European Union (Interbus Agreement) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 694/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 5th January, 2021.

I, EAMON RYAN, Minister for Transport in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to the Agreement1 on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) which entered into force on 1 January 2003 approved on behalf of the European Communities by Council Decision2 of 3 October 2002 hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations shall be known as the European Union (Interbus Agreement) Regulations 2020.

2. (1) In these Regulations:

“Act of 1986” means the Road Transport Act 1986 ;

“Act of 2008” means the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 ;

“Act of 2011” means the Road Transport Act 2011 ;

“authorisation” means an authorisation referred to in Article 15;

“Authority” means the National Transport Authority;

“authorised inspecting officer” means a person designated under Regulation 4 to be an authorised inspecting officer;

“authorised officer” means an authorised officer within the meaning of the Act of 2008;

“book of control documents” means a book of control documents referred to in Article 11;

“competent authority” means a person or body designated under Regulation 3 to be a competent authority;

“control document” means a control document referred to in Article 10;

“Interbus Agreement” means the Agreement1 on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) which entered into force on 1 January 2003;

“international road passenger transport operator’s licence” means an international road passenger transport operator’s licence granted under section 2 of the Road Traffic and Transport Act 2006 ;

“Minister” means Minister for Transport;

“public place” has the meaning assigned to it by the Road Traffic Act 1961 ;

“transport officer” means a transport officer within the meaning of, as the case may be, the Act of 1986 or the Act of 2011;

“transport operator” means a transport operator or road passenger transport operator referred to in the Interbus Agreement.

(2) In these Regulations a reference to a numbered Article without qualification is to an Article so numbered of the Interbus Agreement.

(3) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Interbus Agreement has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Interbus Agreement.

3. (1) The Minister is designated as the competent authority for the purpose of Articles 14 and paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 22 and Article 19 in so far as it relates to those Articles or paragraphs and these Regulations in so far as they give further effect to those Articles or paragraphs.

(2) The Authority is designated as the competent authority for the purpose of Article 9(2), Articles 10 to 13, 15 to 18 and 20 and Article 19, in so far as it relates to Article 9(2), Articles 10 to 13, Article 15 to 18 and 20 and these Regulations in so far as they give further effect to those Articles.

(3) The Revenue Commissioners are designated as the competent authority for the purpose of Article 9, other than paragraph (2) of that Article, and Article 19, in so far as it relates to Article 9, (other than paragraph (2)) and these Regulations in so far as they give further effect to Article 9 (other than paragraph (2)).

4. Each of the following persons is designated to be an authorised inspecting officer for the purposes of these Regulations and the Interbus Agreement:

(a) a member of the Garda Síochána;

(b) an authorised officer;

(c) a transport officer.

5. (1) A member of the Garda Síochána may -

(a) demand, of a person in charge of a vehicle in a public place which the member believes is being used for international occasional services, the production to the member for his or her inspection of, as the case may be, a control document, book of control documents or an authorisation,

(b) inspect and make extracts or copies of a control document, book of control documents or an authorisation produced to him or her under paragraph (a).

(2) Sections 78 and 79 of the Act of 2008 shall apply to an authorised officer designated to be an authorised inspecting officer under Regulation 4(b), as they apply to an authorised officer appointed under section 78 of the Act of 2008, subject to the following and any other necessary modifications:

(a) a reference to an authorised officer in sections 78 and 79 of the Act of 2008 shall be construed as a reference to an authorised inspecting officer;

(b) a reference to a public transport authority or public transport operator in sections 78 and 79 of the Act of 2008 shall...