National Standards Authority of Ireland Act, 1996
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FIRST SCHEDULE The National Standards Authority of Ireland | ||
Incorporation. | ||
1. (1) The Authority shall be a body corporate with the power to sue and be sued in its own name. | ||
(2) The Authority shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of land and other property, including intellectual property. | ||
Membership. | ||
2. (1) The members of the Authority shall constitute the Board of that body. | ||
(2) The Board of the Authority shall consist of not more than 13 members. | ||
(3) The Board of the Authority shall include its Chief Executive Officer. | ||
(4) Subject to paragraph 1 (3) of the Second Schedule the members of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister from among those interests involved in the process of standardisation and certification of commodities, processes and practices, without any single interest predominating, taking into account guidelines issued from time to time by the Government and, in particular, providing for staff-representation on the Board. | ||
(5) The Minister, after consultation with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned, shall make such regulations as are considered necessary or desirable in order to provide for staff-representation on the Board. | ||
(6) One member of the Board shall be designated as Chairperson by the Minister and two other members may be designated as Deputy Chairpersons by the Board. | ||
(7) The Board of the Authority shall hold such and so many meetings as it considers necessary for the fulfilment of the functions assigned to it by this Act. The Chairperson shall take the chair at each meeting of the Board. In the absence of the Chairperson at any meeting, the chair shall be taken by a Deputy Chairperson or in the absence of a Deputy Chairperson by such person as the Board shall, in respect of such meeting, select. | ||
(8) The Chairperson and other members of the Authority shall hold office on such terms and conditions (which may include remuneration and expenses) as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, shall determine. | ||
(9) The Board may act by any five of its members provided seven clear days notice by letter or fax has been given of the meeting. | ||
(10) The Board may regulate its own procedure. | ||
Period of office of members. | ||
3. (1) On every anniversary of the establishment day, three of the members of the Board, excluding the ex-officio chief executive, shall retire. | ||
(2) The members to retire each year shall be those who have been longest in office since their previous appointment but, as between persons who first became members on the same day, those to retire shall (unless they otherwise agree amongst themselves) be determined by lot. | ||
(3) A retiring member shall be eligible for reappointment. | ||
Conditions of office. | ||
4. (1) The Minister may remove a Board member from office. | ||
(2) A member may resign office by notice in writing to the Minister with a copy to the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority and the resignation shall take effect on the date on which the Minister receives the notice. | ||
(3) A member shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if that member is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, or is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company, or is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty whether in connection with a company or not, or is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act, 1990 . | ||
(4) Where a member is— | ||
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, or | ||
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament, or | ||
(c) regarded pursuant to section 15 (inserted by the European Assembly Elections Act, 1984 ) of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977 , as having been elected to such Parliament to fill a vacancy, | ||
that person shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Board. | ||
(5) The conditions of office applicable to Board members and set out in subparagraph (3) shall also apply to members of committees or other bodies constituted under this Act. | ||
The seal. | ||
5. (1) The Authority shall provide itself with a seal. | ||
(2) The seal of the Authority shall, when applied to a document, be attested to by the signature of two members of the Authority or by the signature of a member and of a member of staff of the Authority authorised by it to act in that behalf or by the signature of two members of staff of the Authority so authorised. | ||
Symbol of the Authority. | ||
6. (1) The Authority shall have the exclusive right to the use of such symbol or representation as it may select or devise and thereafter display or exhibit in connection with its activities or affairs. | ||
(2) Any person who uses a symbol or representation identical with that of the Authority or which so nearly resembles that of the Authority as to be likely to deceive shall, subject to section 30 (3), be guilty of an offence. | ||
The Authority, contracts and instruments. | ||
7. (1) All courts of justice shall take judicial note of the seal of the Authority, and every document purporting to be an instrument made by the Authority and to be sealed with its seal and to be attested in accordance with this paragraph shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and deemed to be that instrument without further proof. | ||
(2) Any contract or instrument which, if entered into or executed by an individual, would not require to be under seal may be entered into or executed on behalf of the Authority by any person generally or specially authorised by the Authority for that purpose. | ||
Annual report and accounts. | ||
8. (1) The Authority shall submit, in such form as the Minister may direct, an annual report of its activities after the end of the financial year to which it refers and a general programme of future work. The Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas not later than six months after the end of that financial year. | ||
(2) The Authority shall keep, in such form as may be approved of by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, all proper and usual accounts of money received and expended by it and, in particular, shall keep in such form as aforesaid all special accounts as the Minister may from time to time direct. | ||
(3) The accounts of the Authority shall be submitted annually to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit at such times as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, shall direct and when so audited shall, together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon, be presented to the Minister, who shall cause copies thereof to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. | ||
Information. | ||
9. (1) The Authority shall supply the Minister with such information regarding its activities as the Minister may from time to time require. | ||
(2) Any committee or other body established under this Act shall provide the Authority with such information as it may require for the purposes of its functions. |