S.I. No. 254/1992:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MARKETING STANDARDS FOR EGGS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MARKETING STANDARDS FOR EGGS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, JOE WALSH, Minister for Agriculture and Food, 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 full effect to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1907/90⁽¹⁾ of 26 June 1990 and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1274/91⁽²⁾ of 15 May 1991 as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3540/91⁽³⁾ of 5 December 1991 and Commission regulation (EEC) No. 2221/92⁽⁴⁾, of 31 July 1992, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following regulations:

1. (i) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Marketing Standards for Eggs) Regulations, 1992.

(ii) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of September, 1992.

2. (i) In these Regulations--

"authorised officer" means a person authorised in writing by the Minister to exercise for the purpose of these Regulations, the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation powers conferred on an authorised officer by these Regulations;

"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1907/90 of 26 June 1990;

"the Commission Regulation" means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1274/91 of 15 May 1991 and Corrigendum⁽⁵⁾ as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3540/91 of 5 December 1991 and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2221/92 of 31 July 1992.

⁽¹⁾ OJ L173, 06.07.1990, P5.

⁽²⁾ OJ L121, 16.05.1991, P11.

⁽³⁾ OJ L335, 06.12.1991, P12.

⁽⁴⁾ OJ L218, 01.08.1992, P81.

⁽⁵⁾ OJ L233, 22.08.1991, P31.

"the EEC Regulations" means the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Food;

"sell" includes agree to sell, offer, expose or keep for sale, invite an offer to buy or distribute for reward and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(ii) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in that Regulation.

(iii) In these Regulations a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(iv) In these Regulations a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

3. (1) The Minister may for the purposes of Article 18 of the Council Regulation approve of premises for the purposes of production, or as a packing centre. He may also approve of a collector and any premises required by a collector. The authorisation shall be granted if the Minister is satisfied that the EEC Regulations will be complied with.

(2) When the Minister approves of premises under paragraph (1), he shall allocate a distinguishing number to the premises and shall notify the owner or person in charge of the premises in writing of the approval and of that number.

(3) The Minister may attach conditions to an approval under this Regulation at the time of the grant of the approval or subsequently and may amend or revoke a condition attached to the approval and shall notify the owner or person in charge of the premises concerned in writing of the conditions, amendment or revocation concerned.

(4) The Minister, if he is not satisfied that a provision of the EEC Regulations is being or will be complied with in relation to any premises, may--

( a ) refuse to approve the premises under this Regulation, or

( b ) revoke any approval of the premises given under this Regulation,

and shall notify the owner or person in charge of the premises in writing of the refusal or revocation.

(5) The Minister shall not--

( a ) revoke an approval given under this Regulation, or

( b ) refuse to approve of premises under this Regulation, or

( c ) attach a condition to an approval under this Regulation or amend or revoke such an approval,

without--

(i) notifying the holder of, or an applicant for, the approval of his intention to revoke the approval or refuse the application or attach, amend or revoke the condition, as the case may be.

(ii) specifying his reasons for the revocation or refusal, or the attaching, amendment or revocation of the condition, or

(iii) affording the holder of, or applicant for, the approval an opportunity of making representations or having representations made on his behalf to the Minister in relation to the proposed revocation or refusal or the attaching amendment or revocation of the condition as the case may be, within 14 days of the date of the notification referred to in subparagraph (i) and having had regard to any such representations.

(6) In the case of the record required to be kept under Article 5 (2) of the Council Regulation and all records required to be kept by such Regulation, entries shall be made by the person carrying on the business concerned, or by an employee of such person, on the date of each relevant transaction and all records shall be retained for a period of not less than twelve months beginning on the date of the last entry.

4. (1) An authorised officer, on production of the officer's authorisation, if so required by any person affected, may, for the purposes of these Regulations and the E.E.C. Regulations--

( a ) at all reasonable times enter any place, including any land, vehicle, wagon, vessel, aircraft or other means of transport where he reasonably suspects that eggs are being marketed, packaged, sold, imported, exported, stored or transported or any premises in respect of which an application for an approval under Regulation 3 has been made to the Minister,

( b ) there or at any other place, carry out or have carried out such examinations, tests, checks and inspections of the premises and any equipment, machinery or plant there and any article, substance or liquid found there as he reasonably considers necessary or expedient,

( c ) take, without payment, such samples of any substance at the premises as he may reasonably require and carry out or have carried out on the samples such examinations, checks and inspections in accordance with any relevant provision of the E.E.C. Regulations as he considers necessary or expedient,

( d ) require any person at the premises and the owner or person in charge thereof and any person employed in connection therewith to give to him such information and to produce to him such books, documents and other records within the power or procurement of that person as he may reasonably require,

( e ) examine and take copies of, or extracts from, any such records as aforesaid,

(f) seize and detain anything which is an egg or packaging containing an egg which he reasonably believes to have been or will be marketed in contravention of these Regulations or the E.E.C. Regulations.

(2) A person who obstructs or otherwise interferes with an authorised officer in the performance of his functions or who, in purported compliance with a requirement under paragraph (1) (d), gives information to an authorised officer that he knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence.

5. Where an authorised officer finds or comes into possession of any egg which he reasonably believes to be evidence of the commission of an offence under these Regulations, he may seize it and detain it for use in evidence in a prosecution under these Regulations for such period from the date of the seizure as is reasonable or, if proceedings are commenced in which the egg is required for use in evidence, until the concluision of the proceedings, and thereafter the Police (Property) Act, 1897, shall apply to the thing so seized in the same manner as that Act applies to property which has come into the possession of the Garda Síochána under that Act.

6. (1) An authorised officer, by notice in writing given to the owner or to the person who appears to be in charge of any eggs which have been seized and detained under these Regulations may--

( a ) require anything specified in the notice to be done by the person to whom the notice is given before the eggs are released by an authorised officer.

( b ) either--

(i) require the disposal of the eggs by the person to whom the notice is given upon its release by the authorised officer, in the manner specified in the notice and at the expense of the owner, or

(ii) indicate the authorised officer's intention to dispose of the eggs in a specified manner and at the expense of the owner,

the manner of disposal in either case, being such as to prevent the eggs from being used in contravention of these Regulations, and where a notice under this paragraph requires a specified thing to be done, the authorised officer may retain control of the eggs until the requirements of the notice have been complied with.

(2) Where a notice is given under paragraph (1) (a) a person shall not, without the consent of the authorised officer by whom the notice was given, move, dispose of, interfere with or otherwise deal with the eggs concerned pending compliance with the requirements of the notice.

(3) The cost of a disposal by an authorised officer under this Regulation shall be recoverable by the Minister as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction from the person who was the owner of the eggs concerned at the time of its seizure and detention under these Regulations.

(4) Any person who is aggrieved by a notice under this Regulation may, not later than 21 days after the date of the notice, or such further period (if any) as the District Court may allow, appeal against the notice to the District Court.

(5) Notice of an appeal under paragraph (4) shall be given to the Minister by the person bringing the appeal at least 7 days prior to the hearing of the appeal.

(6) ( a ) Where an appeal is brought under paragraph (4), the District Court shall make such order as it considers just (including an order directing that the article, substance or liquid concerned be disposed of, at the expense of the owner, in such manner as it may specify).

( b ) The cost of a disposal by an authorised officer under this Regulation or pursuant to an order of the District Court under this Regulation shall be recoverable by the Minister as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction from the person who was the owner of the article, substance or liquid concerned at the time of its seizure and detention under these Regulations.

(7) A notice under this Regulation shall not come into force until--

( a ) in case there is an appeal to the District Court against the notice, the appeal and any appeal therefrom has been determined, or

( b ) in any other case, the period during which such an appeal may be taken has expired.

(8) ( a ) The jurisdiction conferred on the District Court by this Regulation shall be exercised by the judge of that court for the time being assigned to the district court district in which the article, substance or liquid concerned was seized or in which the owner or person then in charge thereof ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation.

( b ) For the purposes of subparagraph (a), a substance, article or liquid shall be deemed to be situated in a district court district if it is situated on premises situated wholly or partly in such district.

7. An officer of Customs and excise may seize and detain any eggs being exported or imported in respect of which he reasonably believes there is a failure to comply with a provision of these Regulations and the E.E.C. Regulations and may for that purpose open any package containing or suspected by the officer to contain eggs and the provisions of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, relating to the condemnation and disposal of goods seized under that Act shall apply and have effect in relation to goods seized under this Regulation as if the goods had been seized under that Act.

8. If any person, with intent to deceive--

( a ) so tampers with eggs that a sample of such eggs taken under these Regulations does not accurately represent the eggs, or

( b ) tampers or interferes with any sample taken under these Regulations,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

9. (1) A person who contravenes a provision of these Regulations or a condition under Regulation 3 (3) shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(3) Where an offence under these Regulations has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

10. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

11. (1) ( a ) There shall be charged by the Minister in respect of an approval under Regulation 3 such fees as the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

( b ) A fee charged under this Regulation shall be payable by the owner or person in charge of the establishment to which the approval concerned relates and the Minister may refuse to give an approval until the fee under this Regulation in respect thereof has been paid.

(2) Fees under this Regulation shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

(3) A fee payable under this Regulation may be recovered by the Minister from the person by whom it is payable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(4) A fee charged under this Regulation shall not exceed an amount equal to the costs, estimated by the Minister, incurred in relation to the approval concerned and the performance of functions under the Regulations in relation to the establishment concerned by authorised officers for the purposes of the approval.

(5) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of fees under these Regulations.

12. The powers conferred by Regulation 11 of the Food Hygiene Regulations, 1950 ( S.I. No. 205 of 1950 ), shall not be exercised on or in respect of premises which for the time being stand approved of under Regulation 3 (1) and neither Regulation 25 nor Part IV of those Regulations shall apply in respect of such premises.

13. The European Communities (Marketing Standards for Eggs) Regulations 1973 ( S.I. No. 128 of 1973 ), the European Communities (Marketing Standards for Eggs) Regulations, 1977 ( S.I. No. 325 of 1977 ) and the European Communities (Marketing Standards for Eggs) Regulations 1987 ( S.I. No. 216 of 1987 ), are hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 31st day of August, 1992.

JOE WALSH,

Minister for Agriculture and Food.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations implement Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1907/90 of 26 June 1990, Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1274/91 of 15 May 1991 as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3540/91 of 5 December 1991 and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2221/92 of 31 July 1992 on certain marketing standards for eggs.

They also provide for: (a) approval of establishments for the purposes of these Regulations; (b) authorised officers to enforce the Regulations; (c) the prosecution of offences and (d) fees payable in respect of approved establishments.