Road Traffic Act, 1961

Property left in public service vehicle.

87.—(1) The Commissioner may, in respect of any area and in respect of all public service vehicles or any class of public service vehicles, make bye-laws for all or any of the following purposes:

(a) requiring the owners, drivers and conductors of public service vehicles to deposit in an appointed place within a specified time property left in the vehicles by passengers therein;

(b) providing for the safe custody of such property and the re-delivery of such property to the owners thereof;

(c) providing for the disposal of all such property which is not re-delivered to the owners thereof and, in particular, making special provision in regard to property which is a live animal or is of a perishable or offensive character;

(d) authorising the charging of fees for re-deliveries;

(e) providing, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, for the disposition of fees, proceeds of sale and other moneys received by the Commissioner in respect of such property, including the payment out of those moneys of rewards to persons depositing property in pursuance of this section.

(2) Bye-laws shall not be made under this section save where the Commissioner is of opinion that, as respects the area and vehicles to which the bye-laws relate, satisfactory provision has not been made for the safe custody, re-delivery and disposal of property left in the vehicles by passengers.

(3) A person who contravenes a bye-law under this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) The Commissioner shall cause to be established and kept registers of lost property deposited under this section.

(5) A register kept in pursuance of this section shall be in such form and in respect of such area as the Commissioner directs, and there shall be entered therein all such matters as he directs.

(6) A register kept in pursuance of this section shall be received in evidence without further proof in any legal proceedings on being produced as such register by an officer of the Garda Síochána.

(7) A document purporting to be a copy of an entry in a register kept in pursuance of this section and purporting to be certified by an officer of the Garda Síochána to be a true copy of the entry shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting so to certify or that he was such officer, be received in evidence in any legal proceedings and shall, until the contrary is shown, be deemed to be a true copy of the entry and to be evidence of the terms of the entry.

(8) A register kept in pursuance of this section shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any person on payment of a fee of one shilling.

(9) A person shall be entitled to obtain from the Commissioner a copy, certified in writing by an officer of the Garda Síochána to be a true copy, of any entry in any register kept in pursuance of this section on payment therefor of a fee of sixpence for every folio or part of a folio of seventy-two words contained in the copy.