PART II.

Guardianship, Acquisition, etc., of National Monuments.

5. —(1) The owner of a national monument (not being a building which is occupied as a dwelling house by any person other than a person employed as the caretaker thereof or the family of such caretaker) may by deed notwithstanding any trust, public purpose, incumbrance or charge affecting such monument either—

(a) with, the consent of the Commissioners, appoint the Commissioners to be the guardians of such monument, or

(b) with the consent of the local authority in whose functional area such monument is situate, appoint such local authority to be the guardians of such monument.

(2) Whenever a local authority are appointed by deed under this section to be the guardians of a national monument, such local authority shall forthwith notify the Commissioners of such appointment and of the nature and situation of the monument.

(3) Where the Commissioners or a local authority are appointed by deed under this section to be the guardians of a national monument the following consequences shall ensue, that is to say:—

(a) the property in such monument shall remain vested in the owner for the time being of such monument for the like estate and interest and subject to the like trusts, public purposes, incumbrances and charges as if such deed had not been made but subject to the privileges, powers and duties conferred or imposed by this Act on the Commissioners or such local authority (as the case may be);

(b) such deed shall be binding on the owner by whom the same is made and on every person thereafter claiming through or under such owner and on every other person on whom a conveyance of such monument on a sale for valuable consideration made by such owner immediately before the making of such deed would then be or thereafter become binding and shall also be binding on every person then entitled to an incumbrance or charge on such land or any person claiming through or under any such person;

(c) any person who after the making of such deed becomes the owner of such monument and is not bound by such deed may at any time while he is such owner terminate the guardianship of the Commissioners or such local authority (as the case may be) in respect of such monument by giving notice in writing of such termination to the Commissioners or such local authority (as the case may be) but unless and until such notice is so given such guardianship shall continue as fully as if such owner were bound by such deed.

6. —Where immediately before the passing of this Act the Commissioners or a local authority are the guardians of a national monument by virtue of a deed executed under an Act repealed by this Act the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) such deed shall be binding on all persons on whom it would have been binding if this Act had not been passed;

(b) the owner (as defined by the Act under which such deed was made) shall have the same estate, right, title, and interest in and to such monument in all respects as he would have had if the Commissioners or the local authority, as the case may be, had not been so appointed guardians thereof;

(c) the Commissioners or the local authority, as the case may be, shall continue to be guardians of such monument by virtue of such deed until such guardianship is terminated by notice in writing given to the Commissioners or the local authority, as the case may be, by an owner of such monument who is not bound by such deed;

(d) the Commissioners or the local authority, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this section, have in respect of such monument all such powers, privileges and duties as are by this Act conferred or imposed on them in respect of national monuments of which they are the guardians.

7. —(1) Where a local authority are appointed by deed under this Act to be the guardians of a national monument, such local authority may, with the consent of the owner of such monument and the consent of the Commissioners, transfer by deed such guardianship to the Commissioners and upon such transfer being so made the said deed appointing such local authority to be such guardians shall thenceforward have effect under this Act as if it were expressed to appoint the Commissioners to be the guardians of such monument.

(2) Where the Commissioners have been appointed by deed under this Act or an Act repealed by this Act to be the guardians of a national monument, the Commissioners may, with the consent of the owner of such monument and the consent of the local authority in whose functional area such monument is situate, transfer by deed such guardianship to such local authority, and upon such transfer being so made the deed appointing the Commissioners to be such guardians shall thenceforward have effect as a deed under this Act appointing the said local authority to be guardians of such monument.

8. —(1) Where it appears to the Minister, on a report made by the Advisory Council or otherwise, that a monument which in his opinion is a national monument is in danger of being or is actually being destroyed, injured, or removed, or is falling into decay through neglect, the Minister may by order (in this Act referred to as a preservation order) entrust the preservation of such monument to the Commissioners.

(2) The Minister may at any time, by order made after consultation with the Advisory Council, revoke a preservation order.

(3) Every preservation order and every order revoking a preservation order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next twenty-one days on which such House has sat annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

9. —When a preservation order has been made in respect of a national monument then until such order is revoked the following provisions shall have effect in relation to such monument, that is to say:—

(1) any officer of the Commissioners duly authorised by them in that behalf may at any time inspect and examine such national monument and for that purpose may enter on such monument and any other lands or premises;

(2) unless such monument is occupied as a dwelling by a person other than a person employed as the caretaker thereof or the family of that person, the Commissioners may if they think it expedient so to do by order made with the consent of the Minister appoint themselves guardians of such monument;

(3) an order of the Commissioners appointing themselves guardians of a national monument shall continue in force for so long as the preservation order in respect of such monument continues in force and shall during such continuance confer and impose on the Commissioners the like powers and duties in relation to such monument as they would have had if they had been appointed guardians thereof by deed under this Act.

10. —Any person seised or possessed of a national monument for any estate or interest may (subject to any restriction imposed or consent required by law) by deed or will convey, devise or bequeath such national monument for all his said estate or interest therein to the Commissioners or to the local authority in whose functional area such monument is situate, and the Commissioners or the said local authority may, as they shall think fit, either accept or disclaim such conveyance, devise or bequest.

11. —(1) The Commissioners may, with the consent of the Minister, acquire compulsorily or by agreement any national monument which they consider it expedient to acquire, and the Commissioners may so acquire a national monument whether they or a local authority are or are not the guardians thereof and whether a preservation order is or is not in force in regard thereto.

(2) For the purpose of the acquisition of a national monument by the Commissioners under this section the Lands Clauses Acts shall be incorporated with this Act subject to the following modifications, that is to say:—

(a) the provisions relating to the sale of superfluous land and access to the special Act and section 133 (which relates to land tax and poor's rate) of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, shall not be incorporated with this Act, and

(b) in the construction of this Act and the incorporated Acts, this Act shall be deemed to be the special Act and the Commissioners shall be deemed to be the promoters of the undertaking, and

(c) the bond required by section 85 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, shall be under the common seal of the Commissioners and shall be sufficient without the addition of the sureties mentioned in that section, and

(d) the rules contained in section 2 of the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919, shall apply with the modifications that in the application of rule (2) of those rules the value on a sale for export shall not be taken into consideration and accordingly the expression “sold in the open market” in that rule shall be construed as referring only to a sale for retention in Saorstát Eireann, and that no allowance shall be made for personal sentimental association.

(3) The price or compensation payable on the acquisition of a national monument under this section and the expenses incurred by the Commissioners in relation to such acquisition shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(4) The Commissioners shall not acquire under this section without the consent of the Irish Land Commission any national monument on or forming part of land subject to a land purchase annuity or the subject of a land purchase agreement or vested or in course of being vested in the Irish Land Commission.