The Gazette 1971

were made and the Houses of the Oireachtas who approved the draft regulations on the basis of the Min- ister's statements in each House. Nonetheless, it would seem that these fees, received for a very special pur- pose, have been applied to other purposes, after being for a period retained in the suspense account. Put into revenue "A strange position arises in regard to these moneys. They were, as I believe, impressed with a trust that they should be applied in a particular way and were collected on the representation that they would be so applied. Under the relevant legislation, the approval of Seanad Eireann was required before the increased levies could be imposed. "One might think that it would be open to me at this stage to make a declaration that they are still held on the trust referred to, but it appears that they have been put into the general revenue of the State and dealt with each year under its Appropriation Act, so that by legislation they have been silently diverted from the purpose for which they were collected and applied in other ways. "I should like to think that when a Minister ignores a statutory direction of a very express kind as men- tioned, the result would be that the regulations would be regarded as null and void ab initio , but I do not think that I should be justified, on the authorities such as they are, in so holding." The Irish Independent (31st July, 1971) Lord Hodson, 75, a former Lord of Appeal, was fined £75 and had his driving licence endorsed at Henley- on-Thames, Oxon, yesterday after being found guilty of careless driving immediately before a crash in which a 20-year-old girl was killed. M Peter Bickerton, chairman of the magistrates, said they had decided against disqualification after taking into account Lord Hondon's "wonderful" driv- ing record : More than 50 years without an accident and only one minor previous conviction. Lord Hodson, of Rotherfield Greys, Oxon, had denied driving his Austin van carelessly on the Henley- Oxon road shortly after darkness on February 21. Mr. Bickerton and two women magistrates also found him guilty of failing to comply with a "give way" sign as he joined a main road from a side road, but they imposed no second penalty. Miss Sally Billington, a hairdresser of Ealing, died in "an unusually violent collision" between Lord Hod- son's car and a Morris Mini driven by her friend John Carlton, 21. Mr. Morison, counsel defending said that Lord Hod- son "very much regretted" the accident. It was a very great tragedy. But there was another tragedy of a differ- ent sort in the case—lack of evidence. The driver of a car which had been overtaken by Mr. Carlton just before the collision and who must have been able to assist the court had not come for- ward despite police appeals. They were sure that the driver's evidence would have been favourable to Lord Hodson. Mr. Carlton said he had no recollection after over- taking the last of three cars on a dual carriageway. He had his headlights on and his speed—described by the FORMER JUDGE FINED £75 OVER DEATH CRASH

therefore make an order under Article 40 of the Con- stitution directing the governor of Portlaoise Prison to produce Mr. Langan before the President of the High Court on June 10th and to certify in writing the grounds of his detention. He said that when this matter was in the High Court it appeared that the President was left under the impression that Mr. Langan had voluntarily discharg- ed his solicitor. Mr. Langan, said the Chief Justice, should have a solicitor assigned to bring senior and junior counsel to argue the matter on his behalf. The court was unanimous in its decision. (In re Langan—Supreme Court—unreported—26th May 1971). PRESIDENT CRITICAL OF MINISTER S ACTION IN MEAT RESEARCH UNIT CASE In a reserved judgment yesterday, the President of the High Court, Mr. Justice O'Keeffe, dismissed an action by five meat companies against the Minister for Agri- culture over a proposal to establish a meat research unit. The companies, Premier Meat Packers (Ireland), Ltd., C.F.U. Meats Ltd., Clover Meats Ltd., Roscrea Meat Products Ltd., and Edmund Burke and Sons, Ltd., had sought the return of moneys which they claimed were collected from them to establish a meat research unit. They claimed that a levy was imposed on animals slaughtered at all registered meat export premises and bacon factories to finance a meat research unit which was to be established by the Irish Fresh Meat Export- ers' Society and the Beef Canners' Advisory Associa- tion. They said that no such unit was established, nor was it now intended to establish one. The Minister, in his defence, claimed that his Depart- ment and An Foras Taluntais had always been willing to help in establishing the unit and he denied that the purpose for which the levies had been collected had failed, or that he held them in trust for the plaintiffs. He claimed that the moneys should be disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance might direct. Judge's comments The President, however, made an order declaring that the statutory instruments 36 and 37 be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and he commented that he considered that there was an obligation on the Minis- ter, even at this late stage, to comply with the law by laying these regulations before each House of the Oireachtas, so that each House might consider whether they should be allowed to stand or be annulled by resolution. Apart from this, he considered that the plaintiffs were entitled to no relief in the action. The President continued; "The position taken up by the Minister may be strictly in accordance with the statutes, that is to say, that the fees collected from the traders concerned are to be applied for the benefit of the Exchequer in such a manner as the Minister for Finance may direct. In other words, these fees may be treated as part of the general revenue of the State and applied for any purpose directed by the Minister for Finance, regardless of the purpose outlined to the Dail and Seanad Eireann when resolutions approving of the draft regulations were passed. "Reliance on this action seems to me to be a gross breach of faith on the part of the Minister towards the traders concerned at whose instance the regulations

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