Air-Raid Precautions Act, 1939

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 21/1939
• Year: 1939

Number 21 of 1939.
AIR-RAID PRECAUTIONS ACT, 1939.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I.
Preliminary and General.
Section 1. Short title. 2. Definitions generally. 3. “Local authorities”. 4. “Essential undertakers.” 5. Offences by bodies corporate. 6. Prosecution of offences. 7. Service of documents. 8. Laying of regulations before Houses of the Oireachtas. 9. Expenses of the Minister.
PART II.
Powers and Duties of Local Authorities.
10. “Scheduled urban areas”. 11. Scheme-making local authorities, and their functional areas.
Air-raid Precautions Schemes.
12. Duty of scheme-making local authorities to prepare air-raid precautions schemes. 13. Approval, effect, revocation and amendment of air-raid precautions schemes. 14. Duty of local authorities and their officers to assist scheme-making local authorities in the preparation of air-raid precautions schemes. 15. Duty of local authorities and their officers and servants to carry out Act and air-raid precautions schemes. 16. Duty of local authorities to co-operate. 17. Acquisition of land by local authorities for purposes of air-raid precautions schemes. 18. Payment and ascertainment of compensation for land acquired by local authorities. 19. Repayment by local authorities of State grants in respect of acquisition of land.
Public Air-raid Shelters.
20. Register of designation notices. 21. Designation of premises. 22. Appeal from designation of premises. 23. Execution of works. 24. Compensation where works are executed. 25. Designated premises to remain unaltered. 26. Provisions in relation to appeals to the Minister. 27. Requisition of designated premises.
Miscellaneous Provisions.
28. Duty of local authorities and their officers to assist in arrangements for evacuation of civil population. 29. Dissolution of defaulting local authorities. 30. Determination of disputes. 31. Appointment of officers and servants. 32. Penalty for default by officers and servants of local authorities. 33. Power of officers of local authorities to enter premises.
Financial Provisions.
34. Expenses of local authorities. 35. State grants to local authorities.
Regulations.
36. Regulations for purposes of Part II.
PART III.
Powers and Duties of Essential Undertakers.
37. Duty of essential undertakers to prepare schemes. 38. Approval, effect, revocation and amendment of air-raid precautions (essential undertaker's) schemes. 39. Duty of essential undertakers and their officers and servants to carry out Act and air-raid precautions schemes. 40. Duty of essential undertakers to assist in arrangements for evacuation of civil population. 41. Penalty for default by essential undertakers and their officers and servants. 42. Bye-laws by essential undertakers. 43. Acquisition of land by essential undertakers. 44. Expenditure by essential undertakers. 45. Removal of restrictions on powers of essential undertakers. 46. State grants to essential undertakers. 47. Repayment by essential undertakers of State grants in respect of acquisition of land. 48. Regulations for purposes of Part III.
PART IV.
Obscuration of Lights and Camouflage.
49. General duty of occupiers of factories, owners of mines and essential undertakers. 50. Provisions as to processes involving flames or glare. 51. Camouflage. 52. State grants under Part IV. 53. Penalties for failure to comply with notice. 54. Saving for Part III. 55. Powers of entry on premises. 56. Provisions as to practice of dimming lights by local authorities.
PART V.
Miscellaneous Provisions.
57. Requisition of premises by the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland. 58. State grants in respect of provision of air-raid shelter by certain employers. 59. Relief of air-raid protection works from rates. 60. Provision by the Minister of services, training and air-raid precautions equipment. 61. Regulations as to storage, etc., of air-raid precautions equipment. 62. Penalty for damaging air-raid precautions equipment. 63. Regulation of importation and sale of air-raid precautions equipment. 64. Compensation in the event of injury to persons engaged in air-raid precautions activities. 65. Removal of pictures from the National Gallery.
SCHEDULE.
Scheduled Urban Areas.
Acts Referred to Local Government (Rates on Small Dwellings) Act, 1928 No. 4 of 1928 Acquisition of Land (Reference Committee) Act, 1925 No. 22 of 1925 Local Government Act, 1925 No. 5 of 1925 Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 No. 39 of 1926
Number 21 of 1939.
AIR-RAID PRECAUTIONS ACT, 1939.
AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE TAKING OF PRECAUTIONS WITH THE OBJECT OF PROTECTING PERSONS AND PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF ATTACK FROM THE AIR AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [26th July, 1939.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—
PART I. Preliminary and General.
	Short title.	1.This Act may be cited as the Air-raid Precautions Act, 1939.
	Definitions generally.	2.—In this Act—
	the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Defence;
	the expression “air-raid shelter” means protection, otherwise than by war-like means or by any article of apparel, from attack from the air;
	the expression “an air-raid shelter” means any premises, structure, or excavation used or intended to be used to provide air-raid shelter;
	the expression “air-raid precautions equipment” means any equipment, appliances or material constructed or designed for the purposes of affording protection to persons or property in the event of attack from the air or any parts of such equipment, appliances or material;
	the expression “factory inspector” means a person who is for the time being an inspector for the purposes of the Factory and Workshops Acts, 1901 to 1920;
	the expression “mines inspector” means a person who is for the time being an inspector for the purposes of the Coal Mines Act, 1911;
	the word “occupier” means—
	(a) in relation to any occupied land, the person entitled to occupy such land,
	(b) in relation to any land which is a small dwelling within the meaning of the Local Government (Rates on Small Dwellings) Act, 1928 (No. 4 of 1928), the person who would but for that Act be rated as occupier of such land,
	(c) in relation to any other land, the person who is rated as occupier of such land;
	the word “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act.
	“Local authorities”.	3.—Each of the following persons and bodies shall be a local authority for the purposes of this Act, that is to say:—
	(a) the council of a county, county borough, borough or urban district, and
	(b) a board of health, and
	(c) a port sanitary authority,
	and the expression “local authority” when used in this Act without qualification shall be construed accordingly.
	“Essential undertakers”.	4.—(1) Each of the following persons shall be an essential undertaker for the purposes of this Act, that is to say:—
	(a) a person (other than a Minister of State, the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland or the Irish Land Commission) authorised, by a British Statute, a Saorstát Eireann Statute, an Act of the Oireachtas or an order having statutory force, to construct, work or carry on a railway, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, tramway, water, gas, electricity, or other public undertaking;
	(b) any person declared by an order made under sub-section (2) of this section to be an essential undertaker for the purposes of this Act.
	(2) The Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, by order under this sub-section declare any person who carries on any undertaking to be an essential undertaker for the purposes of this Act.
	(3) In this Act the expression “the undertaking” when used in relation to an essential undertaker means the undertaking carried on by such essential undertaker.
	Offences by bodies corporate.	5.—Where an offence under any section or sub-section of this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of any person who is a director or officer (including secretary or manager) of such body corporate or who, if such body corporate is a local authority, is a member or officer of such local authority, such person shall also be deemed to be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
	Prosecution of offences.	6.—An offence under any section of this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister or a member of the Gárda Síochána.
	Service of documents.	7.—Any document which is required or authorised by or under this Act to be given to or served on any person may be given or served either—
	(a) by delivering it to that person; or
	(b) by leaving it, or sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to him, at his last known residence or his last known place of business; or
	(c) in the case of a document to be given to or served on the occupier of any premises, by addressing it to the person concerned by the description of “occupier” of the premises to which it relates and delivering it to some person on the premises or, if there is no person on the premises to...