Committee Reports::Report No. 02 - Statutory Rules, Orders and Regulations::06 April, 1949::Report


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Committee Reports > List of Committees > Seanad > 1949 > Select Committee on Statutory Rules, Order and Regulations > Report No. 02 - Statutory Rules, Orders and Regulations

SECOND REPORT

1. The Committee has held two meetings since the date of the First Report.

2. The following documents coming within the Committee’s purview were considered and no reason was seen for drawing the special attention of the Seanad to any of them on any of the grounds set out in the Orders of Reference to the Committee.

Statutory Instrument Number.
402	Agricultural Wages (Minimum Rates) (No. 2) Order, 1948.
403	Customs Duties (Miscellaneous Suspensions) (No. 3) Order, 1948.
412	Pharmaceutical Society Regulations (Amendment) (No. 4) 1948.
416	Returning Officers (Borough and County Constituencies) Bye-Election Charges Order, 1948.
417	Thurles Gas (Charges) Order, 1948.
418	Emergency Powers (Semolina) (Maximum Prices) Order, 1944 (Revocation) Order, 1948.
426	Emergency Powers (No. 118) Order, 1941 (Suspension of Section 5 of the Control of Imports Act, 1934) (Nos. 8, 11, 15, 16 and 18) Orders (Amendment) Order, 1948.
427	Emergency Powers (Control of Export) Order, 1940 (Amendment) (No. 30) Order, 1948.
428	Cream Order, 1948 (Revocation) Order, 1948.
430	Biscuits (Maximum Prices) Order, 1948 (Revocation) Order, 1948.
433	Land Bond Order, 1948.
434	Land Bond (No. 2) Order, 1948.
435	Foot Appliances (Suspension of Customs Duty) Order, 1948.
1	Citizens of United Kingdom and Colonies (Irish Citizenship Rights) Order, 1949.
2	New Zealand Citizens (Irish Citizenship Rights) Order, 1949.
4	Customs Duties (Miscellaneous Suspensions) (No. 2) Order, 1948 (Amendment) Order, 1949.
5	Maize Meal (Maximum Prices) (No. 2) Order, 1948 (Revocation) Order, 1949.
9	Bread (Revocation of Prices Orders) Order, 1949.
11	Emergency Powers (Revocation of Orders relating to Flour, Wheatenmeal and Bread) Order, 1949.
14	Emergency Powers (Tallows and Greases) (Maximum Prices) Order, 1944 (Amendment) (No. 2) Order, 1949.
15	Emergency Powers (Meat and Bone Meals) (Maximum Prices) Order, 1944 (Amendment) (No. 1) Order, 1949.
16	Emergency Powers (No. 358) Order, 1945 (Amendment) Order, 1949.
18	Australian Citizens (Irish Citizenship Rights) Order, 1949.
30	Binder Twine (Maximum Prices) Order, 1949.

3. The Committee has also considered the Emergency Powers (No. 157) Order, 1942 (Seventh Amendment) Order, 1948, S. I. No. 357 of 1948, and the Emergency Powers (No. 323) Order, 1944 (Revocation) Order, 1949, S. I. No. 6 of 1949. These are examples of Orders which neither in their titles nor in the bodies of the documents give any indication of the subject matter dealt with. The special attention of the House is therefore drawn to these Orders on ground (vi) of the Orders of Reference, viz., that for any special reason its form or purport calls for elucidation. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the purpo t of the first-mentioned of these Orders is to raise from £2,000,000 to £8,000,000 the maximum amount of borrowings of Grain Importers, Ltd., which the Minister for Finance may guarantee, the special attention of the Seanad is drawn to it also on ground (iii), viz., that it appears to make some unusual or unexpected use of the powers conferred by the Statute under which it is made.

4. Consideration has been given to the following Article which has appeared in three Orders fixing maximum prices of commodities, which have come within the Committee’s purview:—

“Where a direction is given by the Minister in respect of any particular person or group of persons or in respect of any particular (commodity named, e.g., margarine) or any description of (commodity named), the provisions of this Order shall, if and in so far as they are inconsistent with such direction, have effect subject to such direction.”

The matter was taken up with the Department concerned (see Appendix I). The special attention of the House is drawn to the three Orders on ground (iii) of the Orders of Reference.

5. The Committee also took up with the Department of Agriculture the question of the Minister’s power to make certain provisions contained in the Creamery Butter (Prices for Catering Establishments) (No. 2) Order, 1948 (see Appendix II). The special attention of the House is drawn to this Order on ground (iii) of the Orders of Reference.

6. The Committee consider that as in the case of statutes, all orders, rules and regulations which are made under statute, should contain “Short Title” clauses explanatory of their purpose. It is noted that certain statutory instruments now in force do contain “Shor Title” clauses which are fully explanatory, e.g., “Emergency Powers Order, 1939” but this is by no means the common practice and it is not unusual to encounter from time to time, such titles as: “Emergency Powers (No. 118) Order, 1941 (Suspension of Section 45 of the control of Imports Act, 1934) (Nos. 8, 11, 15, 16 and 18) Orders (Amendment) Order, 1948.” The inclusion of an explanatory “Short Title” clause in a statutory instrument would help to direct public attention to the contents of the instrument and greatly facilitate members of the Seanad in understanding its purpose.

7. The Committee are further of opinion that an explanatory note, printed on the face of certain statutory instruments, is very desirable in the public interest. Without an explanatory note some of these documents do not make sense so far as the public are concerned. Even trained investigators, including members of the Seanad, experience great difficulty in keeping themselves informed of the purpose of Departmental orders, rules and regulations which are issued rather like a code in cypher. The first document mentioned in paragraph 3 above is a case in point. To make this document intelligible to the public there should be printed on its face a brief descriptive note stating in non-technical language the object of the order.

(Signed) L. J. DUFFY,

Chairman.

6th day of April, 1949.