, which shall apply accordingly.

23.—The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may prescribe the fees to be charged for certification of seeds or for services performed in connection with certification and the time and manner of payment.