Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951

What is this act about?

This law, the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951, updates and changes various aspects of postal and telecommunication services, primarily by amending the Post Office Act, 1908, and other related laws.

Who it applies to: The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and the Minister for Finance; Individuals sending mail, particularly newspapers or items for the blind, and those using postal orders or telephone services.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Other legislation
Articles: 15
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

Postage rates for newspapers and articles for the blind.
The forms, amounts, and fees for postal orders.
The application of certain postal regulations to aircraft.
Rules for telephone messages to other States and prohibitions on certain uses of words or signs related to postal services.

Who does this act apply to?

The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and the Minister for Finance.
Individuals sending mail, particularly newspapers or items for the blind, and those using postal orders or telephone services.
Owners or persons in charge of vessels and aircraft.

What are the key points?

Limits on postage rates for inland registered newspapers and newspapers sent out of the State are removed.
Special postage rates are introduced for articles specifically adapted for the use of the blind.
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs now prescribes the special form for postal orders, and the amounts and fees for postal orders are set by Post Office regulations with the consent of the Minister for Finance.
Certain sections of the Post Office Act, 1908, now apply to aircraft in addition to vessels, and references to "His Majesty's service" are adapted to "service of the State."
It is an offence to send grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, menacing, or knowingly false messages by telephone, or to persistently make telephone calls without reasonable cause for annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety, with penalties up to a fine of ten pounds or imprisonment for one month, or both.

Other legislation

Appropriation Act 2014

Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1996

British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999

Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1993

Radiological Protection (Amendment) Act 2018

Censorship of Films (Amendment) Act, 1925

Curragh of Kildare Act, 1961

Performers' Protection Act, 1968

Other legislation

Legal text

Contents (15)

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15

Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 1951 Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951 Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 17 of 1951.

POST OFFICE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1951.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Interpretation.

Section 2

Repeal of limit on postage rates for inland registered newspapers.

Section 3

Repeal of limit on postage rates for newspapers sent out of the State.

Section 4

Special postage rates for articles specially adapted for the use of the blind.

Section 5

Forms, amounts and poundage of postal orders.

Section 6

Amendment of postal rates.

Section 7

Extension of section 14 of the Post Office (Parcels) Act, 1882.

Section 8

Application of certain sections of the Act of 1908 to aircraft and amendment of those sections.

Section 9

Amendment of sections 20 and 21 of the Act of 1908.

Section 10

Cash-on-Delivery service.

Section 11

Rates for telephone messages to other States.

Section 12

Prohibition of use of certain words, letters, signs or marks.

Section 13

Offences in connection with telephones.

Section 14

Adaptation of references to “His Majesty's service” in the Act of 1908.

Section 15

Short title, citation and construction.

SCHEDULE.

Acts Referred to Customs Free Airport Act, 1947 No. 5 of 1947 Number 17 of 1951.

POST OFFICE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1951.

AN ACT TO AMEND THE POST OFFICE ACT, 1908 , AND OTHER ENACTMENTS RELATING TO THE POST OFFICE. [17th July, 1951.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:— Interpretation.

1.—In this Act— the expression “the Act of 1908” means the Post Office Act, 1908 ; the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.

Repeal of limit on postage rates for inland registered newspapers.

2.—(1) Paragraph (iii) of proviso (b) to subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1908, as amended by subsection (2) of section 2 of the Post Office and Telegraph Act, 1920, is hereby repealed.

(2)Subsection (1) of this section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1948.

Repeal of limit on postage rates for newspapers sent out of the State.

3.—Proviso (c) to subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1908 is hereby repealed.

Special postage rates for articles specially adapted for the use of the blind.

4.—Proviso (d) to subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1908 is hereby amended by the insertion after the words “books and papers impressed for the use of the blind” of the words “or of any articles specially adapted for the use of the blind”.

Forms, amounts and poundage of postal orders.

5.—(1) The special form in which postal orders may be issued in accordance with the provisions of section 24 of the Act of 1908 shall be prescribed by the Minister, and accordingly in subsection (1) of that section for the words “the regulations made under the preceding section” there shall be substituted the word “him” and for the words “the said regulations” there shall be substituted the words “the regulations made under the preceding section”.

(2)Proviso (a) to subsection (1) of section 24 of the Act of 1908 shall cease to have effect and the amounts for which postal orders may be issued and the poundage to be payable in respect of them shall be such as may be prescribed, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by Post Office regulations.

Amendment of postal rates.

6.—A warrant made for the purposes of subsection (2) of section 2 of the Act of 1908 may provide that, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed therein, no additional postage shall be charged on an inland postal packet which is not prepaid or is insufficiently prepaid.

Extension of section 14 of the Post Office (Parcels) Act, 1882.

7.—Section 14 of the Post Office (Parcels) Act, 1882, shall have effect as if the references in the said section to “foreign parcels” included references to such foreign postal packets as may be specified by regulations made under that section, and the word “foreign” shall have the same meaning in relation to such postal packets as it has in relation to parcels.

Application of certain sections of the Act of 1908 to aircraft and amendment of those sections.

8.—(1) Sections 27 to 32, 34 and 51 of the Act of 1908 shall apply to aircraft as well as in relation to vessels and the said sections shall be amended in the manner set out in the Schedule to this Act.

(2)Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 30 of the Act of 1908, and subsection (3) of that section shall cease to have effect.

(3)Post Office regulations made for the purpose of section 31 of the Act of 1908 may provide for the allowance to owners of vessels or aircraft of the gratuities mentioned in that section, and subsection (1) of section 30 of the said Act in so far as it relates to such gratuities shall cease to have effect.

Amendment of sections 20 and 21 of the Act of 1908.

9.—(1) Section 20 of the Act of 1908 is hereby amended by the deletion of the words “the British Islands” in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and the substitution therefor of the words “the State”.

(2)Section 21 of the Act of 1908 is hereby amended by the deletion of the word “London” in subsection (1) and the substitution therefore of the word “Dublin”.

(3)Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister that a newspaper is registered at the General Post Office in London, the newspaper may be accepted for transmission by post at the same rates as apply in the case of a newspaper registered in the General Post Office in Dublin.

Cash-on-Delivery service.

10.—(1) Any Cash-on-Delivery service established by the Minister shall be conducted in accordance with such provisions as may be contained in Post Office regulations.

(2)In this section the expression “Cash-on-Delivery service” means a service whereby the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs undertakes at the request of the sender of a postal packet to collect, or secure the collection of, a sum of money on the sender's behalf from the addressee of the packet as a condition of delivery.

Rates for telephone messages to other States.

11.—(1) The sums to be paid on account of the transmission of messages by telephone from the State to any other State shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(2)Notice of a determination under subsection (1) of this section shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil at least fourteen days before the coming into operation of the determination.

Prohibition of use of certain words, letters, signs or marks.

12.—(1) No person shall without the authority of the Minister— (a) place or maintain in or on any vessel, vehicle, aircraft or premises belonging to him or under his control, or (b) use in any document in relation to himself or any other person or in relation to any vessel, vehicle, aircraft or premises, any words, letters, signs or marks, which signify or imply or may reasonably lead a member of the public to believe that the vessel, vehicle, aircraft or premises is or are used by the Minister or with his authority for the purpose of collecting or conveying postal packets or that the person or the other person is authorised by the Minister to collect or convey such packets.

(2)Every person when required by a notice given by the Minister to remove or efface or cease to use any such words, letters, signs or marks as aforesaid shall comply with the requirement.

(3)Subsection (1) of section 66 of the Act of 1908 shall apply to the words “public telephone call office” and any other words, letters, signs or marks, which signify or imply or may reasonably lead a member of the public to believe that any place is a place where the public may make telephone calls, as it applies to the words “postal telegraph office”.

(4)Subsection (2) of the said section 66 shall apply in relation to a contravention of this section as it applies in relation to a contravention of that section.

Offences in connection with telephones.

13.—(1) If any person— (a) sends any message by telephone which is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; (b) sends any message by telephone which he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety to any other person; or (c) persistently makes telephone calls without reasonable cause and for any such purpose as aforesaid; he shall be liable upon summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2)A contravention of this section shall be deemed to be an offence under the Act of 1908.

Adaptation of references to “His Majesty's service” in the Act of 1908.

14.—The references in subsection (1) of section 64 of the Act of 1908 to “His Majesty's service” shall be construed as references to the “service of the State” and the Act shall have effect accordingly.

Short title, citation and construction.

15.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951.

(2)The Post Office Acts, 1908 to 1937, and this Act may be cited together as the Post Office Acts, 1908 to 1951.

(3)This Act shall be construed as one with the Act of 1908.

SCHEDULE.

Amendment of Sections 27 to 32, 34 and 51 of the Act of 1908.

Section 8.

Section Amendment 27 In subsection (1) after the words “inward bound” there shall be inserted the words “and every pilot or other person in charge of an aircraft inward bound”; and after the word “vessel” where it secondly occurs there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

For subsection (2) there shall be substituted the following:— “(2) Where there are on board any inward bound vessel or aircraft any postal packets required to be delivered under subsection (1) of this section, the master of the vessel or the pilot or other person in charge of the aircraft shall not break bulk or make entry of any part of her cargo in any port or place until he has complied with this section.”

In subsection (3) after the words “master of a vessel” there shall be inserted the words “or the pilot or other person in charge of an aircraft”

Subsection (4) shall cease to have effect.

In subsection (5) after the words “master of a vessel” there shall be inserted the words “or the pilot or other person in charge of an aircraft”; and after the word “vessel” where it secondly occurs there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

28 After the words “master of a vessel” in both places where they occur there shall be inserted the words “or pilot or other person in charge of an aircraft” and for the words “bring on shore” there shall be substituted “deliver to the Post Office”.

29 In subsection (1) for the words “shall not allow any inward bound vessel to report until the declaration required by this Act with respect to postal packets has been made and produced to him and” there shall be substituted the words “or an authorised officer appointed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce under section 8 of the Customs Free Airport Act, 1947 (No. 5 of 1947),”; for the words “such a vessel” there shall be substituted the words “any inward bound vessel”; after the word “vessel” wherever it occurs there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

In subsection (2) after the words “officer of customs” there shall be inserted the words “or an authorised officer appointed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce under section 8 of the Customs Free Airport Act, 1947 ” after the word “vessel” there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

30 In subsection (1) after the word “vessels” where it first occurs there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”; for the words “when not exceeding the weights and” there shall be substituted the words “or aircraft”; after the word “port” there shall be inserted the words “or place”; after the word “vessel's” there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft's”; after the word “master” there shall be inserted the words “of the vessel or the pilot or other person in charge of the aircraft”.

In paragraph (c) of subsection (2) after the word “manifest” there shall be inserted the words “or by the manifest and declaration of the aircraft”; and after the word “vessel” there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

In subsection (4) after the word “vessel” in both places where it occurs there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

31 After the word “vessels” where it first occurs, there shall be inserted the words “or owners or persons in charge of aircraft” for the word “seamen” there shall be substituted the word “crew”; and after the word “vessels”, where it secondly occurs, there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

32 For the words “the master or one of the officers or crew of a vessel inward bound” there shall be substituted the words “the master of a vessel inward bound or the pilot or other person in charge of an aircraft inward bound or one of the officers or crew of such a vessel or aircraft”; after the word “master” where it secondly occurs there shall be inserted the words “of the vessel or the pilot or other person in charge of the aircraft”; the words “his vessel” shall cease to have effect; after the word “vessel” where it last occurs, there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”; and after the words “officer of customs” there shall be inserted the words “or an authorised officer appointed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce under section 8 of the Customs Free Airport Act, 1947 ”.

34 In paragraph (e) of subsection (2) after the word “vessels” in both places where it occurs there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

At the beginning of paragraph (ii) of subsection (3) there shall be inserted the words “owners or pilots or other persons in charge of aircraft, or” and after the word “ships” where it secondly occurs, there shall be inserted the word “aircraft”; in paragraph (iii) of that subsection after the word “vessel” there shall be inserted the word “aircraft”.

In subsection (6) after the word “water” there shall be inserted the words “or by air,” and after the word “vessels” there shall be inserted the words “or aircraft”.

51 After the word “vessel” there shall be inserted the words “vehicle or aircraft”.

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