S.I. No. 279/1986 - The Health Research Board (Establishment) Order, 1986.

S.I. No. 279 of 1986.

THE HEALTH RESEARCH BOARD (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER, 1986.

The Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 to 6 of the Health (Corporate Bodies) Act, 1961 (No. 27 of 1961) hereby orders as follows:—

1. This Order may be cited as the Health Research Board (Establishment) Order, 1986.

2. A body to be known as An Bord Taighde Sláinte or, in the English language, the Health Research Board, is hereby established.

3. In this Order:—

"the Board" means the Health Research Board established by this Order;

"the Chairman" means the Chairman for the time being of the Board;

"health research" means research in support of the maintenance, improvement and promotion of the health of the individual and society;

"health services research" means research into the organisation, management, delivery and financing of health and personal social services;

"medical research" means research in any or all branches of medicine, or in any or all sciences or subjects allied or pertaining thereto;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Health.

4. (1) The functions of the Board are as follows:—

(a) to promote, assist, commission or conduct medical research;

(b) to promote, assist, commission or conduct such epidemiological research as may appropriately or necessarily be conducted at national level and to assist and support other health agencies in the promotion or conduct of such research;

(c) to promote, assist, commission or conduct health research;

(d) to promote, assist, commission or conduct health services research;

(e) to liaise and co-operate with other research bodies in Ireland or elsewhere in the promotion, commissioning or conduct of relevant research;

(f) to undertake such other cognate functions as the Minister may from time to time determine.

(2) In the discharge of its functions, the Board shall have regard to such general research aims and objectives as the Minister may, from time to time, determine and convey to the Board.

5. (1) The Board shall consist of sixteen members appointed by the Minister.

(2) Eight of these members shall be appointed by the Minister on the conjoint nomination of the University of Dublin; University College, Dublin; University College, Cork; University College, Galway; the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

(3) Of the members to be appointed under sub article (2) not less than one person shall be a psychiatrist and not less than one person shall be an epidemiologist.

6. (1) The term of office of a member of the Board shall be for a period not exceeding five years.

(2) The member shall hold office for the period of the appointment unless the member sooner dies, resigns by letter addressed to the Minister or ceases to be a member in accordance with Article 7 of this Order.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub articles (1) and (2) of this Article, a member shall continue to hold office pending his appointment by the Minister for a further term of office or until the Minister makes an appointment of a member of the Board in his place in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

(4) No person shall be appointed to be a member of the Board for more than two consecutive terms.

7. A member shall cease to be a member of the Board on his being requested by the Minister to resign.

8. (1) A Chairman shall be appointed from amongst the members of the Board and shall hold office until the expiration of his current term of office as a member.

(2) The Minister shall appoint the first Chairman of the Board from amongst the members of the Board.

(3) Subsequent Chairmen shall be elected by the members of the Board from amongst their members.

9. The quorum of the Board shall be five.

10. The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

11. The proceedings of the Board shall not be invalidated by any vacancy or vacancies among its members or by any defect in the appointment of the Board or any member thereof.

12. (1) The Chairman may, at any time, call a meeting of the Board.

(2) If the Chairman refuses to call a meeting of the Board after a requisition for that purpose, signed by five members of the Board, has been presented to him, any five members of the Board may forthwith, on that refusal, call a meeting of the Board, and, if the Chairman (without so refusing) does not, within seven days after the presentation of the requisition, call a meeting of the Board, any five members of the Board may, on the expiration of these seven days, call a meeting of the Board.

13. At a meeting of the Board:—

(1) the Chairman shall, if he is present, be chairman of the meeting;

(2) if and so long as the Chairman is not present, the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

14. Minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Board shall be entered in a book kept for that purpose and shall be signed by the chairman of the meeting or of the next ensuing meeting.

15. (1) The names of the members present at a meeting of the Board shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the Board.

(2) The names of the members voting on any question arising at a meeting of the Board shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting and the record shall show which members vote for and which against the question.

16. (1) A person may receive such remuneration for acting as a member of the Board as may from time to time be determined by the Minister.

(2) Members of the Board may be paid travelling and subsistence allowances in accordance with such scale as may from time to time be approved by the Minister.

17. (1) All acts of the Board and all questions coming or arising before the Board may be done and decided by the majority of such members of the Board as are present and, whenever a vote is considered necessary, vote at a meeting of the Board.

(2) In the case of equality of votes on any question arising at a meeting of the Board, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(3) A memorandum signed by all the members (for the time being) of the Board shall be effective for all purposes as a resolution of the Board passed at a meeting duly convened, held and constituted.

18. (1) In order to facilitate the discharge of the functions of the Board, the Board may establish committees.

(2) The membership of such committees may consist solely of members of the Board, or of members of the Board and persons who are not members of the Board, but such persons shall not constitute more than one-third of the membership of any such committee.

(3) The functions of such committees shall be to assist and advise the Board in relation to the performance of its functions.

19. The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chairman or some other member of the Board duly authorised by the Board to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Board duly authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

20. The Board shall, not later than the 30th day of September in each year, submit to the Minister a statement of its proposed programme of research and its estimated budgetary requirement in respect of the following financial year.

21. (1) The Board shall cause to be kept proper accounts of all income and expenditure of the Board, and of the sources of such income and the subject matter of such expenditure, and of the property, credits and liabilities of the Board.

(2) The financial year of the Board shall be the period of twelve months ending on the 31st day of December in any year and for the purposes of this provision the period commencing on the date of this Order and ending on the 31st December, 1987, shall be deemed to be a financial year.

(3) A statement of accounts of the Board for each financial year shall, as soon as may be after the end of such financial year be prepared and after such preparation be audited by and be subject to a report by an auditor appointed for the purpose by the Minister after consultation with the Board.

(4) The expenses generally of such audit shall be paid by the Board as soon as may be after each audit.

(5) A copy of the accounts and the auditor's certificate and report thereon shall be presented to the members of the Board and to the Minister.

(6) The Board and the officers thereof shall, whenever so requested by the Minister, permit any person appointed by him to examine the books and accounts of the Board in respect of any financial year or other period and shall facilitate any such examination and the Board shall pay such fee therefor as may be fixed by the Minister.

22. (1) The Board shall in each year, not later than such day as the Minister shall direct, make a report to the Minister of its activities during the preceding year.

(2) The Board shall submit to the Minister such information regarding the performance of its functions as the Minister may from time to time request.

23. (1) The Board may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, appoint such and so many officers and employ such and so many servants as the Board may, from time to time, think proper and in appointing any officer or employing any servant the Board shall comply with any directions given by the Minister relating to the procedure to be followed.

(2) Every officer of the Board holding office in a permanent capacity shall cease to hold his office on attaining the age of sixty-five years.

(3) The Board shall, with the consent of the Minister, determine the remuneration and conditions of service of each officer and each servant.

(4) The Board shall, from time to time, assign such duties as it considers appropriate to each officer and servant of the Board and each such officer shall perform the duties so assigned to him.

(5) The Minister may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, declare that any of the powers conferred on the Board by this article shall be exercisable only with the consent of the Minister, and whenever any such declaration is in force, the said powers may, in relation to any office or employment to which the declaration applies, be exercised only with such consent.

24. The Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 (No. 10 of 1956) and Schemes and Regulations made under the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1980 (No. 8 of 1980) shall apply to the Board as if it were a local authority.

25. (1) For the purpose of the performance of its functions, the Board may, with the consent of the Minister and the approval of the Minister for Finance, borrow money.

(2) The Board may, with the consent of the Minister, sell, exchange, let or otherwise dispose of any land vested in it and, purchase or take on lease any land.

26. (1) The Board may accept gifts of money, land and other property upon such trusts and conditions, if any, as may be specified by the donor.

(2) The Board may not accept a gift if the conditions attached by the donor to its acceptance are not consistent with the functions of the Board.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Health this 14th

day of August, 1986.

BARRY DESMOND,

Minister for Health

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The effect of this Order is to establish under the Health (Corporate Bodies) Act, 1961 , a body, to be known as the Health Research Board which will conduct research on health and health services.