Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2005

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Definitions.

40A.—In this Part except where the context otherwise requires—

‘account’ means the investment and disbursements account of the Fund;

‘approved plan’ means—

(a) the plan approved by the Minister under section 42, or

(b) the plan for the time being in effect under section 42(8);

‘measure’ includes an undertaking or enterprise;

‘programme’ means a set of related measures the policy objective of which is to provide one or more than one of the types of assistance contemplated by section 41;

‘project’ means a measure designed to provide one or more than one of the types of assistance contemplated by section 41.

Purposes of disbursements.

41.—In each year moneys may be disbursed in accordance with this Part from the account, but only for the purposes of programmes or projects to assist—

(a) the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged,

(b) the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged, or

(c) persons with a disability (within the meaning of the Equal Status Act 2000 ).

Disbursements plan.

42.—(1) The Board shall prepare and submit to the Minister, before 1 June 2006, for submission to the Government for their approval a plan for the disbursement of moneys from the account.

(2) The plan must—

(a) specify the objectives to be achieved by making disbursements from the account and the strategies for achieving those objectives, and

(b) be prepared in a form and manner in accordance with any guidelines and directions that may be issued by the Minister.

(3) The plan does not take effect until it is approved by the Government with or without amendment.

(4) The Government may, on receipt of a submission from the Minister, amend the plan at any time after it takes effect.

(5) The Board shall review and, if necessary, update the plan—

(a) within 3 years after the date on which it takes effect, and

(b) at least once in every 3 years after that.

(6) The requirements of subsection (1) relating to the submission of the plan for the Government's approval and of subsection (2)(b) relating to compliance with any guidelines and directions issued by the Minister apply also in relation to any updating of the plan.

(7) The Minister shall ensure that—

(a) the plan approved under this section is published in a form and manner that the Minister may determine, and

(b) notice of any amendments to the plan is published in Iris Oifigiúil and the amendments are then published as described in paragraph (a).

(8) The plan prepared under this Act before the passing of the Act of 2005—

(a) continues in effect until the date on which the plan submitted under subsection (1) is approved by the Government,

(b) may be amended in the same manner as the plan approved under this section, and

(c) while in effect, is considered for the purposes of this Part to be the approved plan.

(9) The requirements of subsection (7)(b) relating to publication of amendments apply also in relation to any amendments to the plan continued in effect under subsection (8).

Minister's proposal concerning disbursements.

43.—(1) After consulting with the appropriate Ministers, the Minister shall, not less than once in each year, submit to the Government for their approval, with or without amendment, a proposal concerning—

(a) the programmes or types of projects in relation to which applications for disbursements from the account should be invited, and

(b) the criteria to be applied in assessing applications made in response to the invitation.

(2) When preparing the proposal, the Minister is to have regard to the approved plan.

(3) For the purposes of this section and section 44(3), the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, from time to time fix the maximum and minimum amounts that may be proposed for disbursement from the account in relation to any programme or project.

(4) Different amounts may be fixed under subsection (3) in relation to different types of programmes or projects.

(5) Following the Government's approval of the proposal, the Minister shall ensure that both the invitation to apply for disbursements and the criteria for assessing applications are made available to the public.

Assessment of applications and publication of decisions.

44.—(1) Applications received in response to an invitation under section 43 shall be assessed, in accordance with the published criteria, by or on behalf of public bodies and the results of the assessments shall be reported to the Minister by those bodies.

(2) The results of the assessments under subsection (1) must include—

(a) a list of—

(i) the assessed measures forming part of a programme, and

(ii) where appropriate, the assessed projects,

(b) a recommendation as to whether or not each of those measures and projects should be recommended under subsection (3) for a disbursement from the account,

(c) the reasons for the recommendation, and

(d) if a disbursement is recommended, the amount recommended.

(3) Following receipt of the results of each assessment, the Minister shall submit to the Government for their approval—

(a) a list of the measures and projects that, based on the assessments, are recommended for disbursements from the account, and

(b) the amounts proposed to be disbursed from the account for the purposes of each of the recommended measures and projects.

(4) The Government may approve the submission with or without amendment.

(5) The Minister shall ensure that, within one month after receipt of the Government's approval of the submission, a statement containing a list of the approved measures and projects and specifying the amounts to be disbursed from the account for the purposes of each of them is laid before each House of the Oireachtas and is made available to the public.

(6) Section 41(1)(b) and (2) of this Act, as that section read immediately before the commencement of section 8 of the Act of 2005, applies for the purposes of this Part with the following modifications and any other necessary modifications:

(a) the reference in section 41(1)(b) to “in consultation with the Board” is to be read as “in consultation with the Dormant Accounts Board and subject to the approval of the Government”;

(b) the reference in section 41(1)(b) to “programmes referred to in paragraph (a)” is to be read as “programmes as defined in section 40A and amounts for those programmes”;

(c) the reference in section 41(2) to the Board is to be read as a reference to the Minister.

(7) Any fees payable by public bodies to consultants, advisers or other service providers engaged for any purpose relating to applications for disbursements under this Part shall be paid by the Agency out of the reserve account.

Making of disbursements.

44A.—(1) The following shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas:

(a) amounts that are specified in submissions approved under section 44(4) and that are required for the purposes of the measures and projects specified in those submissions;

(b) amounts that are specified under section 41(1)(b) as referred to in and applied by section 44(6) and that are required for the purposes of the programmes so specified.

(2) On the direction of the Minister for Finance, the Agency shall reimburse from the account to the relevant Ministers and Departments of State the amounts paid under subsection (1) out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(3) Amounts reimbursed under subsection (2) may be applied as appropriations in aid in accordance with section 2 of the Public Accounts and Charges Act 1891 .

(4) Amounts paid under subsection (1) out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas and reimbursed by the Agency under subsection (2) are considered for the purposes of this Part to have been disbursed from the account.

(5) In this section, ‘relevant Minister’ means, in relation to an amount paid under subsection (1) for the purposes of a particular measure, programme or project, the Minister within whose remit lies responsibility for that measure, programme or project.”.