Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012
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SCHEDULE The Board | ||
1. In this Schedule, unless the context otherwise requires, “member” means a member of the Board. | ||
2. (1) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name and shall, with the consent of the Minister and the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, have power to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land, and shall have power to acquire, hold and dispose of other property. | ||
(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by— | ||
(a) the signature of any 2 members of the Board, or | ||
(b) the signature of both a member of the Board and a member of the staff of the Board, | ||
authorised by the Board to act in that behalf. | ||
(3) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Board and every document purporting to be an instrument made by, and to be sealed with the seal of, the Board shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof. | ||
3. (1) A member may at any time resign from office by giving notice in writing to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice. | ||
(2) A member shall cease to be qualified for office and shall cease to hold office if he or she— | ||
(a) is adjudicated bankrupt, | ||
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, | ||
(c) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, | ||
(d) is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company, | ||
(e) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in connection with a company or not, | ||
(f) is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990 . | ||
(3) If a member of the Board, a member of a committee established under paragraph 9(1) or the chief executive— | ||
(a) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, | ||
(b) is elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or as a member of the European Parliament, | ||
(c) is regarded, pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 , as having been elected to that Parliament, or | ||
(d) becomes a member of a local authority, | ||
he or she thereupon ceases to be a member of the Board, the committee concerned or chief executive, as the case may be. | ||
(4) Where a member of the staff of the Board— | ||
(a) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, | ||
(b) is elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a representative in the European Parliament, | ||
(c) is regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 , as having been elected to that Parliament, or | ||
(d)becomes a member of a local authority, | ||
he or she shall thereupon stand seconded from employment by the Board and shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, the Board any remuneration or allowances in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election, or when he or she is so regarded as having been so elected (as the case may be), and ending when such person ceases to be a member of either such House or a member of such Parliament or local authority. | ||
(5) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a member in the European Parliament or local authority shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified from being a member of the Board, a committee established under paragraph 9(1), the chief executive or a member of the staff of the Board. | ||
(6) Without prejudice to the generality of subparagraph (4), that subparagraph shall be read as prohibiting inter alia the reckoning of a period mentioned in that subparagraph as service with the Board for the purposes of any superannuation benefit. | ||
4. The Minister may at any time, on reasonable notice in writing and for stated reasons, remove from office a member of the Board (or, if the appointed member concerned is the chairperson, either from the Board or only from being chairperson) if, in the opinion of the Minister— | ||
(a) the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions, or | ||
(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or | ||
(c) the member’s removal from office appears to be necessary or expedient for the effective performance by the Board of its functions. | ||
5. (1) If a member dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office and ceases to hold office or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned in the same manner as the member of the Board who occasioned the casual vacancy was appointed. | ||
(2) A person appointed to be a member of the Board pursuant to subparagraph (1) shall hold office for that period of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy concerned that remains unexpired at the date of his or her appointment and shall, subject to paragraph 3, be eligible for reappointment as a member of the Board on the expiry of the said period. | ||
(3) Subject to paragraph 6(8), the Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among the members. | ||
6. (1) The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Board. | ||
(2) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due fulfilment of its functions. | ||
(3)(a) In addition to meeting with all participants physically present, the Board may hold or continue a meeting by the use of any means of communication by which all the participants can hear and be heard at the same time and such a meeting shall be referred to as an “electronic meeting”. | ||
(b) A member who participates in an electronic meeting is taken for all purposes to be present at the meeting. | ||
(4) The chairperson may, at any reasonable time, call a meeting of the Board and the chairperson shall convene a meeting of the Board whenever requested to do so by not less than the number of members which constitute a quorum. | ||
(5) At a meeting of the Board— | ||
(a) the chairperson of the Board shall, if present, be the chairperson of the meeting, or | ||
(b) if and so long as the chairperson of the Board is not present or if that office is vacant, the other members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting. | ||
(6) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Board present and voting on the question, and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairperson shall have a second or casting vote. | ||
(7) Subject to this Act, the Board shall regulate its procedures, including procedures for an electronic meeting, and business by rules or otherwise. | ||
(8) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, be 5. | ||
7. (1) Where at a meeting of the Board any of the following matters arise, namely— | ||
(a) an arrangement to which the Board is a party or a proposed such arrangement, or | ||
(b) a contract or other agreement with the Board or a proposed such contract or other agreement, | ||
then any member of the Board present at the meeting who, otherwise than in his or her capacity as such member, has a material interest in the matter shall— | ||
(i) at the meeting disclose to the Board the fact of the interest and the nature thereof in advance of any consideration of the matter, | ||
(ii) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision to be made in relation to the matter, | ||
(iii) take no part in any deliberation of the Board in relation to the matter, | ||
(iv) absent himself or herself from any meeting or part of a meeting during which the matter is discussed, and | ||
(v) not vote or otherwise act on a decision relating to the matter. | ||
(2) Where a material interest is disclosed pursuant to this paragraph, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting concerned and, for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being dealt with by the meeting, the member by whom the disclosure is made shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting. | ||
(3) If at a meeting of the Board a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a member, would constitute a failure by him or her to comply with subparagraph (1), the chairperson or member of the Board presiding over the meeting may determine the question and the chairperson’s or presiding member’s decision is final. | ||
(4) If a question referred to at subparagraph (3) arises in relation to the chairperson or person presiding over a meeting, he or she shall retire from the chair and the question shall be determined by majority vote of the remaining members and in the case of subparagraph (3) or this subparagraph particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. | ||
(5) If the Minister is satisfied that a member of the Board has contravened subparagraph (1), the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that member from office and, in case a person is removed from office pursuant to this subparagraph, he or she shall thenceforth be disqualified from membership of the Board. | ||
8. (1) Where a member of the staff of the Board has a pecuniary interest or other beneficial interest in, and material to, otherwise than in his or her capacity as such a member, a contract, agreement or arrangement that falls to be considered by the Board, that person shall— | ||
(a) disclose to the Board his or her interest and the nature thereof, | ||
(b) take no part in the negotiation of the contract, agreement or arrangement or in any deliberation by the Board or members of the staff of the Board in relation thereto, and | ||
(c) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision to be made in relation to the contract, agreement or arrangement nor make any recommendation in relation thereto. | ||
(2) Subparagraph (1) shall not apply to contracts or proposed contracts of employment of members of the staff of the Board with the Board. | ||
(3) Where a person contravenes this paragraph the Board may make such alterations to the person’s terms and conditions of employment as it considers appropriate or terminate the person’s contract of employment. | ||
9. (1) The Board may establish— | ||
(a) such advisory committees as it considers necessary or desirable to advise it in the performance of its functions, and | ||
(b) committees to perform such functions of the Board as may stand delegated to them under paragraph 10. | ||
(2) A committee established under subparagraph (1) may include persons who are not members of the Board, but a majority of the members of such a committee shall be members of the Board. | ||
(3) In appointing members of a committee established under this paragraph, the Board shall— | ||
(a) have regard to the range of qualifications and experience necessary for the proper and effective discharge of the functions of the committee, | ||
(b) have regard to the desirability of there being such balance between men and women on the committee as is appropriate. | ||
(4) A member of a committee established under subparagraph (1) may be removed from office at any time by the Board. | ||
(5) The Board may determine the terms of reference and procedures of a committee established under subparagraph (1). | ||
(6) There may be paid by the Board to a member of a committee established under subparagraph (1) such allowances for expenses (if any), as the Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, may from time to time determine. | ||
(7) The acts of a committee established under subparagraph (1) shall be subject to confirmation by the Board, unless the Board otherwise determines. | ||
(8) The Board may appoint a chairperson of a committee established under subparagraph (1). | ||
(9) A committee established under subparagraph (1) shall provide the Board with such information as the Board may from time to time require, in respect of its activities and operations, for the purposes of the performance of the functions of the Board. | ||
(10) The Board may at any time dissolve a committee established under subparagraph (1). | ||
10. The Board may, with the consent of the Minister, delegate such one or more of its functions as it considers appropriate to a committee established under paragraph 9(1). | ||
11. (1) This paragraph applies to the following persons: | ||
(a) each member of the Board; | ||
(b) each member of a committee established under paragraph 9; | ||
(c) a member of staff of the Board. | ||
(2) Where the Board is satisfied that a person to whom this paragraph applies has discharged the functions appropriate to that person in relation to the functions of the Board in good faith, the Board shall indemnify that person against all actions or claims however they arise in relation to the discharge by that person of those functions. |