Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012
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Substitution of Part 6 of Principal Act. |
3.— The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for Part 6 (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 2005): | |
“PART 6 | ||
Disbursement of Moneys from the Investment and Disbursements Account | ||
Definitions. | ||
40A.— In this Part— | ||
‘account’ means the investment and disbursements account of the Fund; | ||
‘action plan’ means a plan prepared under section 43; | ||
‘appointed day’ means the day appointed by the Minister under section 2 of the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012; | ||
‘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; | ||
‘scheme’ has the meaning given to it by section 42. | ||
Purposes of disbursements. | ||
41.— Moneys in the account may be disbursed, in accordance with this Part, 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 ). | ||
Scheme for disbursements. | ||
42.— (1) The Minister shall, not earlier than the appointed day and not later than 12 months after the appointed day, make a scheme for the disbursement of moneys from the account (in this Part referred to as a ‘scheme’), relating to the programmes or projects for which moneys may be disbursed pursuant to section 41. | ||
(2) For the purposes of making a scheme under this section, the Minister shall consult with— | ||
(a) the Minister for Education and Skills, | ||
(b) the Minister for Health, | ||
(c) the Minister for Social Protection, and | ||
(d) such other persons (including other Ministers of the Government) as the Minister considers appropriate. | ||
(3) In making a scheme, the Minister shall have regard to— | ||
(a) the policies and priorities of the Government in so far as those policies and priorities may affect or relate to the types of assistance contemplated by section 41, | ||
(b) the amount of moneys available or likely to be available for disbursement from the account in the period to which the scheme relates, and | ||
(c) the need to ensure that the moneys in the account are expended in a cost effective manner. | ||
(4) A scheme shall— | ||
(a) set out the period (not exceeding 3 years) to which the scheme relates, and | ||
(b) specify the objectives to be achieved by making disbursements from the account and the strategies for achieving those objectives, | ||
and may include such other information as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the matters referred to in subsection (3). | ||
(5) The Minister— | ||
(a) may, from time to time, and | ||
(b) shall, at the times specified in subsection (6), | ||
review a scheme or any part of a scheme and, if he or she considers it necessary, may amend a scheme or make a new scheme. | ||
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)(b), a review shall be carried out— | ||
(a) within 3 years after the first scheme made under subsection (1) takes effect, and | ||
(b) at least once in every 3 years thereafter. | ||
(7) The Minister shall not make a scheme or amend a scheme unless a draft of the scheme or a draft of any proposed amendments to the scheme have first been approved by the Government. | ||
(8) A scheme, including an amendment of a scheme, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas by the Minister as soon as practicable after it has been made and, if a resolution annulling the scheme is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the scheme is laid before it, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it. | ||
(9) Subsections (2) and (3) apply to the amendment of a scheme as they apply to the making of a scheme with any necessary modifications. | ||
Action plan. | ||
43.— (1) Where the Minister has made a scheme under section 42, the Minister shall, at least once in each year, prepare a plan (in this Part referred to as an ‘action plan’) for the purpose of giving effect to the scheme. | ||
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister shall consult with— | ||
(a) the Minister for Education and Skills, | ||
(b) the Minister for Health, | ||
(c) the Minister for Social Protection, and | ||
(d) such other persons (including other Ministers of the Government) as the Minister considers appropriate. | ||
(3) Following the consultation referred to in subsection (2), and having regard to the matters referred to in section 42(3) and such other matters as the Minister considers appropriate, the Minister may— | ||
(a) adopt an action plan, or | ||
(b) decide not to adopt an action plan. | ||
(4) An action plan shall include particulars of the following: | ||
(a) the programmes or types of projects in relation to which it is proposed to invite applications for disbursements from the account; | ||
(b) the maximum amount of moneys that may be proposed for disbursement from the account in relation to any programme or project during the period to which the action plan relates. | ||
(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b), different amounts may be specified by the Minister in the action plan in relation to a particular class or classes of programme or project. | ||
(6) As soon as practicable after an action plan has been adopted the Minister shall— | ||
(a) cause a copy of the plan to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and, if a resolution annulling the plan is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the plan is laid before it, the plan shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the plan, and | ||
(b) arrange for the plan to be published in a form and manner that will enable members of the public to have access to it. | ||
(7) Where an action plan has been adopted in accordance with this section, the Minister may— | ||
(a) having consulted with the persons referred to in subsection (2), and | ||
(b) having regard to the matters referred to in section 42(3) and such other matters as the Minister considers appropriate, | ||
decide that applications for disbursements from the account under section 43A shall not be invited. | ||
(8) Where the Minister makes a decision under subsection (3)(b), the decision shall be submitted to the Government for approval. | ||
Invitation to apply for disbursements. | ||
43A.— (1) A Minister of the Government within whose remit lies responsibility for a programme or type of project specified in an action plan adopted under section 43 may, from time to time, in accordance with this section, invite applications for disbursements from the account. | ||
(2) Where a Minister of the Government referred to in subsection (1) proposes to invite applications for disbursements from the account, he or she shall, after consulting with the Minister and any other Minister of the Government as the first-mentioned Minister considers appropriate, publish or cause to be published— | ||
(a) a notice inviting applications for disbursements from the account (‘aninvitation to apply’), and | ||
(b) the criteria (‘assessment criteria’) to be applied in assessing applications made in response to the invitation to apply. | ||
(3) An invitation to apply shall contain information relating to— | ||
(a) the programmes or types of project in respect of which applications for disbursements are invited, | ||
(b) the procedure for making an application for a disbursement, | ||
(c) the criteria to be applied in determining the classes of persons who may make an application for a disbursement for the programmes or types of projects concerned, and | ||
(d) the closing date for applications. | ||
Assessment of applications and publication of decisions. | ||
44.— (1) Applications for disbursements received in response to an invitation to apply shall be assessed, in accordance with the assessment criteria published in respect of the invitation concerned, by or on behalf of the Minister of the Government who invited the applications under section 43A. | ||
(2) Following the assessment of the applications under subsection (1), the Minister of the Government concerned or the person who carried out the assessment on his or her behalf, shall prepare a report of the results of the assessments which shall include the following: | ||
(a) a list of the applications received and the programme or type of project to which the applications relate; | ||
(b) a recommendation in respect of each application as to whether or not such application should be approved for a disbursement from the account; | ||
(c) the reasons for the recommendation; | ||
(d) if a disbursement is recommended,the amount of the disbursement recommended. | ||
(3) Following consideration of a report prepared under subsection (2), the Minister of the Government who invited the applications under section 43A shall prepare his or her list of the applications that, based on the assessment of the applications concerned, he or she recommends for a disbursement from the account, and the amounts that he or she recommends should be disbursed with respect to each of those applications. | ||
(4) The Minister of the Government concerned shall submit the list prepared by him or her under subsection (3), for approval, to— | ||
(a) in the case of a list prepared by the Minister, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, or | ||
(b) in the case of a list prepared by any other Minister of the Government, the Minister. | ||
(5) (a) The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform may approve the list submitted to him or her under subsection (4)(a) with or without amendment. | ||
(b) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, approve the list submitted to him or her under subsection (4)(b) with or without amendment. | ||
(6) The Minister shall ensure that as soon as practicable after approval has been given under subsection (5)(a) or (b), as the case may be, a statement— | ||
(a) containing a list of the approved applications and the programme or type of project to which each of those applications relates, and | ||
(b) specifying the amounts to be disbursed from the account in respect of each of those applications, | ||
is laid before each House of the Oireachtas and is made available to the public. | ||
(7) Any fees payable by a Minister of the Government who invited applications concerned under section 43A 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 amounts that are approved for disbursement from the account under section 44(5)(a) or (b), as the case may be, and that are required for the purposes of a programme or type of project in respect of which the applications were approved under section 44 shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. | ||
(2) On the direction of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Agency shall reimburse from the account to the relevant Ministers and Departments of State the amounts paid under subsection (1). | ||
(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) 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), the Minister of the Government within whose remit lies responsibility for a programme or type of project concerned and in respect of which the amount concerned has been paid.”. |