Kerry County Council v Kerins

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: O'Flaherty J.,Hamilton C.J.
• Judgment Date: 01 February 1996
• Neutral Citation: 1998 WJSC-SC 8828
• Docket Number: [S.C. No. 334 of 1994]
• Court: Supreme Court
• Date: 01 February 1996

1998 WJSC-SC 8828

THE SUPREME COURT

HAMILTON C.J.

O'FLAHERTY J.

BARRINGTON J.

334/94

KERRY CO. COUNCIL v. KERINS

BETWEEN:

KERRY COUNTY COUNCIL

and

PATRICK KERINS

Citations:

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S1

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S1(1)

EAST DONEGAL CO-OP V AG 1970 IR 317

FOREST HILLS TROSSACHS CLUB V ASSESSOR FOR CENTRAL REGION 1992 SCT 295

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S3

SKITTERALL V SOUTH HAMS DISTRICT COUNCIL 1976 3 AER 1

KEANE THE LAW OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT 283

WESTMINISTER COUNCIL V SOUTHERN RAILWAY CO & W H SMITH & SON LTD 1936 AC 511

STAUNTON V POWELL 1867 IR 1 CL 182

ASSESSOR FOR RENFREWSHIRE V OLD CONSORT CO 1960 SC 241

POOR RELIEF (IRL) ACT 1838 S63

LOCAL GOVT ACT 1946 S12

LOCAL GOVT ACT 1946 S11

LOCAL GOVT ACT 1946 S14

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S3(1)

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S3(2)

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S5(1)(b)

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S5(1)(d)

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S1(3)

TOURIST TRAFFIC ACTS 1959 – 1979

ASSESSOR FOR RENFREWSHIRE V MITCHELL 1966 SLT 53

LEWIN V NEWNES LTD 90 LT 160

MOON V LONDON CO COUNCIL 1931 AC 63

LOCAL GOVT (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 S1(5)

Synopsis:

[1996] 3 IR 493

1 Ex-tempore Ruling delivered on the 1st day of February1996by Hamilton C.J. [Barrington J. ???

2 This matter comes before this Court by way o??? a case stated by Mr. Justice Blayney, a member o??? this Court, who was showing his devotion to duty by sitting as a Judge of the High Court for th??? purpose of hearing and determining an appeal fro??? an order made by Judge Kevin O'Higgins on the 4t??? July 1990 in the action in which the Count Council of the County of Kerry was the Plaintiffand Patrick Kerins was the Defendant.

3 The nature of the action before the learned Circuit Court Judge and Mr. Justice Blayney was the claim by the County Council for the sum of£7,338.56 alleged to be arrears of county rates due by the Defendant, Patrick Kerins, to the County Council for the period from the 1st January 1984 to the 1st December 1986. The facts in the case are set forth clearly, succinctly and distinctly in the case stated by Mr. Justice Blayney as are also the submissions made to him by counsel on behalf of the County Council and on behalf of Mr. Kerins. The submissions which are set forth in the case stated have been repeated substantially before this Court by Mr. Cooke on behalf of the County Council and Mr. Gallagher on behalf of the Defendant in the proceedings.Nowas I said the matter comes before the Court by way of a case stated in which the learned trial judge sought the opinion of this Court on a point of law and again he phrases it very shortly, simply and succinctly. While the question can be so stated, the answer to it may not be quite as simple as the question. The question posed by the learned trial judge was whether the chalets that had been described in detail in the case stated were, having regard to all the circumstances of which evidence was given, a domestic hereditament as defined by Section 1 of the Local Government Financial Provisions Act, 1978.

4 A number of cases have been opened by counsel on both sides and while they are all very interesting and I am sure had direct application to the facts of cases in those particularjurisdictions the decisions were made on foot of them are not of particular assistance to me in determining the question which was posed by Mr. Justice Blayney because it involves an interpretation of a provision of an Irish Statute, the Local Government Financial Provisions Act, 1978and in particular the interpretation of the definition of domestic hereditament...