Prices Act, 1958

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 4/1958
• Year: 1958

Number 4 of 1958.
PRICES ACT, 1958.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I.
Preliminary And General.
Section 1. Short title and commencement. 2. Definitions generally. 3. Construction of references to selling and rendering a service. 4. Hire-purchase agreements. 5. Restriction of Act. 6. Laying of orders before Houses of the Oireachtas. 7. Expenses. 8. Repeals.
PART II.
Prices Advisory Committees.
9. Constitution of Prices Advisory Committees. 10. Functions of an Advisory Committee. 11. Dissolution of Advisory Committees. 12. Notice of constitution of an Advisory Committee.
PART III.
Prices For Commodities And Charges For Services.
13. Fixing of maximum prices of commodities and charges for services consequential on a report by the Fair Trade Commission. 14. Fixing of maximum prices of commodities and maximum charges for services consequential on a report by an Advisory Committee. 15. Declaration by the Government of existence of a state of emergency affecting the supply of commodities. 16. Fixing of maximum price of a commodity and maximum charge for a service during currency of an order under section 15 (1). 17. Fixing of maximum wholesale and retail prices of bread and sugar and maximum retail prices of butter and milk. 18. Provisions in relation to orders. 19. Retail price display orders. 20. Revocation and amendment of orders under Part III. 21. Effect on contracts of orders controlling prices and charges. 22. Offences under Part III.
PART IV.
Miscellaneous Provisions
23. Authorised officers. 24. Powers of authorised officers. 25. Prohibition on disclosure of information. 26. Penalties for offences. 27. Offences in relation to bodies corporate and unincorporated bodies. 28. Prosecution of offences.
FIRST SCHEDULE.
Enactments Repealed
SECOND SCHEDULE.
Prices Advisory Committees
THIRD SCHEDULE.
Commodities in Respect of Which the Minister May Make Retail Price Display Orders
Acts Referred to Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946 No. 22 of 1946 Emergency Powers Act, 1939 No. 28 of 1939 Control of Prices Act, 1937 No. 26 of 1937 Prices Commission (Extension of Functions) Act, 1938 No. 15 of 1938, Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1953 No. 14 of 1953 Hire-Purchase Act, 1946 No. 16 of 1946 Local Government Act, 1941 No. 23 of 1941 Milk (Regulation of Supply and Price) Act, 1936 No. 43 of 1936 Local Authorities (Combined Purchasing) Act, 1939 No. 14 of 1939
Number 4 of 1958.
PRICES ACT, 1958.
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONTROL OF PRICES AND CHARGES FOR COMMODITIES AND SERVICES AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH. [19th March, 1958.]
WHEREAS by reason of the fact that the Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946 (No. 22 of 1946), will not continue to be in force after the 31st day of December, 1957—
(a) the wide powers (in this Preamble referred to as the emergency powers) of controlling by order the prices of commodities and the charges for services conferred on a member of the Government by Article 31 of the Emergency Powers Order, 1939 (S.R. & O., No. 224 of 1939), as amended by the Emergency Powers (No. 173) Order, 1942 (S.R. & O., No. 166 of 1942), (which Orders were made under the Emergency Powers Act, 1939 (No. 28 of 1939), now expired, and were continued in force by the said Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946 ) will cease to be exercisable after the said date, and
(b) any orders, made in exercise of the emergency powers, which were in force on the said date will cease to be in force after the said date;
AND WHEREAS the Control of Prices Act, 1937 (No. 26 of 1937), is unsuited to the present needs of the State, and it is therefore expedient to repeal it, and consequentially, the Prices Commission (Extension of Functions) Act, 1938 (No. 15 of 1938);
AND WHEREAS it is desirable, in the public interest, to provide for controlling, in certain cases hereinafter mentioned in this Recital, the prices for certain commodities (excluding, amongst other commodities, commodities sold for export or exported for sale) and the charges for rendering certain services (excluding, amongst other services, services to be rendered outside the State), and for that purpose to authorise the Minister for Industry and Commerce to control the prices for any such commodity and the charges which may be made for any such service, where—
(a) he is of opinion that, by reason of the existence of restrictive trade practices in connection with the supply or distribution of the commodity, excessive prices are being or may be charged, or
(b) he is of opinion that, by reason of the existence of restrictive trade practices in connection with the rendering of the service, excessive charges are being or may be made, or
(c) he is of opinion that, by reason of causes within the control of manufacturers or undue labour costs, excessive prices are being or may be charged for the commodity by manufacturers, or
(d) he is of opinion that by reason of causes within the control of persons rendering the service or undue labour costs, excessive charges are being or may be made for rendering the service by those persons, or
(e) there is in force an order made by the Government declaring that a state of emergency affecting the supply of the commodity exists;
AND WHEREAS it is also desirable, in the public interest, to authorise the Minister for Industry and Commerce to make, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, orders controlling the wholesale and retail prices for bread and sugar and the retail prices for butter and milk;
AND WHEREAS it is also desirable, in the public interest, to authorise the Minister for Industry and Commerce to provide for the display, by persons selling certain commodities, of the retail prices thereof.
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—
PART I. Preliminary And General.
	Short Title And Commencement.	1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Prices Act, 1958.
	(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister appoints by order.
	Definitions generally.	2.—In this Act—
	“the Act of 1953” means the Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1953 (No. 14 of 1953);
	“Advisory Committee” means a Prices Advisory Committee constituted under section 9 of this Act;
	“authorised officer” means a person appointed to be an authorised officer under section 23 of this Act;
	“the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;
	“restrictive practices” has the same meaning as in the Act of 1953.
	Construction of references to selling and rendering a service.	3.—In this Act—
	a reference to selling shall be construed as including a reference to agreeing or offering to sell or inviting an offer to buy;
	a reference to rendering a service shall be construed as including a reference to agreeing or offering to render a service or inviting an offer for its rendering;
	a reference to an offer.to sell shall be construed as including a reference to a notification by a person of the price proposed by him for the sale of a commodity made by the publication of a price list or by exposing the commodity for sale in association with a mark indicating price or by the furnishing of a condition or otherwise;
	a reference to an offer to render a service shall be construed as indicating a reference to a notification by a person of the charge proposed by him for its rendering made by the publication of a list of charges or by the furnishing of a condition or otherwise.
	Hire-purchase agreements.	4.—For the purposes of this Act, a hire-purchase agreement, within the meaning of section 1 of the Hire-Purchase Act, 1946 (No. 16 of 1946), shall be deemed to be an agreement to sell and the sale shall be deemed to take place on the date on which the agreement is entered into.
	Restriction of Act.	5.—This Act does not apply to any of the following—
	(a) activities carried on by or on behalf of a Minister of State, a local authority, within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 1941 (No. 23 of 1941), a vocational education committee, a railway, road, air or water transport undertaking or a harbour authority;
	(b) prices for commodities (other than bread or milk), the prices for which are or may be controlled, regulated, or specified either under any other enactment or any instrument made thereunder or in discharge of any statutory duty;
	(c) charges for services, the charges for which are or may be controlled, regulated, or specified either under any other enactment or any instrument made thereunder or in discharge of any statutory duty;
	(d) prices paid to producers, or received by dealers at factories, for primary agricultural products (including eggs, poultry, milk and milk products) and horticultural products;
	(e) charges for artificial insemination;
	(f) ex-boat prices of fish and all transactions of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara;
	(g) charges for services wholly of a professional character;
	(h) charges for services rendered in connection with banking or insurance;
	(i) prices for commodities sold for export or exported for sale;
	(j) charges for services rendered outside the State.
	Laying of orders before Houses of the Oireachtas.	6.—Every order made by the Government or the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order has been...