Objects on Roads
Temporary Dwellings
A person who without lawful authority erects, places or retains a temporary dwelling on a national road, motorway, busway or protected road is guilty of an offence. Any person who without lawful authority or the consent of the road authority places any temporary dwelling on any other prescribed road or class, subclass or type of road is guilty of an offence.
Consent in the latter case may be given by the road authority subject to such conditions, restrictions and requirements as it thinks fit. Breach of the conditions, is an offence. An authorised person may remove a temporary dwelling from a national road.
Where the owner of a temporary dwelling removed and stored can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry, the authority shall serve a notice informing him of the removal and where the temporary dwelling may be claimed, requiring him to claim it within one month.
A person may recover it, provided he declares he is owner, pays the expenditure incurred by the authority in removing and storing the temporary dwelling. If this does not occur, the road authority may dispose of the temporary dwelling, if the owner fails to claim it or the name and address of the owner cannot be ascertained.
A temporary dwelling means any tent, caravan, mobile home, vehicle or other structure or thing whether or not on wheels which is capable of being moved from one place to the other and is used for habitation, either permanently or from time to time or was adapted for such use. It does not include a temporary dwelling used by a State authority, undertaker or used in connection with a fire or other emergency.
Structures Near Road
The owner or occupier of any structure and the owner and occupier of any land on which a structure is situated shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the structure or the use of the structure is not a hazard or potential hazard to persons using the public road and does not obstruct or interfere with the safe use of the public road or its maintenance.
Where a structure is a hazard or potential hazard or where it obstructs or interferes with the safe use of the road or its maintenance, the road authority may serve a notice on the owner or occupier requiring its removal, modification or carrying out of works within a period specified.
The owner or occupier of land shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that a tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation on the land is not a hazard or potential hazard to persons using a public road and that it does not obstruct or interfere with the safe use of the public road or its maintenance.
Where a tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation is a hazard or potential hazard to persons using a public road or where it obstructs or interferes with the safe use of a public road or with its maintenance, the road authority may serve a notice on the owner or occupier of the land on which it is situated requiring preservation, felling, cutting, lopping, trimming or removal of the same within the period stated.
Notices by Authority
A notice by the authority does not affect until 14 days. An owner or occupier who fails to comply with a notice is guilty of an offence.
A person on whom a notice is served may appeal to the District Court within 14 days on the grounds that he is not the owner or occupier of the land, that the structure is not a hazard or potential hazard or does not obstruct or interfere with safe use of the road; that compliance would involve unreasonable expense; that the time, notice period given is unreasonably short. On hearing the appeal, the Court may confirm the notice, annul it or confirm it subject to conditions.
Where the road authority considers that a structure, tree, shrub, hedge or vegetation presents an immediate and serious hazard, it may take immediate action to reduce or remove the same. Costs may be recovered from the owner or occupier as a simple contract debt. Where the road authority enters or proposes to enter land under the above powers, it must serve a notice stating that it has entered or proposes to enter and specifying the action.
Where a person takes action to remove, modify or carry out specified works in relation to a structure or to preserve, fell, cut, lop, trim or remove any tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation, he shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that insofar as reasonably practicable, the safety of persons using the road. Contravention is an offence.
Signs and Advertisement
Any person who, without lawful authority or consent of a road authority places a sign on a public road or erects, places or retains on any public road, a caravan, vehicle or other structure used for the purposes of advertising, sale of goods or provision of services is guilty of an offence. A consent may be given subject to conditions and restrictions. Breach is an offence.
When a person has contravened the above provision in the case of any sign or advertisement, the person on whose behalf the sign or advertisement is exhibited shall be deemed to have contravened the provision.
An authorised person may remove a sign, caravan, vehicle or structure above. An authorised person may store the same. Where the name and address of the owner can be ascertained, the road authority shall serve a notice informing him of removal and requiring him to claim it within one month.
A person may reclaim the thing concerned provided he proves his ownership by declaration and at the discretion of the road authority pays the amount of expenditure incurred in removing and storing it. The road authority may dispose or procure the disposal of the above, if it is unclaimed or if the owner cannot be ascertained after reasonable inquiry.
An authorised person means a person authorised by the road authority or a member of an Garda SÃochána. The provision does not apply to election posters within a period, until seven days after the poll.
Skips
A road authority may after consulting the Garda Commissioner, make bye-laws to regulate and control skips on public roads. The bye-laws may specify the areas to which they relate; the requirements in relation to siting, removal of skips, dimensions and characteristics of skips, lighting and marking of skips, care and disposal and contents of skips, period of deposit of skips on a public road, earliest practicable removal once full, clear and indelible marking of skips with the name, service, address and telephone number of the owner or provider, giving of security or provision of an indemnity.A procedure applies before the making of the bye-law.
There is provision for issue by the road authority of licenses in respect of the deposit of skips on payment of specified fees. Conditions may be attached. Contravention of the bye laws is an offence.
An authorised person may remove or reposition a skip which contravenes the bye-laws. A skip may be removed or repositioned if it is considered to present an immediate and serious hazards to persons using a public road. There are similar provisions to those above in respect of disposal of a skip which has been removed in such circumstances.