County Management Act, 1940

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District mental hospitals.

34.—(1) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to every district mental hospital the district of which comprises one county only, that is to say:—

(a) the powers, functions, and duties conferred and imposed by section 9 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 , on the council of such county in relation to provision for and the maintenance of the lunatic poor in such county and in relation to the provision, maintenance, and administration of such mental hospital shall not, after the commencement of this Act, be exercised and performed by such council through such committee as is provided for by the said section 9, but shall, in lieu of such committee be exercised and performed by such council in accordance with this Act, that is to say, in so far as such powers, functions, and duties are reserved functions, by such council directly and, in so far as such powers, functions, and duties are executive functions, by and through the county manager for such county;

(b) such council shall from time to time appoint a committee to be known and in this section referred to as the visiting committee of such mental hospital;

(c) not more than one-half of the members of such visiting committee may be persons who are not members of such council;

(d) the tenure of office of the members of such visiting committee shall be determined by such council;

(e) all casual vacancies in the membership of such visiting committee shall be filled by such council.

(2) In the case of every district mental hospital the district of which comprises two or more counties or a county borough and one or more county or counties, the joint committee of management of such hospital appointed under section 9 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 , as amended by subsequent enactments shall be the visiting committee of such hospital within the meaning and for the purposes of this section, and the subsequent provisions of this section in relation to visiting committees shall apply to such committee of management accordingly.

(3) Subject to the other provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of the visiting committee of a district mental hospital to do the following things, that is to say:—

(a) from time to time to visit such hospital and there to hear any complaints which may be made to them by any inmate of such hospital and, if so requested by such inmate, to hear such complaint in private;

(b) to report to the council or councils by whom such hospital is maintained any abuses observed or found by such committee in such hospital;

(c) to report to such council or councils on any repairs to such hospital which may appear to such committee to be urgently needed;

(d) to report to such council or councils on any matter relating to such hospital on which such committee thinks it expedient so to report or on which such council or all or any of such councils shall have requested such committee so to report.

(4) The visiting committee of a district mental hospital shall not inquire into or receive any complaint or make any report in relation to the services, remuneration, privileges or superannuation of the officers and servants of such hospital or any of such officers or servants.

(5) The visiting committee of a district mental hospital shall collectively, and every member of such committee shall individually, be entitled at all times to visit such hospital and to have free access to every part thereof subject to compliance with the rules made by the Minister under this section.

(6) The Minister may by order make rules prescribing the powers and duties of visiting committees of district mental hospitals and of visiting members of such committees and the manner in which such committees and such visiting members shall exercise and perform such powers and duties and all other powers and duties conferred or imposed on them by this section or otherwise.

(7) Every visiting committee of a district mental hospital shall comply with and observe the rules made by the Minister under the next preceding sub-section of this section and for the time being in force so far as such rules apply to such committee.

(8) Every order made by the Minister under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as conveniently may be after it is made and if either such House shall, within the next twenty-one days on which it sits after such order is laid before it, pass a resolution annulling such order or any rule or rules made thereby, such order, rule, or rules (as the case may be) shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.