Minister for Agriculture v Gallagher

JurisdictionIreland
Judgment Date01 January 1941
Date01 January 1941
CourtHigh Court
Minister for Agriculture v. Gallagher.
THE MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE
and
JOHN GALLAGHER

Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Acts - Liability of registered slaughter-house proprietor to payment of levies - Levies due under certificates of Minister for Agriculture under s. 19 of Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Act, 1935 -Certificates based on incorrect or fraudulent returns - Power of Minister to revoke certificates and issue new ones - Validity of such new certificates - Delay in issue of certificates - Whether certificates invalidated by delay - Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Act, 1934 (No. 42 of 1934), s. 19,sub-ss. 1, 2, 3, 8; Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Amendment Act, 1935 (No. 37 of 1935), s. 13.

Sect. 19, sub-s. 1, of the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Act, 1934, provides:—"The registered proprietor of every registered slaughtering premises shall, for every month beginning after the commencement of this Part of this Act in which any cattle or sheep are slaughtered for human consumption in Saorstát Eireann in such premises, pay to the Minister [for Agriculture] in accordance with this section a levy at the prescribed rate on all cattle and sheep so slaughtered during such month in such premises." Sub-s. 2 of the same section requires the proprietors of slaughter-houses to send to the Minister, not later than the seventh day of each month, monthly returns of the number of cattle and sheep slaughtered during the preceding month. Sect. 19, sub-s. 3, provides:—"As soon as may be after the seventh day of every month, the Minister shall make in respect of every registered slaughtering premises in which any cattle or sheep were slaughtered for human consumption in Saorstát Eireann during the next preceding month (whether the registered proprietor of such premises has or has not made the return required by the next preceding sub-section of this section) a certificate certifying the amount of the levy payable under this section by the registered proprietor of such premises in respect of such premises for the next preceding month." Sub-s. 4 of the same section provides for the service of copies of such certificates upon the proprietors of the slaughter-houses in question and continues:—"and thereupon the amount of the levy stated in such certificate shall become and be payable by the said registered proprietor to the Minister within seven days after such service of such certificate and shall at the expiration of such seven days be recoverable by the Minister from such registered proprietor as a civil debt in any Court of competent jurisdiction." Sect. 19, sub-ss. 5 and 8, provide, that every registered proprietor who fails to make the returns above referred to or who makes false returns shall be liable to specified penalties.

The Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Act, 1934, was amended by the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep (Amendment) Act, 1935, s. 13 of which provides that, in any proceedings brought by the Minister to recover levies under s. 19 of the Act of 1934, a certificate under the seal of the Minister and certifying the amount of the levy payable, the making and service of the certificate and that the sum payable is unpaid "shall, until the contrary is proved, be accepted as sufficient evidence of the said matters so stated in such certificate." The duration of these Acts was extended by the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep (Amendment) Act, 1936 (No. 33 of 1936).

G. was the registered proprietor of registered slaughtering premises. During the years 1935 and 1936 he made monthly returns under s. 19, sub-s. 2, of the Slaughter of Cattle and Sheep Act, 1934, of the number of beasts slaughtered in his premises. His returns showed no slaughterings during the months of March, April and May, 1935, and accordingly no certificates were at the time made by the Minister in respect of these months; with this exception...

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1 cases
  • Habte v Minister for Justice and Equality
    • Ireland
    • Court of Appeal (Ireland)
    • February 5, 2020
    ...to identify addressing an asserted implied power to revoke and reissue statutory certificates. In Minister for Agriculture v. Gallagher [1941] IR 278, the High Court found that the plaintiff acted ultra vires when, having issued certificates which determined sums due by the defendant under ......

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