The purpose of the Bill is to provide machinery for the regulation and the variation of rates leviable at harbours. At present, rates leviable at harbours controlled by bodies of commissioners or trustees are authorised by special Acts and Provisional Orders made from time to time in respect of the undertakings. The number of enactments and orders is upwards of 100, dating from 1820 onwards, and, though they do not all deal with the levying and collection of rates, most of them include provisions relating in one way or another to the matter. In practically every case the rates authorised relate to the maximum charges which the harbour authority may levy and so long as that limitation is not exceeded, and so long as the rates charged are charged equally to all persons in respect of the same descriptions of vessels and goods, the harbour authority has complete discretion as to the amount to be charged and the incidence between various rates of a particular character and between different classes of rates. There is at present little or no similarity between rates charged at one port and those at another and that is due to the fact that these undertakings have, up to date, developed independently of each other.
Under existing statutes, the Minister for Industry and Commerce has, in relation to certain harbours, powers to adjust the rates to the revenue requirements of the undertaking. Under the Harbours, Docks and Piers (Temporary Increase of Charges) Act, 1920, he has power to authorise a temporary increase in charges. The existing powers, however, have been found to be insufficient in various respects. For example, it is not possible under the existing powers to alter the incidence of the rates as between vessels of different classes or as between tonnage rates on vessels and the rates on goods, unless such alteration was required either as a corollary to the adjustment of the revenue of the undertaking or for the purpose of increasing the charges to enable the port to operate without loss.
The Ports and Harbours Tribunal, which reported in 1930, considered the present position in respect to harbour rates and made a number of recommendations. In paragraph 1085 they state:—
"We recommend that the present system of fixing rates by Special Act or Provisional Order should be departed from and that a simpler and more elastic system should be introduced. In our opinion, maximum rates on vessels and goods should be fixed by the Department of Industry and Commerce for each port, after due inquiry into the revenue requirements of the undertaking and after hearing and considering any representations by the authority or by parties concerned."
In paragraph 1086 they state:
"It is, in our opinion, necessary and desirable that harbour authorities should have power, within proper limits, to deal, by varying their rates, with local conditions and requirements and to assist, for example, an existing industry or develop a new one."
In these two paragraphs the Tribunal was concerned with the existing procedure for the various rates. At the present time, any harbour authority desiring to vary the maximum or minimum rates of charge have to promote a special Act or Provisional Order. They recommended that power should be given to the Minister to make a variation by Order on representations from the harbour authority and after hearing any interested party. They went on to say, however, in paragraph 1087:
"There remains the question of dealing with complaints by traders or ship owners who may consider themselves aggrieved by the rates actually charged in particular cases. The Department of Industry and Commerce should have power to deal with such complaints and, after due inquiry, to vary by Order any rates charged by a harbour board which, in the opinion of the Department, operate unjustly or have been fixed as a result of prejudice or unfair partiality. We look upon this power as a necessary part of the general oversight of harbour administration which we recommend should be assigned as one of the duties of the Department."
Again in paragraph 1088 they state:
"We recommend, further, that the Department should be empowered to move with a view to varying maximum rates and, in certain circumstances, to enforce the levying of actual rates without an application from an interested party."
The Bill gives effect to these recommendations of the Ports and Harbours Tribunal. It may be asked why we have decided to act upon these recommendations in advance of the general Bill to give effect to all the recommendations of the Tribunal. The answer is that it appears that some considerable time must elapse before the general Bill can be prepared and introduced. In the meantime, it is considered desirable that these particular recommendations should be brought into effect so that any variation in harbour rates desired by a harbour authority or considered necessary by the Minister for Industry and Commerce, on the representation of parties, whether traders or shippers, who allege that their interests are being prejudiced or, having regard to considerations of general policy, by the Minister on his own initiative, should be made possible. Since the Bill was introduced in the Dáil, various representations have been made by harbour authorities and various recommendations have been made for the amendment of the Bill. In the long run, these suggestions boil themselves down to the proposal that, whenever the Minister proposes to make, amend or revoke a harbour rates order, notice of the intention should be published and any interested party should be given power to make representations to the Minister, these representations to be followed either by action on the part of the Minister or by a decision on his part to institute a local inquiry into the proposed new rates order. I introduced, on the Report Stage in the Dáil, an amendment designed to meet that particular proposal. It has not, apparently, entirely satisfied the different harbour authorities and I propose to suggest to the Seanad on Committee Stage a further amendment which will, I think, make quite clear to these harbour authorities that we desire to give full effect to their suggestion. It will be an amendment to Section 5, designed to ensure that when it is proposed to make, amend or revoke a harbour rates order, adequate public notice will be given and power given to interested parties to make whatever representations they desire.
A further section of the Bill, which has nothing to do with its general purport, is a section which improves Section 2 of the Ministry of Transport Act, 1919. The effect of this amendment is to permit the transfer to the Department of Industry and Commerce of functions, powers and duties relating to harbours, docks and piers to be limited to powers and duties relating to one or more particular harbours, docks and piers. That amendment is considered necessary for administrative reasons. It is of no special importance, but advantage is being taken of the introduction of this Bill to give effect to that provision.
I do not suppose that this Bill is regarded in any sense as a contentious measure. In any event, any suggestions that have to be made concerning it will probably be more conveniently discussed on Committee Stage. In principle, the Bill is designed to give effect to the recommendations of the Ports and Harbours Tribunal in the paragraphs of its report which I have quoted.
