No. 135/1940:

PUBLIC HEALTH (GALWAY SHELLFISH LAYINGS) REGULATIONS, 1940.

PUBLIC HEALTH (GALWAY SHELLFISH LAYINGS) REGULATIONS, 1940.

WHEREAS by Section 1 of the Public Health (Regulations as to Food) Act, 1907, the Minister for Local Government and Public Health (in this Order referred to as "the Minister") is empowered to make regulations authorising measures to be taken for the prevention of danger arising to public health from the importation, preparation, storage and distribution of articles of food or drink (other than drugs or water) intended for sale for human consumption :

AND WHEREAS the shellfish referred to in these regulations are articles of food and drink and the Minister is satisfied that for the prevention of danger arising to public health it is necessary to make the following regulations with respect to the importation, preparation, storage and distribution of the said shellfish intended for sale for human consumption :

NOW, THEREFORE, the Minister in exercise of the powers vested in him by the Public Health Acts, 1878 to 1931, and in particular by the Public Health (Regulations as to Food) Act, 1907, by this his Order makes the following regulations, that is to say :—

1. These regulations may be cited as the Public Health (Galway Shellfish Layings) Regulations, 1940.

2. These regulations shall come into force on the 1st day of October, 1940.

3. The Interpretation Act, 1937 , applies to these regulations.

4.—(1) In these regulations the following words and expressions shall have the meanings which are hereby assigned to them, that is to say :—

"Sanitary authority" means an urban or rural sanitary authority and does not include a port sanitary authority ;

"the medical officer" means in relation to a port sanitary district the medical officer of health of the port sanitary authority of such port sanitary district, in relation to a sanitary district which is a county borough the medical superintendent officer of health for such county borough and in relation to any other sanitary district the county medical officer of health ;

"shellfish" includes only oysters, mussels and cockles ;

"laying" means and includes every laying, foreshore, bed, pond, pit, ledge, float or other place where shellfish are taken or deposited except a place which has been approved by a medical officer as a site for the deposit of shellfish under and for the purposes of these regulations ;

" private laying" means a laying where shellfish are not habitually taken or deposited except by the owner of the laying or by his tenant or by persons authorised by such owner or tenant ;

" public laying" means a laying which is not a private laying.

(2) For the purposes of these regulations a laying in the sea shall be deemed to be situated in the portion of the coast nearest to such laying.

(3) These regulations shall apply to any laying in the portion of the sea specified in the schedule to these regulations.

5. These regulations shall be executed and enforced by every sanitary authority, by every port sanitary authority and by the medical officers of every urban and rural sanitary district and every port sanitary district and may be executed and enforced where the circumstances so require, by any other officer of a sanitary authority or port sanitary authority.

6.—(1) No person shall sell or expose or offer for sale for human consumption, or distribute or have in his possession for the purposes of sale for human consumption any shellfish which have been brought from any laying to which these regulations apply or which have been washed or immersed in sea water at any such laying unless such shellfish have been either

(a) relayed and thoroughly washed in sterilised sea water by a method for a period and in an apparatus approved by the medical officer of the urban or rural sanitary district in which such laying is situate ; or

(b) relayed during a continuous period of not less than ten days in clean water of a suitably salinity in a site approved by such medical officer.

(2) Where a person is charged with a contravention of this Article it shall be a good defence to such charge for such person to prove that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained that the shellfish in respect of which such contravention is alleged to have occurred were brought from or washed or immersed in sea water at a laying to which these regulations apply.

(3) Before instituting proceedings against a person for a contravention of these regulations a sanitary authority or a port sanitary authority shall afford such person an opportunity of furnishing an explanation (in writing or otherwise as such authority shall appoint) and shall consider such explanation and all the circumstances of the case.

7.—(1) The medical officer may at any time but subject to the provisions of the next following sub-article withdraw an approval given by him to a site for the washing and relaying of shellfish for the purposes of the immediately preceding Article, if he no longer considers that such site is suitable for such washing and relaying whether because the water available at such site is not of a suitable salinity or for any other reason.

(2) Not less than fourteen days before withdrawing an approval given by the medical officer to a site for the washing and relaying of shellfish the medical officer shall if the name and address of the owner or any occupier of such site is known or can be ascertained without unreasonable difficulty cause notice of his intention to withdraw such approval to be served on such owner or occupier personally or by post.

(3) As soon as conveniently may be after an approval given by the medical officer to a site for the washing and relaying of shellfish is withdrawn the medical officer shall

(a) publish notice of such withdrawal in one or more newspapers circulating in the district in which such site is situate, and

(b) if such site is open to the general public, cause notice of such withdrawal to be posted in one or more conspicuous places at such site.

(4) Whenever the medical officer withdraws under this Article an approval to a site for the washing and relaying of shellfish the provisions of these regulations shall have effect as if such approval had not been given.

8.—(1) The sanitary authority of the urban or rural sanitary district in which is situated any public laying to which these regulations apply shall, as soon as practicable after the making of these regulations—

(a) publish a notice containing a reasonably sufficient statement of the terms of these regulations in one or more newspapers circulating in such district, and

(b) cause notice of the effect of these regulations to be served either personally or by post on every person known to such sanitary authority to be a person interested in the laying of shellfish in or the collection of shellfish from such laying, and

(c) cause warning notices containing a reasonably sufficient statement of the effect of these regulations to be posted in conspicuous places in the vicinity of the laying.

(2) The sanitary authority of the urban or rural sanitary district in which is situated any private laying to which these regulations apply shall cause notice of the effect of these regulations to be served either personally or by post on the owner of such laying and also, if the owner is not the occupier, on the occupier of such laying.

9.—(1) If in an urban or rural sanitary district or a port sanitary district any person sells or exposes or offers for sale any shellfish for human consumption or distributes or has in his possession any shellfish for the purposes of sale for human consumption and the medical officer has reason to believe that such shellfish have been brought from a laying to which these regulations apply, the medical officer may in writing require such person to furnish to the medical officer a list showing so far as such person can ascertain by due diligence all the layings from which his supply of shellfish is derived or has been derived during the six weeks preceding the date of such requisition.

(2) A person on whom a requisition is made under this Article shall comply with such requisition.

SCHEDULE.

That portion of Galway Bay and the adjoining inlets situated on the landward side of a straight line, from Rinville Point in the Townland of Rinville, to Seaweed Point, in the Townland of Knockacarragh, both in the county of Galway.

Given under the Official Seal of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, this 24th day of July, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Forty.

(Sgd.) PATRICK RUTTLEDGE,

Minister for Local Government and Public Health.

NOTICE

The Public Health Act, 1896, provides by sub-section (3) of Section 1, that if any person wilfully neglects or refuses to obey or carry, out or obstructs the execution of any regulation made under any of the enactments mentioned in that Act, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding One Hundred Pounds, and in the case of a continuing offence, to a further penalty not exceeding Fifty Pounds for evey day during which the offence continues.

The power of making regulations under the Public Health Act, 1896, and the enactments mentioned in that Act, is enlarged by the Public Health (Regulation as to Food) Act, 1907.