S.I. No. 690/2006 - Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment Order) 1999, (Amendment) Order, 2006

S.I. No. 690 of 2006

Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment Order) 1999, (Amendment) Order, 2006

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 and 43 of the Local Government Act, 1991 (No. 11 of 1991), and with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby orders as follows:-

1.     This Order may be cited as the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment Order) 1999, (Amendment) Order, 2006.

2.     This Order and the principal order shall be construed together as one.

3.     In this Order, “the principal order” means the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1999 ( S.I. No. 226 of 1999 ).

4.     Article 2 of the principal order is hereby amended by the insertion of:

““the Act of 2001” means the Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37 of 2001)”.

5.     This Order shall come into operation on the 1^st January 2007.

6.     Article 14 of the principal order is hereby amended by the addition after sub-article (4) of the following sub-article:-

“(5)    It shall be a function of a regional assembly at the request of the Minister for Finance, and in accordance with such terms, conditions, requirements or procedures as that Minister may specify to oversee, manage or implement measures or initiatives funded under national investment programmes within the region.”

7.     Article 15 of the principal order is hereby amended by:

(i)        the substitution of the following for paragraph (b) of sub-article (1)

“(b)    to prepare, manage, implement and perform all such other functions as are required under the relevant EC Regulations governing EC programmes of financial assistance, as that Minister may specify,”

(ii)        the insertion of the following after paragraph (c) in sub-article 1.

“(d)    to establish and hold on account funds on behalf of Ireland and one or more other Member States in respect of EC programmes of financial assistance for territorial cooperation, as that Minister may specify,

(e)     to pay grants directly to beneficiaries, or to contract with Government Departments or other public authorities to deliver funding in accordance with the relevant EC Regulations governing EC programmes of financial assistance, as that Minister may specify,”

(iii)       the substitution of the following for sub-article (2)

“(2)    It shall be a function of a regional assembly at the request of the Minister for Finance and in accordance with sub-article (1) to participate in the preparation, monitoring and implementation of any programme of EC assistance which involves another Member State or a region of another Member State of the European Union.”

(iv)       the insertion of the following after sub-article (2)

“(3)    The Minister for Finance may recoup to each regional assembly the amount of any approved costs incurred by the assembly in the discharge of functions under sub-article (5) of article 14 (as inserted by article 6 of this Order) and this article, which costs shall be shown separately in each estimate and statement of accounts prepared by each such assembly.”

8.     Article 31 of the principal order is hereby amended by the substitution of “article 15 (2)” by “article 15 (3)” in sub-article (4).

9.     Article 32 of the principal order is hereby amended by:

(i)        the substitution of the following for sub-article (1)

“(1)    A regional assembly shall keep proper accounts and records of its receipts and expenditure and shall prepare, as soon as may be after the end of the financial year, a statement of the accounts of the assembly for that year based on accounting policies and in such form as the Minister shall direct.”

(ii)        the substitution of the following for paragraph (a) of sub-article (3)

“(a)    The statement of accounts of a regional assembly shall be audited by a local government auditor appointed in accordance with section 116 (4) (b) of the 2001 Act. The auditor shall give an opinion on such statement of accounts and may also issue a separate report thereon in accordance with section 120 of the 2001 Act.”

10.     Article 33 of the principal order is hereby amended by:

(i)                  the substitution in sub-article (1) and paragraph (a) of sub-article (5) of “Local Appointments Commissioners” by “Public Appointments Service”;

(ii)                 the substitution of sub-article (3) by the following:

“(3)   (a)          Subject to paragraph (b) below, a person appointed under sub-article (1) shall hold office upon and subject to such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration, superannuation, term of appointment, fees, allowances and expenses) as may be determined by the regional assembly with the consent of the Minister given with the approval of the Minister for Finance.

(b)         The regional assembly may, with the consent of the Minister given with the approval of the Minister for Finance, extend or renew the contract of employment of the director for a period not exceeding seven years, or such other period as the Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, may determine.”

11.     Article 36 of the principal order is hereby amended by the substitution of “£7,000” by “€12,000” in sub-article (2).

12.     Article 39 of the principal order is hereby amended by:

(i)     the insertion after the word “cathaoirleach” of “, one nominated member of the assembly” in sub-article (2);

(ii)     the insertion of “, or may choose to nominate one representative to represent a sectoral grouping of regional bodies” at the end of sub-article (3); and

(iii)     the insertion of the following after sub-article (6)

“(7)    The Minister may give directions in accordance with article 37 amending the list of specified public authorities included in the Second Schedule to this order.”

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the foregoing Order.

Explanatory Memorandum

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

This order amends the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities)

(Establishment) Order, 1999 ( S.I. No. 226 of 1999 ) in certain respects.