I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill may be stated in general terms to be to supplement the provisions of the Commissioners for Oaths (Diplomatic and Consular) Act, 1931. That Act authorised the collection of fees by our diplomatic and consular officers abroad for services of a purely "notarial" character, that is to say, services such as would be rendered in this country by a notary public or commissioner for oaths. The present Bill is intended to authorise the collection of fees for the performance of services which are not notarial services rendered both by Irish diplomatic and consular officers abroad and by the headquarters staff of the Department of External Affairs here at home. These services fall, broadly, into two classes—those for which a fee is at the moment charged, and those now rendered free of charge.
The most important class of service for which a fee is at present charged is that which is performed, particularly in the United States, in relation to the estates of persons dying intestate. Irish consular officers are often called upon to trace next-of-kin to conduct correspondence, and even to appear in American courts on behalf of Irish claimants to these estates and, if distributive shares fall to be distributed to persons resident in Ireland, the shares are distributed through our consular officers. For these services, it has been customary for American courts to allow a fee on the shares distributed. As this fee rests, at the moment, only on the authority of these American courts, it is now proposed to give a statutory basis for its collection.
There is also a large class of services which at the moment are rendered free of charge. Examples of such services performed by the headquarters staff of the Department of External Affairs are the authentication of the official status and the seal of various Irish public officers for the purpose of proceedings in foreign courts and otherwise, and the issue of the documents known as "certificats de coutume”, that is, authoritative statements of the law of Ireland on various matters, over the seal of the Minister for External Affairs. An example of the services rendered by our diplomatic and consular officers abroad for which at the moment no fee is chargeable is the service of writs issued by Irish courts on Irish nationals resident in the country to which the diplomatic or consular officer is accredited. Many other such services might be mentioned. It is obviously right that a fee should be charged for services such as these which often involve the expenditure of much time and trouble by the officials concerned, and it is accordingly proposed to authorise the collection of fees in such cases.
The scheme of the Bill is simple. It would be impossible to anticipate in advance all the services which diplomatic and consular officers may be called upon to perform from time to time. Therefore, Section 2 of the Bill proposes to enable the Minister for External Affairs, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, to make regulations fixing the fees to be charged for specified services rendered by persons to whom the Bill applies. These persons are set out in Section 4. Sub-section (1) of Section 2 provides that the regulations are to specify the particular service for which fees are to be charged, and to fix the amount of the fee for each service. Power is taken under sub-section (2) to make different regulations in relation to different persons to whom the Bill applies and in relation to different countries and places. The need for this provision is obvious from the difference in the laws and currencies of the various countries to which our diplomatic and consular officers are accredited. Sub-section (3) will enable the Minister to waive the fee in certain cases where for one reason or another it seems right that no fee should be charged. Sub-section (4) provides in the usual manner for the Parliamentary control of all regulations made under the section. Section 3 provides in the common form for the collection and disposal, and the recovery of fees. Provision of an identical or similar type appears in all Acts giving power to charge fees. Section 4 sets out the classes of persons to which the Bill will apply. Paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) enumerate the various kinds of diplomatic and consular officers in the service of the State, and paragraph (d) includes other officers of the Minister for External Affairs, including members of the headquarters staff of the Department, who may be appointed by the Minister to be persons to whom the Bill applies.
In order that no conflict may arise between this Bill and the Commissioners for Oaths (Diplomatic and Consular) Act, 1931, it is provided by Section 5 that the powers given by this Bill are to be in addition to, and not in substitution for, the powers given by that Act.