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Establishment of Board.
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30.—(1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body, to be known as an Bord um Chuntais Dhíomhaoine or, in the English language, the Dormant Accounts Board, to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.
(2) In this section “establishment day” means the day appointed under
section 2
of the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2005 as the establishment day.
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Functions of Board.
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31.—(1) The functions of the Board are—
(a) to prepare and submit to the Minister, in accordance with section 42, a plan for the disbursement of moneys under Part 6,
(b) to review and assess from time to time—
(i) the extent to which the objectives specified in the plan have been achieved,
(ii) the effectiveness of the strategies specified in the plan, and
(iii) the pattern and effect of disbursements under Part 6, including whether they have resulted in activities that, but for those disbursements, might not have been undertaken,
and
(c) to make reports to the Minister under section 45(3).
(2) The Board has all the powers that are necessary for or incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act.
(3) Subject to this Act, the Board shall be independent in the performance of its functions.
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Membership of Board.
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32.—(1) The Board shall consist of a chairperson and 10 ordinary members, all of whom are to be appointed by the Minister from persons who, in his or her opinion, have knowledge of, or experience relating to, matters that appear to the Minister to be relevant to the Board's functions.
(2) A person who, until the dissolution of the former Board, held office as the chairperson or an ordinary member of that Board is eligible on the first occasion on which appointments are made under this section to be appointed as the chairperson or an ordinary member, as the case may be, of the Dormant Accounts Board.
(3) Not fewer than 4 of the 10 ordinary members appointed under this section are to be persons who—
(a) in the Minister's opinion, have knowledge of, and experience relating to, the purposes for which disbursements may be made under section 41, and
(b) are appointed following consideration by the Minister of any submissions received in response to a published notice indicating that appointments will be made to the Board and inviting recommendations relating to those appointments.
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Terms of office of members.
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33.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), a member of the Board holds office for such period as the Minister may fix, but not exceeding—
(a) 5 years in the case of the chairperson, and
(b) 3 years in the case of any other member.
(2) The term of office of a person who accepts an appointment under section 32(2) to the Board is deemed to have commenced on the date of his or her appointment to the former Board and expires on the day on which, but for the dissolution of the former Board, his or her term of office on the former Board would have expired.
(3) A member whose term of office expires or is about to expire with the passage of time is eligible for re-appointment to the Board, but may not serve on the Board for more than 2 consecutive terms of office.
(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), a term of office that by virtue of subsection (2) includes a period of service with the former Board is counted as one term of office.
(5) A member of the Board may resign from office by letter sent to the Minister.
(6) The resignation of a member of the Board shall, unless previously withdrawn in writing, take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the Board has been informed by the Minister of the resignation.
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Conditions of office.
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34.—(1) The Minister may at any time remove a member of the Board from office if—
(a) in the Minister's opinion, the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions or has committed stated misbehaviour, or
(b) the member's removal from office appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance of the Board's functions.
(2) A member of the Board ceases to be qualified for office and ceases to hold office if the member—
(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,
(c) is, on conviction on indictment by a court of competent jurisdiction, sentenced to imprisonment, or
(d) is disqualified or restricted from being a director of any company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts 1963 to 2003).
(3) A member of the Board shall, subject to this Act, hold office on the terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and allowances) that may be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.
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Casual vacancies.
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35.—(1) If a member of the Board dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office or is removed from office or ceases for any other reason (other than the expiry of his or her term of office) to be a member of the Board, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.
(2) A person appointed to be a member of the Board under this section holds office for the remainder of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy.
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Chairperson of Board.
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36.—(1) On ceasing to be a member of the Board, the chairperson ceases to be its chairperson.
(2) The chairperson of the Board shall, unless he or she sooner resigns, dies or otherwise ceases to be chairperson by virtue of subsection (1), hold office until the end of his or her term of office and, if re-appointed as a member of the Board, is eligible for re-appointment as its chairperson.
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Meetings and procedure.
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37.—(1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for performing its functions.
(2) If present at a meeting of the Board, the chairperson of the Board shall be the chairperson of the meeting.
(3) If and so long as the chairperson of the Board is not present at a meeting of the Board or if that office is vacant, the members of the Board present at the meeting shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting.
(4) Every question that is to be decided 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 of the meeting has a second or casting vote.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), the Board may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy among its members or any deficiency in the appointment of a member that may subsequently be discovered.
(6) Unless the Minister otherwise directs, the quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be 6.
(7) Subject to this Act, the Board shall regulate its procedure by rules or otherwise.
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Membership of either House of the Oireachtas or European Parliament, etc.
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38.—(1) A member of the Board ceases to hold office on—
(a) being nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,
(b) being elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament,
(c) being regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the
European Parliament Elections Act 1997
as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or
(d) becoming a member of a local authority.
(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit in the House or who is a member of the European Parliament is, while so entitled or such a member, disqualified for becoming a member of the Board.
(3) A person who is a member of a local authority is disqualified for becoming a member of the Board.
(4) The Board may not engage in any capacity a person who would be disqualified under this section for becoming a member of the Board.
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Support services, consultants, advisers and operating costs.
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39.—(1) The Board may engage consultants, advisers or support staff necessary for the performance of the Board's functions, but only after the Minister—
(a) has requested the Board to do so or has approved a request by the Board for authority to do so, and
(b) has approved the terms and conditions of their engagement.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister shall have regard to the guidelines relating to the engagement of consultants, advisers and support staff that are issued from time to time by the Minister for Finance.
(3) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and on the terms and conditions that the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance thinks fit, advance to the Board out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas the sums that the Minister, after consulting with the Board, may determine for the purpose of defraying—
(a) fees payable by the Board to persons engaged under subsection (1), and
(b) other costs and expenses incurred by the Board in performing its functions under this Act.
(4) On the direction of the Minister for Finance, the Agency shall reimburse from the reserve account to the Minister the amounts advanced under subsection (3) out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
(5) Amounts reimbursed under subsection (4) may be applied as appropriations in aid in accordance with
section 2
of the
Public Accounts and Charges Act 1891
.
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Disclosure of certain interests.
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40.—(1) Where a matter is to be decided at a meeting of the Board, any member of the Board present at the meeting who has an interest in the matter, otherwise than as a member, shall—
(a) at the meeting, in advance of any consideration of the matter, disclose to the Board the fact and nature of the interest,
(b) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision relating to the matter,
(c) withdraw from the meeting for as long as the matter is being discussed or considered,
(d) take no part in any deliberation of the Board relating to the matter, and
(e) not vote on a decision relating to the matter.
(2) Where a member discloses an interest in a matter under this section—
(a) the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, and
(b) for so long as the matter is being dealt with by the meeting, the member shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting unless the Board otherwise determines.
(3) Where, at a meeting of the Board, a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a member of the Board, would be a failure by him or her to comply with the requirements of subsection (1)—
(a) the question may be determined by the chairperson of the Board whose decision shall be final, and
(b) if the question is so determined, particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
(4) If satisfied that a member of the Board has not complied with subsection (1), the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that member from office.
(5) A person removed from office under subsection (4) is disqualified for membership of the Board.”.
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