Cork County Council and Another v Garde

JurisdictionIreland
Judgment Date17 May 1963
Date17 May 1963
CourtHigh Court
(H.C.)
Cork County Council and Another
and
Garde

Bequest of lessee's interest to the State - Hereditaments distinguished in valuation list as exempt - Claim to absolute exemption from rates on half-rent -Entries in rate book of "G. Estate" or "Reps. G. Estate" as immediate lessors - Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1838, ss. 61, 63, 65 - Poor Relief (Ireland.) Act, 1843, s. 10 - Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1849, s. 10 - Valuation (Ireland) Act, 1854, s. 2 - Public Bodies Order, 1946.

Garnish Island in County Cork, which was held under a lease for years subject to the yearly rent of £80, was bequeathed by the then owner to the Taoiseach at the time of his death in trust for the State. The bequest having been accepted, Garnish Island in the year 1954 was formally taken over on behalf of the State by the Commissioners of Public Works by whom it had since been administered. It w as open to the public as a sight-seeing attraction on payment of an admission charge. The yearly rent of £80 was paid each year by the Finance Solicitor to the defendants as owners of the lessor's interest under the lease. The Commissioner of Valuation, under the provisions of the Valuation (Ireland) Act, 1854, s. 2, distinguished the property in the valuation lists as being exempt from rating: the occupiers were described as Commissioners of Public Works, the immediate lessors as "Garde Estate" for the years 1956/1957 and 1957/1958 and as "Reps. Garde Estate" for the subsequent years. The rates not having been paid, the plaintiffs brought proceedings in the Circuit Court claiming payment of £332 7s. 2d. The defendants relied on two grounds of defence, viz., 1, that the property, being State owned and occupied, was immune to rating, and 2, that the rate was bad on its face as not having been made upon a named person. The...

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