Health Act, 1953

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PART V.

Miscellaneous.

Joint action by health authorities.

45.—(1) The Minister may by order provide for and authorise joint action by two or more health authorities in the performance of any of their functions either as respects the whole or part of their functional area.

(2) An order under this section may provide for the manner in which the expenses incurred in carrying out the joint action are to be met.

(3) An order under this section may provide for the establishment of a joint board for the purposes of the order.

(4) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to a joint board established by order under this section:

(a) the board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession by the name given to them by the order,

(b) the board shall have power to sue and be sued in their corporate name,

(c) the board shall have power to hold and dispose of land,

(d) the board shall provide and have a common seal and such seal shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman or some other member authorised to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the board authorised to act in that behalf,

(e) all courts of justice shall take judicial notice of the seal of the board and every document purporting to be an order or other instrument made by them and to be sealed with their seal (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with the foregoing paragraph) shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such order or instrument without further proof unless the contrary is shown,

(f) the board shall be a joint body within the meaning and for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 and 1942,

(g) the board shall be a joint authority within the meaning and for the purposes of the Health Services (Financial Provisions) Act, 1947 (No. 47 of 1947),

(h) the Minister may by order apply to the board any provisions of the Principal Act or this Act or of any regulations thereunder and may so apply such provisions with any specified modifications or limitations.

(5) An order under this section may provide for joint action being carried out by the Dublin Board of Assistance, the Board of Public Assistance for the South Cork Public Assistance District or the Board of Public Assistance for the Waterford Public Assistance

District and, for that purpose, may apply to such board any provisions of the Principal Act or this Act or of any regulations thereunder and may so apply such provisions with any specified modifications or limitations.

(6) An order under this section applying to a board the provisions of section 103 of the Principal Act shall not be made save with the consent of the Minister for Local Government.

(7) Where the provisions of section 103 of the Principal Act apply by virtue of an order under this section to a board, the amount standing at any particular time borrowed by the board under the Principal Act shall not exceed one-fourth of the total amount of the valuations appearing in the valuation lists in force at that time under the Valuation Acts in the functional areas of the health authorities liable to contribute to the expenses of the board.

(8) Where an order which was made under section 101 (repealed by this Act) of the Principal Act and which provided for a committee to act on behalf of two or more health authorities was in force immediately before the commencement of this section—

(a) the order shall continue in force and shall be deemed to have been made under subsection (1) of this section,

(b) the committee shall be deemed to be a joint board established by order under subsection (1) of this section by such name as may be specified by further order made by the Minister.

(9) The Minister may by order revoke any order made or deemed to be made under this section, and the revoking order shall contain such provisions as the Minister thinks necessary or expedient consequential on the revocation and, in particular, where the order to be revoked relates to a joint board, may make provision for—

(a) the dissolution of the joint board and the transfer of the property, rights and liabilities thereof to a health authority or to two or more health authorities or to another joint board or to two or more other joint boards,

(b) the preservation of continuing contracts made by the dissolved joint board,

(c) the continuance of pending legal proceedings,

(d) the transfer of the holder of any office under the dissolved joint board to a similar office under one of the health authorities who appointed the members of the dissolved joint board or under another joint board whose functional area is coterminous with, includes or is included in that of the dissolved joint board.

(10) Where, under an order under subsection (9) of this section, the holder of an office under a joint board is transferred to another office, the first-mentioned office shall, for the purpose of any enactment relating to superannuation, be deemed not to have been abolished.