Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1939 > Committee on Private Bills Standing Orders > Report - Standing orders relative to private business

SCHEDULE.

Draft

STANDING ORDERS

OF THE DÁIL AND THE SEANAD

RELATIVE TO

PRIVATE BUSINESS

I.—Definition.

In these Orders, unless the context otherwise requires—

the term “Tramway” means a Tramway laid along a street or road and the term “Tramroad” means a Tramway laid elsewhere than along a street or road: Provided that where a Bill relates partly to Tramroad and partly to Tramway as here defined, the provisions of these Orders shall apply to such Tramroad or Tramway however the same may be described in the Bill;

the term “Railway” includes Tramroad and Motor Road;

the term “Trolley vehicle system” means a system of traction whereby vehicles adapted for use upon roads without rails are moved by electrical power transmitted thereto from some external source;

the term “Lessee” includes a person holding an agreement for a lease;

the term “Provisional Order” includes Pilotage Order.

Other expressions defined in the Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937) have the same meanings in these Orders as if these Orders were an Act of the Oireachtas passed after the commencement of that Act.

II.—Private Bills—General.

Private Bill defined.

1. Every Bill promoted for the particular interest or benefit of any person or locality as distinguished from a measure of public policy shall be treated as a Private Bill.

2. The Fees to be charged in the Dáil and in the Seanad, as set out in the Table of Fees in Appendix A, shall be charged, paid, and received in accordance with regulations made by the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil (hereinafter referred to as the Ceann Comhairle) and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad (hereinafter referred to as the Cathaoirleach) jointly. [For Regulations see Page 48].

Examiner of Private Bills.

3. There shall be an Officer of the Oireachtas to be called the Examiner of Private Bills, hereinafter called the “Examiner,” who shall be appointed by the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach jointly.

III.—Standing Orders Compliance with which is to be proved before the Examiner.

Compliance with the following Standing Orders (Nos. 4 to 47, inclusive) shall be proved before the Examiner, viz.:—

1. Notices by Advertisement.

Particulars to be specified in Notice.

4. In all cases where Application is intended to be made for leave to bring in a Private Bill. Notice shall be published setting out the principal subject-matters of the proposed Bill, stating that a copy of the Bill will be deposited in the Private Bill Office of the Oireachtas on or before the 20th December, and that on and after the 21st December a copy of the Bill may be inspected, and copies obtained at a reasonable price at the office or offices mentioned in the Notice. Such Notice shall be headed by the short title of the Bill and shall be subscribed with the name and address of the person by whom the Application is to be made. [See also S.O. 28.]

Further particulars in case of Bills requiring Plans to be deposited.

5. In cases of Bills in respect of which Plans are required to be deposited, the Notice shall further—

(1) contain a general description of the nature of the works proposed, together with the names of the boroughs, urban, and county health districts (or, in the alternative, of the parishes, townlands and baronies) from, in, through, or into which the work is intended to be made, maintained, extended, varied or enlarged, or in which any lands or houses intended to be taken are situate;

(2) set forth and specify the lands in or upon which any gas works, sewage works, chemical works, works for the manufacture or conversion of residual products of gas or sewage, sewage farm, cemetery, burial ground, crematorium, destructor, or hospital for infectious diseases is intended to be made or constructed;

(3) specify at what point or points, and on which side of the street or road it is proposed to lay any tramway, so that for a distance of thirty feet or upwards a less space than twelve feet shall intervene between the outside of the footpath on the side of the street or road and the nearest rail of the tramway;

(4) describe the proposed gauge and motive power of any proposed railway, tramroad, or tramway; and

(5) state that on or before the 30th November Plans, Sections, Maps, and Books of Reference will be deposited with the Secretary or Clerk of the Local Authority for the county or county borough or borough or urban district or county health district, as provided in Appendix C.—3 to these Standing Orders.

Publication of Notice in Newspapers.

6. In the months of October and November, or either of them, immediately preceding the Application for a Bill, but not later than the 27th November, the Notice shall be published once in each of two successive weeks, with an interval between such publications of not less than six clear days, in some newspapers published or circulating in the area to which the Application relates.

For the purposes of this Order the term “area” means—

(a) in the case of a Bill relating specially to a city, borough, town, urban, or county health district—such city, borough, town, urban, or county health district;

(b) in the case of a Bill relating to lands or works—the county or counties in which such lands or works are situate, or in which any new works are proposed to be constructed, together with the county in which the principal office of the Company or Companies or other parties who are the promoters of the Bill is situate.

Provided that if the Bill relates to lands or works situate in more than one county it shall be sufficient (at the option of the Promoters) to publish in each of such counties only so much of the Notice as relates specifically to the lands or works situate in that county, together with an intimation of the name and date of publication of each newspaper in which the Notice has been or will be published in full. [See also S.O. 28.]

Publication of Notice in Iris Oifigiúil.

7. In the months of October and November, or either of them, immediately preceding the Application for a Bill, but not later than the 27th November, there shall be published once in the Iris Oifigiúil the short title of the Bill, a statement as to the date on which and the place where a copy of the Bill may be inspected and copies obtained, as required by Standing Order 4, and, where applicable, a statement as to the date on or before which, and the officers with whom Plans, etc., will be deposited as required by Standing Order 5, and a statement of the name and date of the publication of each newspaper in which the Notice referred to in the preceding Order has been or will be published in full. [See also S.O. 28.]

Posting of Notices in case of Tramway Bill.

8. In the month of November, immediately preceding the Application for any Bill for laying down a Tramway or trolley vehicle system, Notice thereof shall be posted for fourteen consecutive days in conspicuous positions in each of the streets or roads to which the Bill relates, and, in the case of a Tramway, such Notice shall also state the Officers with whom the Plans, etc., shall be deposited in pursuance of Standing Order 5.

2. Notices to Owners, Lessees, and Occupiers of Lands and Houses.

9. On or before the 15th December immediately preceding the Application for a Bill for power to take any lands or houses compulsorily or for compulsory user of the same, or for an extension of the time granted by any former Act for that purpose or to impose an improvement charge on any lands or houses, or to render any lands or houses liable to the imposition of an improvement charge, Notice in writing of the Application shall be given to the Owners or reputed Owners, Lessees or reputed Lessees, and Occupiers of all such lands and houses, and such Notice shall be, as nearly as may be, in the form set forth in Appendix B to these Standing Orders.

Notice to Owners and Occupiers of Houses in case of Burial Grounds, Gas Works, etc., Bills.

10. On or before the 15th December immediately preceding the Application for a Bill, Notice in writing shall be given to the Owner, Lessee and Occupier of every dwellinghouse situated within 300 yards of the lands in or upon which any gas works, sewage works, chemical works, works for the manufacture or conversion of residual products of gas or sewage, sewage farm, cemetery, burial ground, crematorium, destructor, or hospital for infectious diseases is intended under the powers conferred by the Bill to be made or constructed.

Notice when it is proposed to abstract Water from any Stream.

11. On or before the 15th December immediately preceding the Application for a Bill, whereby it is proposed to abstract water from any stream for the purpose of supplying any cut, canal, reservoir, aqueduct, navigation, or waterwork, Notice in writing of such Bill shall be given to the Owners or reputed Owners, Lessees or reputed Lessees, and Occupiers of all mills and manufactories or other works using the waters of such stream for a distance of twenty miles below the point at which such water is intended to be abstracted, such distance to be measured along the course of such stream unless such waters shall, within a less distance than twenty miles, fall into or unite with any navigable stream, and then only to the Owners or reputed Owners, Lessees or reputed Lessees, and Occupiers of such mills and manufactories or other works as aforesaid, which shall be situate between the point at which such water is proposed to be abstracted, and the point at which such water shall fall into or unite with such navigable stream; and such Notice shall state the name (if any) by which the stream is known at the point at which such water shall be immediately abstracted, and also the district in which such point is situate, and the time and place of deposit of Plans, Sections, and Books of Reference with the Officers mentioned in Standing Order 5.

Notice to road authorities in case of Tramway Bill.

12. On or before the 15th December immediately preceding the Application for a Bill to authorise the laying down of a Tramway, Notice in writing of such Application shall be given to the road authorities having supervision over the public roads affected by the proposals.

Notice to Owners, etc., in case of Alteration or Repeal of Provisions.

13. On or before the 15th December immediately preceding the Application for a Bill whereby any express statutory provision then in force for the protection of the Owner, Lessee, or Occupier of any property, or for the protection or benefit of any Public Trustees or Commissioners, Corporation or Person, specifically named in such provision, is sought to be altered or repealed, Notice in writing of such Bill, and of the intention to alter or repeal such provision, shall be given to every such Owner, Lessee, or Occupier, Public Trustees or Commissioners, Corporation or Person.

Notices to be published or served in English or in Irish.

14. The Notices required by the foregoing Standing Orders to be published or served shall be in the English and/or the Irish language, as the case may require, regard being had to the language commonly understood and spoken in the area (as defined by Standing Order 6), to which the Application relates.

Mode of serving Notice.

15. All Notices shall be served, either by delivering the same personally to the party entitled to such Notice, or by leaving the same at his usual place of abode, or, in his absence from the State, with his agent or solicitor, or by forwarding the same by post in a registered letter, addressed with a sufficient direction to his usual place of abode, and posted on or before the fifth day previous to the day required for delivery of the same personally, at such places, at such hours, and according to such regulations as the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs shall from time to time prescribe for the posting and registration of such letters, and shall be accompanied by a copy of the Standing Order [S.O. 68] which regulates the time and mode of presenting Petitions in opposition to Bills.

Evidence of Notice.

16. In all cases the written acknowledgment of the party so served shall, in the absence of other proof, be sufficient evidence of such Notice having been given; and in case of a Notice having been forwarded by a registered letter, the production of the Post Office receipt for such letter shall be sufficient evidence of the due delivery of such letter: Provided it shall appear that the same was properly and sufficiently directed, and that the same was not returned by the Post Office as undelivered.

3. Documents required to be deposited, and the times and places of Deposit.

Deposit of Plans, Books of Reference, Sections and Maps

17. On or before the 30th November immediately preceding the Application for the Bill, Plans, Books of Reference, Sections and Maps, as required, shall be deposited, in the case of Private Bills for any of the purposes set forth in Appendix C to these Standing Orders, with the Officers mentioned and in the manner prescribed in the said Appendix C.

The Secretary or Clerk of the Local Authority shall make a memorandum in writing upon the Plans, Sections, Books of Reference and Maps so deposited with him, denoting the time at which the same were lodged in his office, and shall at all reasonable hours of the day permit any person to view and examine the same, and to make copies thereof or extracts therefrom.

Printed copy of Bill, etc., to be deposited in the Private Bill Office.

18. The Application for a Private Bill, headed by the short title of the Bill, with a printed copy of the Bill annexed, shall be deposited in the Private Bill Office on or before the 20th December; and printed copies of the Bill shall also be delivered therewith for the use of any Member of the Dáil or of the Seanad who may apply for same.

Charges affecting Public Revenue to be inserted in Italics.

19. All charges in any way affecting the Public Revenue, which occur in the sections of any Private Bill, shall be printed in italics in such Bill when presented to the House.

Deposit of copies of Bills with Departments.

20. On or before the 21st December printed copies of the Bill shall be deposited at the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Justice, External Affairs, Local Government and Public Health, Industry and Commerce, Agriculture, Education, Lands, Posts and Telegraphs, and Defence, and at the office of the Attorney-General.

Deposit of Estimate of Expense.

21. In the case of a Bill for any of the purposes set forth in Appendix C.-1 to these Standing Orders, an Estimate of the Expense of the works shown on the Plans deposited in connection with the Bill, signed by the person making the same, shall be deposited in the Private Bill Office on or before the 31st December, and copies shall be delivered therewith for the use of the members of the Dáil and the Seanad. The Estimate shall show the cost of each branch of the works and a summary of the total cost.

Deposit of Copies of Estimate of Expense.

22. On or before 31st December copies of the Estimate of Expense shall be deposited with the Department of Local Government and Public Health and with the Department of Industry and Commerce.

Estimate of Expense in case of works to be carried out by Local Authority.

23. If, in the case of any works proposed to be executed by any Local Authority, any moneys are required to be borrowed to meet any excess of expenditure previously authorised by the Oireachtas, or by any Department of State, there shall be deposited with the said Estimate a statement of the purposes of and reasons for the borrowing.

Together with the said Estimate there shall be deposited a statement showing the following particulars with respect to the district of the Local Authority, that is to say: (a) area of the district; (b) population according to the last published census for the time being; (c) rateable and assessable value according to the valuation list in force; (d) rates made in the district during the last preceding financial year; (e) the sum of the balances of outstanding loans contracted by the Local Authority and the purposes for which such loans were raised; and (f) the amount of the outstanding loans in respect of any purpose to which any statutory limitation on borrowing applies.

4. Deposit of Money.

Percentage to be deposited.

24. There shall be deposited in the case of a Private Bill, with the Accountant of the High Court on or before the 9th January, a sum not less than the following percentage of the amount of the Estimate of Expense, which, in the case of substituted works, shall mean the amount by which the expense thereof will exceed the expense of the works to be abandoned:—

Provided that this Order shall not apply in the case of a railway or tramway Bill promoted by an existing Railway Company or Tramway Company, possessed of a railway or tramway already opened for public traffic, and which has during the year last past paid dividends on its ordinary share capital, and which does not propose to raise under the Bill a capital greater than its existing authorized capital.

Cases in which no money deposit shall be required.

25. In the case of any Bill under which no private or personal pecuniary profit or advantage is to be derived, and where the work is to be made out of money to be raised upon the security of the rates, duties, or revenue already belonging to or under the control of the Promoters, or to be created by or to arise under the Bill, no money deposit shall be required.

5. Notices and Deposits generally.

No Notice of Deposit on Sunday, etc.

26. No Notice served or Deposit made on Sundays or public holidays, or before eight o’clock in the forenoon, or after eight o’clock in the afternoon of any day, shall be deemed valid, except in the case of delivery of letters by post.

Private Bill Office hours.

27. All Notices required to be given and all Deposits required to be made in the Private Bill Office shall be given and made in the said Office between the hours of eleven o’clock in the forenoon and five o’clock in the afternoon of any day on which either House shall sit, and between the hours of eleven o’clock in the forenoon and one o’clock in the afternoon of any day, exclusive of Sundays and public holidays, on which neither House shall sit.

Alternative months for publication of Notice.

28. The Promoters of any Private Bill may, whenever the exigencies of the case require it and with the consent in writing of the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders, publish during the Months of March and April instead of October and November the Notice of intention required to be published by Standing Order 6, and in such case, the date for the deposit of Plans and documents, the posting of Notices in the streets, Notices to Owners and others, the deposit of copies of the Bill, the deposit of Estimates, the deposit of Money and the commencement of the examination for compliance with Standing Orders shall be correspondingly altered in terms of the Standing Orders which shall in such case, in these as in all other respects, mutatis mutandis, apply.

6. Plans, Books of Reference, Sections and Cross-Sections.

Plans, etc., to be prepared by competent person.

29. Every Plan, Section or Estimate required to be deposited under these Standing Orders shall be drawn or made, and shall be signed by a person whose competency shall be evidenced by qualifications such as that he is a licentiate, associate, or fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects or a member or fellow of the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland, or a member or associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland or of the Institution of Civil Engineers, or a member or associate member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers or of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Description of Plans.

30. Every Plan required to be deposited shall be drawn to a scale of not less than six inches to a mile (1/10560), and shall describe the lands which may be taken or used compulsorily, or on which an improvement charge may be imposed, or which are rendered liable to the imposition of an improvement charge, and shall also describe the line or situation of the whole of the work (no alternative line or work being in any case permitted), and the lands in or through which it is to be made, maintained, varied, extended, or enlarged, or through which any communication to or from the work may be made; and where it is the intention of the Promoters to apply for powers to make any lateral deviation from the line of the proposed work, the limits of such deviation shall be defined upon the Plan, and all lands included within such limits shall be marked thereon; and unless the whole of such Plan shall be upon a scale of not less than 25.344 inches to a mile (1/2500), an enlarged Plan shall be added to any building, yard, courtyard, or land within the curtilage of any building, or of any ground cultivated as a garden, either in the line of the proposed work, or included within the limits of the said deviation, upon a scale of not less than 25.344 inches to a mile (1/2500).

Description required in case of Canals, etc.

31. In all cases where it is proposed to make, vary, extend, or enlarge any cut, canal, reservoir, aqueduct, or navigation, the Plan shall describe the brooks and streams to be directly diverted into such intended cut, canal, reservoir, aqueduct or navigation, or into any variation, extension or enlargement thereof respectively, for supplying the same with water.

Particulars in case of Railways.

32. In all cases where it is proposed to make, vary, extend or enlarge any railway, the Plan shall exhibit thereon the distances in miles and decimals of a mile from one of the termini; and a memorandum of the radius of every curve not exceeding one mile in length shall be noted on the Plan in decimals of a mile; and where tunnelling as a substitute for open cutting is intended, the same shall be marked by a dotted line on the Plan, and no work shall be shown as tunnelling, in the making of which it will be necessary to cut through or remove the surface soil.

Diversion of Roads, etc., to be shown.

33. If it be intended to divert, widen or narrow any public road, navigable river, canal or railway, the course of such diversion, and the extent of such widening or narrowing, shall be marked upon the Plan; and if it be intended to divert any public footpath, the course of such diversion shall be marked upon the Plan.

In case of Junctions, course of existing Line to be shown.

34. When a railway is intended to form a junction with an existing or authorised line of railway, the course of such existing or authorised line of railway shall be shown on the deposited Plan for a distance of 800 yards on either side of the proposed junction, on the same scale as the scale of the general Plan.

Plans in case of Street Tramway Bills.

35. In cases of Bills for laying down a tramway, the Plans shall indicate whether it is proposed to lay such tramway along the centre of any street and if not along the centre, then on which side of, and at what distance from, an imaginary line drawn along the centre of such street, and at what point or points (if any) the tramway shall cross from one side of the street to the other side d each such point shall be numbered, and whether or not and, if so, at what point or points it is proposed to lay such tramway so that for a distance of thirty feet or upwards a less space than twelve feet shall intervene between the outside of the footpath on either side of the road and the nearest rail of the tramway.

All lengths shall be stated on the Plan and Section in miles and decimals of a mile. The distances in miles and decimals of a mile from one of the termini of each tramway shall be marked on the Plan and Section. Each double portion of tramway, whether a passing-place or otherwise, shall be indicated by a double line. The total length of the road upon which each tramway is to be laid shall be stated (i.e., the length of route of each tramway).

The length of each double and single portion of such tramway, and the total length of such double and single portions respectively, shall also be stated.

In the case of double lines (including passing-places), the distance between the centre lines of each line of tramway shall be marked on the Plans. This distance must in all cases be sufficient to leave at least fifteen inches between the sides of the widest carriages and engines to be used on the tramways when passing one another. The gradients of the road on which each tramway is to be laid shall be marked on the Section. Every crossing of a railway, tramway, river, or canal shall be shown, specifying, in the case of railways and tramways, whether they are crossed over, under, or on the level.

All tidal waters shall be coloured blue.

All places where for a distance of thirty feet and upwards there will be a less space than twelve feet between the outside of the footpath on either side of the road and the nearest rail of the tramway shall be indicated by a thick dotted line on the Plans on the side or sides of the line of tramway where such narrow places occur, as well as noted on the Plans, and the width of the road at those places should also be marked on the Plans.

The preceding paragraph shall apply, in the case of a tramroad, wherever it is carried along a street or road.

Definition of improvement and improvement area.

36. In the case of Bills containing power to impose on any lands or houses, or to render any lands or houses liable to the imposition of, any charge in respect of any improvement, the Plan shall define the improvement, and also the improvement area (being the limits within which the charge may be imposed).

Contents of Book of Reference.

37. The Book of Reference shall contain the names of the Owners or reputed Owners, Lessees or reputed Lessees and Occupiers of all lands and houses which may be taken or used compulsorily or upon which any improvement charge is imposed, or which are rendered liable to have an improvement charge imposed upon them, and shall describe the situation of such lands and houses respectively.

38. The Section shall be drawn to the same horizontal scale as the Plan, and to a vertical scale of not less than one inch to every 100 feet, and shall show the surface of the ground marked on the Plan, the intended level of the proposed work, the height of every embankment, and the depth of every cutting, and a datum horizontal line, which shall be the same throughout the whole length of the work, or any branch thereof respectively, and shall be referred either directly to Ordnance datum or to some fixed point (stated in writing on the Section) near some portion of such work, and in the case of a canal, cut, navigation, public road or railway near either of the termini.

Where all levels are not referred to Ordnance datum, the distance of such fixed point above or below an Ordnance bench mark in the locality of the proposed work, and near one of the termini, and the height of such bench mark above Ordnance datum, shall also be stated.

Distances on the datum line shall be marked in miles and decimals of a mile to correspond with those on the Plan.

Improvements, etc., of Navigation.

39. In cases of Bills for improving the navigation of any river, there shall be a Section which shall specify the levels of both banks of such river; and where any alteration is intended to be made therein, it shall describe the same by feet and inches, or decimal parts of a foot.

Line of Railway.

40. In every Section of a railway, the line of the railway marked thereon shall correspond with the upper surface of the rails. A vertical measure from the datum line to the line of the railway shall be marked in feet and inches or decimal parts of a foot, at the commencement and termination of the railway, and at each change of the gradient or inclination thereof, and the proportion or rate of inclination between every two consecutive vertical measures shall also be marked.

Bridges and Level Crossing.

41. Wherever the line of the railway is intended to cross any public road, navigable river, canal, or railway, the height of the railway over or depth under the surface thereof, and the height and span of every arch of all bridges and viaducts, by which the railway will be carried over the same, shall be marked in figures at every crossing thereof; and where the railway will be carried across any such public road or railway on the level thereof, such crossing shall be so described on the Section, and it shall also be stated if such level will be unaltered.

Cross-Sections of Roads, etc.

42. If any alteration be intended in the water-level of any canal, or in the level or rate of inclination of any public road or railway which will be crossed by the line of railway, then the same shall be stated on the Section, and each alteration shall be numbered, and Cross-Sections, in reference to the numbers, on a horizontal scale of not less than 25.344 inches to a mile, and on a vertical scale of not less than one inch to every 40 feet, shall be added, which shall show the present surface of such canal, road or railway, and the intended surface thereof when altered; and the greatest of the present and intended rates of inclination of the portion of such road or railway intended to be altered shall also be marked in figures thereon; and where any public road is crossed on the level, a Cross-Section of such road shall also be added, and all such Cross-Sections shall extend for 200 yards on each side of the centre line of the railway.

Embankments and Cuttings.

43. Wherever the extreme height of any embankment or the extreme depth of any cutting shall exceed five feet, the extreme height over or depth under the surface of the ground shall be marked in figures upon the Section; and if any bridge or viaduct of more than three arches shall intervene in any embankment, or if any tunnel shall intervene in any cutting, the extreme height or depth shall be marked in figures on each of the parts into which such embankment or cutting, shall be divided by such bridge, viaduct, or tunnel.

Tunnelling and Viaducts.

44. Where tunnelling, as a substitute for open cutting, or a viaduct as a substitute for solid embankment is intended, the same shall be marked on the Section, and no work shall be shown as tunnelling in the making of which it will be necessary to cut through or remove the surface soil.

Gradients in case of Junctions.

45. When a railway is intended to form a junction with an existing or authorized line of railway, the gradient of such existing or authorized line of railway shall be shown on the deposited Section, and in connection therewith, and on the same scale as the general Section, for a distance of 800 yards on either side of the point of junction.

7. Consent of Proprietors or Members of Companies.

Consent of proprietors by Special Resolution.

46. In the case of a Bill promoted by a Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership, proof shall be given before the Examiner, prior to the Second Stage of the Bill in the Seanad, that the Bill, as introduced or proposed to be introduced into the Oireachtas, shall have been approved, subject to such additions, alterations or variations as the Oireachtas may think fit to make, by a special resolution of the Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership, and for the purposes of this Order, Section 69 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, shall be deemed to apply to the promoting Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership, whether formed or registered under the Companies Act, 1862, or the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908. or specially constituted by Statute or otherwise constituted.

No form of proxy sent out in compliance with the provisions of this Order shall be stamped before it is sent out, nor shall the funds of the Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership be used for the stamping of any proxies, nor shall intimation be sent as to any person in whose favour the proxy may be granted, and no other circular or form of proxy relating to any meeting for the purposes of this Order shall be sent to any proprietor or member from the office of the Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership or by any director or officer of the Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership so describing himself.

The names of the proprietors or members present in person at the meeting shall be recorded by the Company, Society, Association, or Co-Partnership. For this purpose the meeting and any other consecutive meetings, whether general or special, and whether preceding or following it, shall be deemed to be the same meeting.

A poll may be demanded by any one proprietor or member present in person at the meeting, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in any instrument constituting the Company, Society, Association, or Co-Partnership.

There shall be deposited at the Private Bill Office a statement of the number of votes if a poll is taken, and of the number of votes recorded separately, and a copy of such afore-mentioned special resolution.

So far as any such Bill relates to a separate undertaking in any Company already constituted by Act of the Oireachtas as distinct from the general undertaking, separate meetings shall be held of the proprietors of the Company and of the separate undertaking.

So far as any such Bill relates to a separate class of proprietors or members of any Company, Society, Association, or Co-Partnership (other than a Company already constituted by Statute) as distinct from the proprietors or members generally, such Bill shall be approved by the proprietors or members generally, and also by the separate class of proprietors or members.

The provisions of this Order applicable to meetings of the proprietors of the Company, Society, Association or Co-Partnership or to the proprietors or members generally shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to meetings of proprietors of the separate undertaking, or to the separate class of proprietors or members, as the case may be.

Provisions as to Railway Bills charging payments on local rate.

47. When in any Railway Bill a provision is contained by which the payment of any moneys is directly or contingently charged upon the poor rate, or any other local rate, by means of a guarantee or otherwise, such Bill shall, within five weeks of the date on which compliance was certified by the Examiner, be referred again to the Examiner, who shall report as to compliance or non-compliance with the following:

A copy of the Bill, as deposited in the Private Bill Office, shall be submitted to the county council or other authority empowered to make such rates and according as the payment of any moneys is by the said Bill proposed to be charged upon a county or portion of a county, or upon one or more urban districts, such Bill shall also be submitted to the county council for such county or to the district council for such district, as the case may be.

Notice of the intention to submit a copy of such Bill to such county or district council shall be given ten days previously to submitting the same to the Secretary or Clerk of such council, and shall be advertised, once in each of two consecutive weeks, with an interval between such publications of not less than six clear days, in some one and the same morning newspaper published in Dublin, and in some one and the same newspaper published or circulating in the county or district upon which it is proposed by the Bill to impose any local rate or charge.

IV.—Proceedings of, and in Relation to, the Examiner and the Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

Examination of Private Bills.

48. Every Private Bill which has been duly deposited in the Private Bill Office shall be examined by the Examiner for proof that the Standing Orders have been complied with.

Date for commencement of examination.

49. The examination of Bills which shall have been duly deposited in the Private Bill Office shall commence on the 15th January, and the Examiner shall give at least seven clear days’ notice of the day appointed for the examination of each Bill.

Examiner to report whether Standing Orders have or have not been complied with.

50. The Examiner shall report to the Dáil and the Seanad with respect to each Bill thus examined, whether the Standing Orders have or have not been complied with; and when they have not been complied with, he shall also report the facts upon which his decision is founded, and any special circumstances connected with the case:

Provided that in case the Examiner shall be in doubt as to the due construction of any Standing Order in its application to a particular case, he shall make a special report of the facts without deciding whether the Standing Order has or has not been complied with.

Memorial complaining of non-compliance.

51. Any parties complaining of a non-compliance with the Standing Orders shall be entitled to appear before the Examiner and be heard by themselves, their agents, and witness upon addressing a Memorial to the Examiner to that effect, provided that such Memorial shall have been deposited not later than three clear days before the day appointed for examination of the Bill.

Petitions for additional provision.

52. All Petitions for additional provision, with the proposed Sections annexed, presented by being deposited in the Private Bill Office, shall be examined by the Examiner for proof that the Standing Orders have been complied with, and the Examiner shall report to the Dáil and the Seanad whether the Standing Orders have or have not been complied with, and when they have not been complied with, the facts upon which his decision is founded, and any special circumstances connected with the case.

In cases where provisions are sought to be inserted which were comprised in the original Notices, but were not contained in the Bill as introduced into the Oireachtas, the original Notices shall not be held to apply to the additional provisions proposed to be inserted. (See also S.O. 125.)

Examination of Petition for additional provision.

53. The Examiner shall give at least two clear days’ notice of the day upon which the Petition for additional provision will be examined, and any parties who shall have deposited a Memorial complaining of non-compliance with the Standing Orders, before twelve o’clock noon on the day preceding that appointed for the examination, shall be entitled to appear and to be heard by themselves, their agents and witnesses.

Dissenting Proprietor shall be heard by the Examiner.

54. Any Proprietor, Shareholder or Member of or in any Company, who shall by himself or any person authorised to act for him in that behalf have dissented at any meeting called in pursuance of Standing Order 46 shall be permitted to be heard by the Examiner, on the compliance with such Standing Order, by himself, his agents, and witnesses, on a Memorial adressed to the Examiner, such Memorial having been duly deposited in the Private Bill Office.

Proof by Affidavit.

55. The Examiner may admit affidavits in proof of the compliance with the Standing Orders or may require further evidence; and any such affidavit shall be sworn before a Peace Commissioner, or a Commissioner for Oaths.

Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

56.—(a) As soon as may be after a general election for both Houses, there shall be set up a Joint Committee on Standing Orders consisting of three Members of the Dáil appointed by the Dáil, three Members of the Seanad appointed by the Seanad, and a Chairman, who shall be a Member of either House, nominated by the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach jointly. Three Members (of whom the Chairman shall be one) shall form the quorum, and each House shall be represented on the quorum by at least one Member.

(b) In the absence of the Chairman through illness or other cause, the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach jointly may, at their discretion, nominate a Member of the Joint Committee for the purpose of discharging, during such absence, the functions imposed on the Chairman by these Standing Orders.

(c) All questions before the Joint Committee shall be decided by a majority of votes, not including the vote of the Chairman, and whenever the votes are equal, the Chairman shall exercise a casting vote.

Report as to dispensing with Standing Orders in cases of non-compliance.

57. All reports from the Examiner in respect of Bills in which he shall report that Standing Orders have not been complied with shall be referred to the Joint Committee on Standing Orders, and the Committee shall report to both Houses whether the Standing Orders ought or ought not to be dispensed with, and in the former case upon what terms and conditions, if any.

Proceedings in case of special report.

58. All special reports from the Examiner as to the construction of a Standing Order shall be referred to the Joint Committee on Standing Orders, and the Committee shall determine according to their construction of the Standing Order, and on the facts stated in the report, whether the Standing Orders have or have not been complied with, and they shall report accordingly to both Houses, and if the Joint Committee report that a Standing Order has not been complied with, they shall also report whether such Order ought to be dispensed with and upon what terms and conditions, if any.

Petitions to dispense with Standing Orders referred to the Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

59. All Petitions praying that any of the Standing Orders relative to Private Business may be dispensed with shall be presented by being deposited in the Private Bill Office; and every such Petition so deposited shall stand referred to the Joint Committee on Standing Orders, who shall report to both Houses or to the Dáil or the Seanad, as the case may be, whether such Standing Orders ought or ought not to be dispensed with.

Procedure in case of a Public Bill where Standing Orders relating to Private Bills appear applicable.

60. Where a Public Bill is ordered to be read a Second time in either House, on a day appointed, and it appears to the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach, as the case may be, that the Standing Orders relative to Private Business may be applicable to the Bill, the Bill shall be referred to the Examiner, who shall examine the Bill with respect to compliance with the Standing Orders relative to Private Business, and shall proceed and report forthwith, and the Order of the Day relating to the Bill shall not be affected thereby; but if the Examiner report that any Standing Order applicable to the Bill has not been complied with, and the Joint Committee on Standing Orders report that such Standing Order ought not to be dispensed with, the Order of the Day relating to the Bill shall be discharged. [See also S.O. 121.]

V.—Proceedings in the House on a Private Bill or a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill prior to its being Referred to Committee.

Bills to be initiated in the Seanad.

61. All Private Bills and Provisional Order Confirmation Bills shall be initiated in the Seanad. [See also S.O.112.]

First Stage of a Private Bill.

62. When the Examiner has reported to both Houses with respect to any Private Bill that the Standing Orders have been complied with, or, in the case of non-compliance, when the Joint Committee on Standing Orders have reported that the Standing Orders ought to be dispensed with, and both Houses have given leave to the parties to proceed with the Bill, the Bill shall be deemed to be read the first time in the Seanad.

First Stage of Provisional Order Confirmation Bill.

63. A Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be initiated on motion for leave to introduce the Bill. If leave to introduce the Bill be given, an order shall be made for its Second Stage, and the Bill shall be printed.

64. No Private Bill or Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be set down for the Second Stage in the Seanad earlier than the seventh day or later than the fourteenth day after the First Stage: Provided that if the Seanad be in adjournment when such fourteenth day expires, the period shall be extended to the next day thereafter upon which the Seanad shall sit.

Notice of Day proposed for Second Stage.

65. Four clear days’ notice in writing shall be given by the Agent for the Bill in the Private Bill Office of the day proposed for the Second Stage of every Private Bill; and no such notice shall be given until the day after that on which the Bill has passed the First Stage.

Bill referred to Joint Committee.

66.—(a) Every Private Bill and every opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill after having passed the Second Stage in the Seanad shall, with the concurrence of both Houses, be referred to a Joint Committee of both Houses. In the absence of such concurrence, the Bill may be referred by the Seanad to a Select Committee.

(b) Every unopposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill after having passed the Second Stage in the Seanad shall be considered in Committee of the whole Seanad unless the Seanad shall otherwise order.

(c) For the purposes of this Order, a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be treated as opposed if prior to the passing of the Second Stage in the Seanad a Petition shall have been presented against any Order scheduled thereto.

Discussion of principle of Bill on motion in the Dáil to concur.

67. On motion made in the Dáil to concur with the Seanad as to the expediency of referring any Private Bill or opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill to a Joint Committee, discussion of the general principle of the Bill shall be in order.

Petitions.

Presentation of Petitions against Bills.

68. No Petition praying to be heard on the merits against any Private Bill or any Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be received unless the Petition is presented by being deposited in the Private Bill Office, in the case of a Private Bill on or before the fourteenth day after that on which the Bill passed the Second Stage in the Seanad, and in the case of a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill prior to the passing of the Second Stage of the Bill in the Seanad.

Petitions against alterations.

69. Petitions praying to be heard against any proposed alteration in any Private Bill or Provisional Order Confirmation Bill may be deposited at the Private Bill Office at any time before the proposed alteration is considered by the Committee on the Bill.

Petitions stand referred to Committee on Bill.

70. Every Petition against, or against alteration in, a Private Bill or Provisional Order Confirmation Bill which shall have been deposited in the Private Bill Office within the required time, and in which the Petitioners shall have prayed to be heard either personally or by their Counsel or Agents shall stand referred to the Committee on the Bill, and such Petitioners, subject to the provisions of these Standing Orders, shall be heard upon their Petition, and the Promoters, their Counsel or Agents, shall be heard in support of the Bill, but the costs of two Counsel only shall be allowed on taxation in support of any Bill or in support of any Petition against such Bill.

VI.—Proceedings of, and in relation to, Committees on Bills.

Constitution of Joint Committee on Bill.

71. The Joint Committee on a Private Bill or opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be composed of a Chairman and three members of each House not locally or otherwise interested in the Bill. The Chairman, who shall be a Member of either House, shall be appointed by the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach jointly, and the other members shall be nominated by the Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

Discharge of Members of Committee.

72. The Joint Committee on Standing Orders shall have the power of discharging any Member or Members of a Committee on a Bill, other than the Chairman, and of substituting another Member or other Members.

Declaration by Members of Committee.

73. Each Member of the Committee on a Bill shall, before he be entitled to attend and vote on such Committee, sign a declaration as follows:—

(If a Member of Dáil Eireann):

I do hereby declare that my constituents have no local interest, and that I have no personal interest, in the (short title) Bill; and that I will not vote on any question which may arise without having duly heard and attended to the Evidence relating thereto.

(If a member of Seanad Eireann):

I do hereby declare that I have no personal interest in the (short title) Bill; and that I will not vote on any question which may arise without having duly heard and attended to the Evidence relating thereto.

Quorum for Committee.

74. No Joint Committee on a Bill shall be allowed to proceed if more than three of its Members are absent.

Absence of Chairman.

75. If the Chairman be absent from the Committee on a Bill, the chair shall be taken by such Member of the Committee as the Committee may choose.

No Member of Committee shall absent himself.

76. No Member of the Committee on an opposed Private Bill shall absent himself from his duties thereon, except in the case of sickness or by leave of the House.

Method of deciding question.

77. All questions before the Joint Committee on a Bill shall be decided by a majority of votes, not including the vote of the Chairman, but whenever the votes are equal the Chairman shall exercise a casting vote.

Committee appoint day for consideration of Bill.

78. The Committee on a Bill shall appoint the day upon which they will enter upon the consideration of such Bill, and on which they will require the parties severally promoting or opposing the same to enter appearance, and four clear days’ notice at least of such appointment shall be given in the Private Bill Office by the Clerk to the Committee. When adjourning the consideration of a Bill, the Committee shall release from attendance any party or parties opposing the Bill whose interests will not be involved in any portion of the Bill to be considered on the day to which the consideration of the Bill is adjourned.

Filled-up Bill to be deposited in Private Bill Office.

79. Copies of the filled-up Bill, as proposed to be submitted to the Committee on the Bill, signed by the Agent for the Bill, shall be deposited in the Private Bill Office, three clear days before the sitting of the Committee; and a copy of the proposed amendments shall, two clear days before the sitting of the Committee, be furnished by the Promoters to such parties petitioning against the Bill as shall apply for it.

Copy of each days report of speeches and evidence to be supplied to each Member.

80. A verbatim report of the speeches and evidence before the Committee on a Bill shall be taken by one of the official reporters. In the case of an opposed Bill such report shall be printed; in the case of an unopposed Bill, the report shall be printed if the Committee so require, but if the Committee shall not require such printing, a typed transcript of the report shall be made and shall be retained in the Private Bill Office. In the case of a report so printed, a copy of each day’s report shall be supplied to each member of the Committee prior to the next sitting of the Committee, and copies shall be supplied at a reasonable price to any Petitioner or others who may desire them. Copies shall also be deposited in the Private Bill Office. The taking of such report and the printing of same, where required, shall be at the Promoter’s expense.

Locus standi of Petitioners.

81. The Committee on any Bill shall decide upon all Petitions against such Bill as to the rights of the Petitioners to be heard upon such Petitions.

Committee to Report Bill.

82. The Committee on a Bill shall require proof of the allegations contained in the Preamble of the Bill, and if they shall agree to the Preamble they shall go through the several sections of the Bill, and may strike out sections, add new sections, and make any other amendments as they shall deem necessary, and shall report accordingly; and when any alteration shall have been made in the Preamble of the Bill, other than a drafting alteration, such alteration, together with the ground of making it, shall be specially stated in the report, and if the parties have acquainted the Committee that it is not their intention to proceed with the Bill, the Committee shall report the same.

Reports from Departments of State.

83. All reports made under the authority of any Department of State upon a Bill shall stand referred to the Committee on the Bill.

Recommendations from Departments of State.

84. Whenever a recommendation shall have been made in a report on a Bill from a Department of State referred to the Committee, the Committee shall notice such recommendation in their report, and shall state their reasons for dissenting, should such recommendation not be agreed to.

Report from Department of Industry and Commerce in case of Railway Bill, etc.

85. In the case of a Railway, Tramway or Tramroad Bill, the Bill shall not be reported by the Committee until a report from the Department of Industry and Commerce on the powers sought has been laid before the Committee; and the Committee shall report specially in what manner the recommendations or observations in the report of the Department of Industry and Commerce, and also in what manner the sections of the Bill relating to the powers sought, have been dealt with by the Committee.

Proceedings of Committee on opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill.

86. In the case of an opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill referred to a Joint or Select Committee, the proceedings of the Committee on the Bill shall be conducted, so far as is possible, in like manner as in the case of a Private Bill, the proceedings on behalf of the Promoters being conducted by the applicant for the Provisional Order scheduled to the Bill, which is opposed.

Dissenting Proprietor shall be heard by the Committee on the Bill.

87. Any Proprietor, Shareholder or Member of or in any Company, who shall by himself or any person authorised to act for him in that behalf have dissented at any meeting called in pursuance of Standing Order 46, shall be permitted to be heard by the Committee on the Bill, on a Petition having been duly deposited in the Private Bill Office.

Limit of Time for Completion of Works.

Limit of time in the case of Railway, Gas, etc., Bill.

88. In the case of every Bill whereby the construction of any railway, tramroad or tramway is authorised, or for the supply of water or gas, or for conferring power to run motor omnibuses or for laying down a trolley vehicle system or for any other works, the Committee on the Bill shall insert a provision fixing a period within which the construction of the works shall be completed or the powers conferred shall be exercised: Provided that the Committee may, if they think fit, insert a further provision enabling the Minister for Industry and Commerce or the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, as the case may be, upon the application and at the expense (including the cost of an inquiry, if any) of the Promoters, to extend, by order, such period, but so as not to exceed a maximum period which may be fixed by the Committee, in any case where it shall appear to such Minister that the Promoters were prevented from completing the construction of the works or from exercising the powers conferred by unforeseen accident or circumstances beyond their control; but the want of sufficient funds shall not be held to be a circumstance beyond their control. And a further provision shall be inserted in the Bill that if the construction of the works be not completed or the powers conferred be not exercised at the expiration of such first mentioned period, or such extended period, as the case may be, all authorities and powers given by the Act shall thenceforth cease and determine, save only as to so much work as has been completed, or so much of such powers as have been exercised.

If the Committee insert a provision enabling the period to be so extended by order, a further provision shall be inserted in the Bill as follows:—

Provided that an order made in pursuance of the powers conferred by this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if a resolution is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twentyone days on which such House has sat after such order is laid before it annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such order.

Railway, Tramroad and Tramway Bills.

Penalties in the event of non-completion of line within the period.

89. In every Railway, Tramroad or Tramway Bill whereby the construction of any new line of railway, tramroad or tramway is authorised, or the time for completing any line already authorised is extended, the Committee on the Bill shall require the insertion of provisions for the following purposes, viz.:—

(1) In the case of an existing company which is possessed of a railway or tramway or tramroad already opened for public traffic, and which has, during the year last past, paid dividends on its ordinary share capital, and which does not propose to raise under the Bill a capital greater than its existing authorised capital, there shall be inserted a provision that if the company fail to complete the line within the period limited by the Act, or where the Act provides that the period limited by the Committee may be extended by order in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 88, within the period limited by such order (if any), it shall be liable to a penalty of fifty pounds a day until the line has been completed and opened for public traffic, or until such penalty amounts to the proportion of the estimated cost of the work calculated according to the scale set out in Standing Order 24; and the said penalty may be applied for by any of the persons set out in the Parliamentary Deposits and Bonds Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vic., c. 27), and in the same manner as the penalty provided in the Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1854 (17 & 18 Vic., c. 31), and every sum of money recovered by way of such penalty as aforesaid shall be paid under the warrant or order of such Court or Judge as is specified in the said Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1854, to an account opened or to be opened in the name and with the privity of the Accountant of the High Court.

(2) If such Bill is promoted by an existing company which has not a line already opened for public traffic or which during the past year has not paid dividends upon its ordinary share capital, or by an existing company when the capital to be raised is greater than the company’s existing capital, or by persons not already incorporated, there shall be inserted a provision that the moneys or securities deposited under Standing Order 24 shall be retained, and made liable to forfeiture unless, within the period limited by the Act for completing the line or where the Act provides that the period limited by the Committee may be extended by order in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 88, within the period limited by such order (if any), the Company shall open the said line for the public conveyance of passengers.

(3) There shall also be inserted a provision that the penalties recovered or deposits forfeited shall be applied towards compensating any landowners or other persons as defined by the said Parliamentary Deposits and Bonds Act, 1892, whose property may have been interfered with or affected.

Other provisions for insuring completion of line.

90. In any Railway, Tramroad or Tramway Bill to which the preceding Standing Order is not applicable, the Committee on the Bill shall make such other provision as they shall deem necessary for ensuring the completion of the line of railway, tramroad or tramway.

Restrictions as to Mortgage.

91. In the case of a Railway, Tramroad or Tramway Bill, a Company shall not be authorised to raise, by Loan or Mortgage, a larger sum than one-third of its capital; or until fifty per cent. on the whole of the capital shall have been paid up, to raise any money by Loan or Mortgage, unless the Committee on the Bill shall report that such restrictions or either of them ought not to be enforced, with the reasons on which their opinion is founded.

Bills Promoted by Local Authorities.

Certificate of Minister for Local Government and Public Health required in case of Bills by Local Authorities for new powers, etc.

92. Whenever by any Private Bill application is made by or on behalf of any Local Authority for any new powers, or for any increased or additional powers, the Promoters shall be required to obtain a certificate under the seal of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, setting forth whether such application is made with or without the sanction and approval of the said Minister, which certificate shall be produced before the Committee to which the Bill is referred, and shall be reported upon by the said Committee.

Period for repayment of Loan in Bills by Local Authorities.

93. In the case of any Private Bill promoted by or conferring powers on a Local Authority or public body having powers of local government or rating, the Committee on the Bill shall not sanction a period for the repayment of any loan or for the repayment of any charge or debt under the Bill exceeding the term of sixty years, or any period disproportionate to the duration of the works to be executed, or other objects of the loan, charge or debt; and a provision shall be inserted in the Bill that the exercise of any borrowing powers under the Bill for purposes for which such powers already exist or may be obtained under the general Acts shall be subjected to approval from time to time by the proper Department of State.

Agreements.

Agreement to be annexed to Bill.

94. Where it is sought by any Private Bill to give the sanction of the Oireachtas to any Agreement, such Agreement shall be annexed to the Bill as a Schedule thereto, and shall be printed in extenso therewith.

Charitable or Educational Institutions.

Report of Attorney-General, etc., on Bills affecting Charities, etc.

95. Notice in writing of any Private Bill containing provisions whereby any application of the property of any charity not authorised by the Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts shall be directed, or the patronage or the constitution of any charity, or the right of any charity to any property, shall be affected, or setting up or taking power to set up or to take over or interfere in the management of any school or other educational foundation or institution, or to levy any rate or raise money for any such purpose, shall be given to the Attorney-General and to the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests prior to the First Stage of the Bill in the Seanad, and if a report on the Bill shall be received from the Attorney-General or from the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests, such report shall stand referred to the Committee on the Bill.

Houses of the Working Class.

Sections relating to Houses of the Working Class to be inserted in Bills to take land.

96. In the case of every Bill which gives, revives, or extends power to take land compulsorily or by agreement, sections shall be inserted:—

(1) providing that the Promoters shall not, in the exercise of such power, purchase or acquire, in any local area, any house or houses occupied, either wholly or partially, by thirty or more persons belonging to the working class, as tenants or lodgers, unless and until—

(a) they shall have obtained the approval of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health by Order to a scheme for providing new dwellings for the persons residing in such houses, or for such number or proportion of such persons as the Minister shall, after inquiry, deem necessary, having regard to the number of persons residing in the houses liable to be taken, and working within one mile therefrom and to the amount of vacant suitable accommodation in the immediate neighbourhood of the houses liable to be taken, or to the place of employment of such persons, and all the other circumstances of the case; and

(b) they shall have given security to the satisfaction of the Minister for the carrying out of the scheme;

(2) imposing adequate penalties on the Promoters in the event of houses being acquired or appropriated for the purposes of the Bill in contravention of the foregoing provisions;

(3) providing that the expenses or any part of the expenses incurred by the Minister in making the Order shall be defrayed by the Promoters of the Bill, or out of moneys to be raised under the Bill; and

(4) conferring on the Promoters and on the Minister, respectively, any powers that may be necessary to enable full effect to be given to the said scheme.

For the purposes of this Order—

the expression “local area” means any urban or county health district, borough or county borough;

the expression “house” means any house or part of a house occupied as a separate dwelling;

the expression “working class” means mechanics, artisans, labourers, and others working for wages; hawkers, costermongers, persons not working for wages but working at some trade or handicraft without employing others except members of their own family, and persons, other than domestic servants, whose income in any case does not exceed an average of sixty shillings a week, and the families of any of such persons who may be residing with them;

the expression “Bill” includes a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill.

Accommodation for Workmen.

Provision of Accommodation for Workmen on Works.

97. In the case of every Bill authorising the construction of works outside any county borough the Committee to which the Bill is referred, if they are of opinion that such a number of workmen will probably be simultaneously employed upon the works as, having regard to the nature and situation of the works, to make such an inquiry desirable, shall inquire into the question of the sufficiency of the accommodation and service available or proposed by the Promoters to be provided under the Bill—

(1) for the proper housing and sanitary requirements of persons employed in constructing the works authorised by the Bill;

(2) for the treatment of cases of sickness or accident, including accommodation for dealing with infectious disease;

and if they think that further accommodation or service for these purposes ought to be provided, they shall insert in the Bill such sections as in their opinion are necessary to secure the provision of satisfactory accommodation or service for those purposes by the local authority, company, or person authorised to execute the work.

Water.

Compensation Water.

98. In the case of every Bill whereby it is proposed to impound, abstract, or otherwise interfere with the whole or any part of the water of any river or stream, the Committee on the Bill shall inquire into the expediency of making provision, so far as may be practicable, for giving a flow of water in compensation for the water so impounded, abstracted or interfered with, and whether the whole or a minimum amount of such compensation water shall be given in a continuous flow throughout the twenty-four hours of every day or otherwise, and shall report accordingly.

Burial Grounds, Cemeteries, and Gas Works.

Section for defining limits of Cemetery, Gas Works, etc.

99. In every Bill for making or constructing gas works or sewage works, chemical works, or works for the manufacture or conversion of the residual products of gas or sewage, or for making or constructing, altering, or enlarging any sewage farm, cemetery, burial ground, crematorium, destructor, or hospital for infectious disease, there shall be inserted a section defining the lands in or upon which such gas works, sewage works, farm, cemetery, burial ground, crematorium, destructor or hospital may be made or constructed.

Gas Companies (Additional Capital).

100. In the case of every Bill by which an existing gas company is authorised to raise additional capital, it shall be competent to the Committee so to regulate the price of the gas to be charged to consumers, that any reduction of an authorised standard price shall entitle the company to make a proportionate increase of the authorised dividend, and that any increase above the standard price shall involve a proportionate decrease of dividend.

VII.—Subsequent Stages in the Proceedings in each House.

Report to be laid upon Table of both Houses.

101. The report of the Committee upon every Private Bill or opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be laid upon the Table of both Houses, and the Bill shall be set down for Report Stage in the Seanad.

Bill as amended to be reprinted.

102. Every Private Bill shall be reprinted as amended in Committee, at the expense of the Promoters, previously to the consideration of the Bill on Report Stage in the Seanad, unless the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders shall consider the reprinting to be unnecessary.

Report Stage in the Seanad.

103. At least ten clear days shall intervene between the day on which the report on any Bill is ordered to be laid upon the Table of the Seanad and the Report Stage of the Bill in the Seanad.

Copies of Bill as amended in Committee to be deposited with Departments.

104. Seven clear days at least before the Report Stage of any Bill in the Seanad, a copy of the Bill, as amended in Committee, shall be deposited at every Department and Office at which the original Bill was deposited under Standing Order 20.

Amendments on Report Stage in the Seanad.

105. In the case of any amendment set down on the Report Stage of any Bill in the Seanad, the Leas-Chathaoirleach shall inform the Seanad if, in his opinion, the amendment should be referred to the former Committee on the Bill prior to its being considered in the Seanad. When any amendment has been referred to the former Committee on the Bill, no further proceeding in the House shall be taken until the report of the said Committee has been brought up.

Bills passed by the Seanad to be sent to the Dáil.

106. Every Private Bill and every opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bill when it has passed the Fifth Stage in the Seanad shall be sent to the Dáil and shall be set down for Report Stage in the Dáil, the First, Second and Committee Stages of the Bill in the Dáil being deemed to have been passed.

Amendments made in the Seanad to appear in distinctive type.

107. In the case of a Bill set down for Report Stage in the Dáil, if any section of the Bill as reported by the Joint Committee has been amended by the Seanad, such section shall, at the Promoters’ expense, be printed in extenso with every addition and substitution in different type, and the omissions therefrom included in brackets and underlined, unless the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders shall consider such printing to be unnecessary.

Report Stage in the Dáil.

108. Fifteen clear days at least shall intervene between the day on which any Bill is sent by the Seanad to the Dáil and the Report Stage of the Bill in the Dáil.

Amendments on Report Stage in the Dáil.

109. In the case of any amendment set down on the Report Stage of any Bill in the Dáil, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle shall inform the Dáil if, in his opinion, the amendment should be referred to the former Committee on the Bill prior to its being considered in the Dáil. When any amendment has been referred to the former Committee on the Bill, no further proceeding in the House shall be taken until the report of the said Committee has been brought up.

Notice of Report Stage.

110. Seven clear days’ notice in writing shall be given by the Agent for the Bill in the Private Bill Office of the day proposed for the taking in either House of the Report Stage of every Private Bill.

Notice of Fifth Stage.

111. One clear day’s notice in writing shall be given by the Agent for the Bill, in the Private Bill Office, of the day proposed for the taking in either House of the Fifth Stage of every Private Bill, and no such notice shall be given until the day after that on which the Bill shall have passed the Report Stage.

A Bill initiated in and rejected by the Seanad may be initiated in the Dáil.

112. If a Private Bill or a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill has been rejected by the Seanad, not being a Bill to which Article 23 of the Constitution applies, the Promoters of such Bill shall forthwith be at liberty to initiate in the Dáil a Bill identical in all respects with the Bill which has been rejected by the Seanad, on notice being given in the Private Bill Office; and on the day on which the Dáil shall next sit after such notice has been given the Bill shall be set down for First Stage in the Dáil, the Standing Orders applicable to the Bill being deemed to have been complied with. All Petitions against the Bill so rejected by the Seanad, which stood referred to the Committee on the Bill, shall be Petitions against the Bill to be so initiated in the Dáil.

Every such Private Bill or Provisional Order Confirmation Bill on being read a second time in the Dáil shall be referred to a Select Committee of the Dáil and the procedure therein shall be as prescribed by these Standing Orders, so far as they are applicable.

Bill not to proceed Two Stages on same day.

113. No Private Bill shall be passed through two stages on one and the same day without the special leave of the House in which it is pending.

Bill after it has been passed to be reprinted.

114. Every Private Bill, after it has been passed or deemed to have been passed by both Houses, shall, at the expense of the Promoters, be reprinted.

Bill after it has been passed to be translated.

115. Every Private Bill, after it has been passed or deemed to have been passed by both Houses, shall, at the expense of the Promoters, be translated officially into the Irish or English language, as the case may be.

Order of Private Business in both Houses.

116. At a sitting of the House, prior to the taking of Public Business, the House shall proceed to the consideration of Private Business.

Supervision of Private Bills by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Leas-Chathaoirleach.

117. Subject to the authority of the Chair and except as otherwise provided in these Standing Orders, the proceedings on a Private Bill or a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill in the Dáil shall be supervised by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and in the Seanad by the Leas-Chathaoirleach, who, respectively, shall move the various stages of the Bill.

Certain Motions need not be seconded.

118. A motion made by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle or the Leas-Chathaoirleach, as the case may be, relative to any Private Bill or Provisional Order Confirmation Bill need not be seconded.

Opposed stages to be postponed.

119. In cases where any stage of a Private Bill or a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill or any proposed amendment, or any motion relating to a Bill, is opposed, the same shall be postponed until a day to be fixed by the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach, as the case may be.

Order of Provisional Order Confirmation Bills.

120. All Provisional Order Confirmation Bills shall be set down for consideration each day in a seperate list following the list of Private Business and such list shall conclude with any notices of the First Stage of Provisional Order Confirmation Bills.

Reference to Committee of a Public Bill to which Standing Orders relative to Private Business are applicable.

121. When the Examiner has reported that the Standing Orders relative to Private Business, applicable to a Public Bill referred to him under Standing Order 60, have been complied with, or in the event of non-compliance, when the Joint Committee on Standing Orders have reported that the Standing Orders should be dispensed with, and the Bill has passed its Second Stage, the Bill shall, with the concurrence of both Houses, be referred to a Joint Committee or, in the absence of such concurrence, to a Select Committee of the House in which the Bill was introduced. All Petitions against the Bill presented by being deposited in the Private Bill Office three clear days before the date of the sitting of the Committee shall stand referred to the Committee. The Standing Orders relating to Committees on Private Bills shall apply, so far as applicable, to such Committee. Following the report of the Committee the Bill may be recommitted to a Committee of the whole House by the House in which the Bill was introduced, the procedure on such recommittal and on the subsequent stages of the Bill in either House being governed by the Standing Orders of the respective Houses relative to Public Business.

VIII.—Proceedings of, and in Relation to, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

Chairman of Joint Committee on Standing Orders to examine all Bills, etc.

122. The Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders shall examine all Bills deposited as Private Bills, opposed or unopposed, and shall call the attention of the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach and also the Chairman of the Committee on every Bill to all points which may appear to him to require it, and copies of all such Bills shall be laid by the Agent before the said Chairman not later than the day after that on which the Examiner shall have examined the Bill for compliance with Standing Orders.

Copies of Bills as proposed to be submitted to Committee to be laid before the Chairman of Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

123. Three clear days at least before the day appointed for the consideration of any Bill by a Committee, the Agent shall lay before the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders a copy of the filled-up Bill as proposed to be submitted to the Committee, signed by the Agent for the Bill.

Copy of Bill as amended in Committee to be laid before Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

124. Three clear days at least before the day proposed for the Report Stage of any Bill in the Seanad a copy of such Bill, as amended in Committee, shall be laid by the Agent before the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders.

Endorsement by Chairman of Joint Committee on Standing Orders in case of certain Petitions.

125. Every Petition for leave to deposit a Petition against a Bill which has not been deposited in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order 68 and every Petition for additional provision shall require the endorsement of the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Standing Orders before it is deposited in the Private Bill Office.

IX.—Miscellaneous.

Register of Parliamentary Agents, etc.

126. Registers shall be kept in the Private Bill Office in which shall be entered the name and registered address of the Parliamentary Agent promoting the Bill, a brief record of each day’s proceedings before the Examiner, in the House, or in any Committee to which the Bill may be referred. Such registers shall be open to public inspection in the said Office.

Daily lists of Committees sitting.

127. The principle clerk of the Private Bill Office shall prepare daily Lists of all Private Bills and Applications for Private Bills in reference to which any Committee or the Examiner is holding a sitting; specifying the hour of meeting, and the Room where the Committee or Examiner shall sit; and the same shall be hung up in the Lobby of each House.

Notice on Order Paper of Stages of Bill.

128. Where notice has been given by the Agent for the Bill, in the Private Bill Office, of the day proposed for the Second, Report or Fifth Stage of a Private Bill in either House, an entry shall be made on the Order Paper of that House next prepared after the giving of such Notice, of the day proposed for the taking of such Stage of the Bill.

Taxing Officer to tax costs of Agents.

129. There shall be a Taxing Officer to tax the costs of Parliamentary Agents, Solicitors and others. Such Officer shall be appointed, by the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach jointly, who shall also appoint, if necessary, a deputy to act for such Taxing Officer if, for any cause, he shall be unable to act.

Standing Orders for Public Business to apply.

130. Except herein otherwise provided, the Standing Orders relative to Public Business of the Dáil or the Seanad, as the case may require, shall apply to Private Bills.

X.—Parliamentary Agents.

131. No person shall be allowed to act as a Parliamentary Agent unless he shall have five years’ experience as a practising Solicitor, and unless he shall be entitled to practise as a Solicitor in the State Courts, and until he shall have subscribed a declaration before the principal clerk of the Private Bill Office engaging to observe and obey the Rules, Regulations, Orders and Practice of each House, and also to pay and discharge from time to time, when the same shall be demanded, all fees and charges due and payable upon any Bill or Petition upon which such Agent may appear.

One Member of firm may subscribe Declaration

132. One member of a firm of Parliamentary Agents may subscribe the required declaration on behalf of his firm; and the names of all the partners of such firm qualified to practise as Parliamentary Agents shall be registered with such declaration; and notice shall be given from time to time to the principal clerk of the Private Bill Office of any addition thereto or change therein.

Appearance to be entered on proceedings connected with Bills.

133. Before any person desiring to appear by Parliamentary Agent shall be allowed to appear, or be heard, at any proceeding in the promotion of, or in opposition to, a Bill, an appearance to act as the Parliamentary Agent upon the same shall be entered in the Private Bill Office.

A fresh Appearance on change of Parliamentary Agent.

134. In case the Parliamentary Agent for any Bill or Petition shall decline to act, the responsibility of such Agent shall cease upon a Notice being given in the Private Bill Office, and a fresh appearance shall be entered upon such Bill or Petition.

Agents personally responsible.

135. Every Parliamentary Agent in relation to proceedings on a Private Bill or a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill shall be personally responsible to the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach for the observance of the Rules, Orders, and Practice of the Dáil and Seanad respectively, as well as of any Rules which may, from time to time, be prescribed by the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach, and also for the payment of the Fees and Charges due and payable under the Standing Orders.

Agent may, on misconduct, be prohibited from practising.

136. Any Parliamentary Agent who shall wilfully act in violation of the Rules and Practice of the Dáil or the Seanad, or of any Rules to be prescribed by the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach, or who shall be guilty of professional misconduct of any kind as a Parliamentary Agent, shall be liable to an absolute or temporary prohibition to practise as a Parliamentary Agent, at the discretion of the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach: Provided that upon the application of the Parliamentary Agent, the Ceann Comhairle or the Cathaoirleach, as the case may be, shall state, in writing, the grounds for the prohibition.

Duration of Standing Orders.

137. These Standing Orders relative to Private Business shall continue in force until altered, amended or repealed by the Dáil and the Seanad jointly.

Clerk of the Dáil

Clerk of the Seanad.

APPENDIX A.

(See Standing Order 2.)

A Table of the Fees to be Charged in respect of Private Bills in the Dáil and the Seanad.

FEES TO BE PAID BY THE PROMOTERS OF A PRIVATE BILL.

For Proceedings in the House (in the case of Bill referred to Joint Committee).

For Proceedings in the House (in the case of Bill referred to Select Committee).

The preceding Fees on the First, Second, Report and Fifth Stages, to be increased according to the money to be raised or expended under the authority of any Bill for the execution of a work, in conformity with the following scale:—

For every £10,000, or part thereof, by which the amount to be so raised or expended shall exceed £25,000, up to a maximum of £1,000,000, an increase of five per cent. of the Fees shown above.

FOR PROCEEDINGS BEFORE ANY COMMITTEE.

When any Bill has been referred to a Joint Committee the above Fees for proceedings before such Committee shall be increased by one half.

FEES TO BE PAID BY THE OPPONENTS OF A PRIVATE BILL.

FOR PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE EXAMINER, OR BEFORE ANY COMMITTEE.

PROVISIONAL ORDER CONFIRMATION BILLS.

On the Fifth Stage of a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill in the Dáil and the Seanad, respectively, a fee of £5 shall be charged to the applicants for each Provisional Order included in the Bill.

The same fees shall be charged to applicants and opponents at the Committee Stage in the case of opposed Provisional Order Confirmation Bills as in the case of Private Bills.

GENERAL FEES.

FEES TO BE PAID ON THE TAXATION OF COSTS ON PRIVATE BILLS.

FEES TO BE PAID IN RESPECT OF THE SHORTHAND WRITER.

REGULATIONS BY THE CEANN COMHAIRLE AND THE CATHAOIRLEACH FOR THE PAYMENT OF FEES.

1. Fees shall be denoted on the appropriate Private Bill forms by means of General Duty Stamps impressed at the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Stamping Branch), Dublin Castle.

2. Cheques in payment of the fees shall be drawn in favour of the Accountant-General of Revenue and each cheque shall be guaranteed by the Bank on which it is drawn.

3. Where ascertained or ascertainable, fees shall be payable in advance.

APPENDIX B.

(See Standing Order 9.)

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sir,

We beg to inform you that application is intended to be made to the Oireachtas in the year for “an Act…” [here insert the Title of the Act] and that the property mentioned in annexed Schedule, Part I., or some part thereof, in which we understand you are interested as therein stated, will be liable to be taken [or used] compulsorily under the powers of the said Act [and that the property mentioned in the annexed Schedule, Part II., in which we understand you are interested as therein stated, will be liable to have an improvement charge imposed upon it].

We also beg to inform you that a copy of the Plan [and Section] relating to the purposes of the said Act with a Book of Reference thereto have been or will be deposited with the [several Secretaries of the County Councils] of the Counties of [specify the Counties in which the Property is situated] on or before the 30th November, and that a copy of so much of the said Plan [and Section] with a Book of Reference thereto, as relates to the [County Borough, Borough or Urban or County Health District, as the case may be] in which your Property is situate, has been or will be deposited, for public inspection, on or before the 30th November, with the [Secretary or Clerk of the Local Authority for the County Borough, Borough, Urban or County Health District, as the case may be] on which Plan your Property is designated by the numbers in the annexed Schedule.

If there should be any error or misdescription in the annexed Schedule, we shall feel obliged by your informing us thereof, at your earliest convenience, that we may correct the same without delay.

We also beg to inform you that it is intended that the Act shall provide to the effect that, notwithstanding Section 92 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, as amended by the Railways Act (Ireland), 1851, you may be required to sell and convey a part only of your Property, numbered on the deposited Plan.

Yours faithfully.

To

Note.—If the notice is forwarded by post, the words “Parliamentary Notice” are to be printed or written on the cover.

Schedule referred to in the Foregoing Notice describing the Property therein alluded to

APPENDIX C.

(See Standing Order 17.)

1.—Deposit of Plan, etc.

In the case of Bills under the powers of which any lands or houses may be taken or used compulsorily; or by which any charge is imposed upon any lands or houses, or any lands or houses are rendered liable to have a charge imposed upon them in respect of any improvement, a Plan and a Book of Reference are required to be deposited.

A Plan, a Book of Reference, and a Section are required to be deposited in the case of Bills for making, maintaining, varying, extending or enlarging any aqueduct, archway, bridge, canal, cut, dock, embankment for reclaiming land from the sea or any tidal river, ferry where any work is to be executed, harbour, motor road navigation pier, port, landing stage for water or airborne traffic, public road, railway, reservoir, sewer, street, subway, tramway, tramroad, tunnel, or waterwork.

2.—Deposit of Map.

A Map published, prepared or approved by the Ordnance Survey on not less than the scale and showing the particulars undermentioned is required in the case of the following Bills:—

APPENDIX C.—3.

Officers with whom Plans, Books of Reference, and Maps are to be Deposited, and Extent of Deposit.