Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019
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SCHEDULE Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority | ||
1. (1) The Regulator shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and may sue, or may be sued, in its corporate name. | ||
(2) The Regulator may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land, and shall have power to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property. | ||
(3) The seal of the Regulator shall be authenticated by the signatures— | ||
(a) of 2 members of the Regulator, or | ||
(b) of both a member of the Regulator and a member of the staff of the Regulator, | ||
authorised by the Regulator to act in that behalf. | ||
(4) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Regulator, and every document purporting— | ||
(a) to be an instrument made by the Regulator, and | ||
(b) to be sealed with the seal of the Regulator authenticated in accordance with subparagraph (3), | ||
shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof. | ||
2. (1) The Regulator shall consist of not more than 11 and not less than 5 members, one of whom shall be the chairperson of the Regulator. | ||
(2) The members of the Regulator shall be appointed by the Minister. | ||
(3) The chairperson of the Regulator shall be appointed by the Minister from among the members of the Regulator. | ||
(4) The Minister shall, in so far as is practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the members of the Regulator there is an equitable balance between men and women. | ||
(5) The members of the Regulator shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have experience and expertise in relation to matters connected with the functions of the Regulator which would enable such persons to make a substantial contribution to the performance by the Regulator of its functions. | ||
(6) A member of the Regulator shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 5 years from the date of his or her appointment, as the Minister shall determine. | ||
(7) Subject to subparagraph (8), a member of the Regulator whose term of office expires by the passage of time shall be eligible for reappointment to the Regulator. | ||
(8) A person who is reappointed to the Regulator in accordance with subparagraph (7) shall not hold office for periods the aggregate of which, including the period for which he or she was first appointed as a member, exceeds 10 years. | ||
3. (1) A member of the Regulator may resign from office by giving notice to the Minister of his or her resignation and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice. | ||
(2) The Minister may at any time remove from office a member of the Regulator if, in the Minister’s opinion— | ||
(a) the member has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing the functions of the office, | ||
(b) the member has contravened, or failed to discharge a duty imposed by, a provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 that by a regulation made under section 3 of that Act applies to that member, | ||
(c) in performing functions under this Act, the member has not complied with a code of conduct under section 10 (3) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 , | ||
(d) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or | ||
(e) the removal of the member appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Regulator of its functions. | ||
4. (1) A person shall be disqualified from and shall cease to hold office as a member of the Regulator or a committee of the Regulator if he or she— | ||
(a) is adjudicated bankrupt, | ||
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, | ||
(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment, | ||
(d) is convicted on indictment of an offence, or is convicted outside the State of an offence consisting of acts or omissions which would constitute an offence triable on indictment if done or made in the State, | ||
(e) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, | ||
(f) has a declaration under section 819 of the Act of 2014 made against him or her or is deemed to be subject to such a declaration by virtue of Chapter 5 of Part 14 of that Act, or | ||
(g) is subject or is deemed to be subject to a disqualification order, within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Act of 2014, whether by virtue of that Chapter or any other provision of that Act. | ||
(2) A member of the Regulator shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, hold office upon such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and allowances) as may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. | ||
5. (1) If a member of the Regulator dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Regulator to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned in the same manner as the member of the Regulator who occasioned the casual vacancy was appointed. | ||
(2) A person appointed to be a member of the Regulator pursuant to subparagraph (1) shall hold office for that period of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy concerned that remains unexpired at the date of his or her appointment and shall, subject to paragraph 2(8), be eligible for reappointment as a member of the Regulator on the expiry of the said period. | ||
6. (1) The Regulator shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due fulfilment of its functions. | ||
(2) The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Regulator. | ||
(3) At a meeting of the Regulator— | ||
(a) the chairperson of the Regulator shall, if present, be the chairperson of the meeting, or | ||
(b) if and so long as the chairperson of the Regulator is not present or if that office is vacant, the other members of the Regulator who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting. | ||
(4) At a meeting of the Regulator— | ||
(a) subject to clause (c), each member of the Regulator present has one vote, | ||
(b) every question shall be determined by consensus, but where in the opinion of the chairperson or other person presiding consensus is not possible, the question shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question, and | ||
(c) in the case of an equal division of votes in circumstances to which clause (b) relates, the chairperson of the meeting has a second or casting vote. | ||
(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Regulator shall regulate its procedure by rules or otherwise (including procedures for electronic meetings). | ||
(6) The Regulator may hold or continue a meeting by the use of any means of communication by which all the members can hear and be heard at the same time (in this Schedule referred to as an “electronic meeting”). | ||
(7) Subject to subparagraph (8), the Regulator may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members. | ||
(8) The quorum for a meeting of the Regulator, unless the Minister otherwise directs, shall be— | ||
(a) 4, where the Regulator consists of less than 8 members, and | ||
(b) 5, where the Regulator consists of 8 members or more. | ||
7. (1) The Regulator may establish committees, consisting in whole or in part of persons who are members of the Regulator, to— | ||
(a) assist and advise it in relation to the performance of any or all of its functions, and | ||
(b) perform such functions of the Regulator as may stand delegated to them under paragraph 8. | ||
(2) In appointing members of a committee established under this paragraph, the Regulator shall— | ||
(a) have regard to the range of qualifications and experience necessary for the proper and effective discharge of the functions of the committee, and | ||
(b) in so far as is practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the members of the Regulator there is an equitable balance between men and women. | ||
(3) There may be paid by the Regulator to members of a committee established under this paragraph such allowances for expenses (if any) incurred by them as the Regulator may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determine. | ||
(4) A member of a committee established under this paragraph may be removed from office at any time by the Regulator. | ||
(5) The acts of a committee shall be subject to confirmation by the Regulator, unless the Regulator otherwise determines. | ||
(6) The Regulator may determine the terms of reference and regulate the procedure of a committee established under this paragraph. | ||
(7) The Regulator may appoint a person to be chairperson of a committee established under this paragraph. | ||
(8) A committee established under this paragraph shall provide the Regulator with such information as the Regulator may from time to time require, in respect of its activities and operations, for the purposes of the performance of the functions of the Regulator. | ||
(9) The Regulator may at any time dissolve a committee established under this paragraph. | ||
8. The Regulator may, with the consent of the Minister, delegate such one or more of its functions as it considers appropriate to a committee established under paragraph 7. | ||
9. (1) Where a member of the Regulator, a member of a committee established under paragraph 7 or the chief executive is— | ||
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, | ||
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a representative in the European Parliament, or | ||
(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 as having been elected to that Parliament, | ||
he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Regulator, the committee concerned or chief executive, as the case may be. | ||
(2) Where a member of the staff of the Regulator is— | ||
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, | ||
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a representative in the European Parliament, or | ||
(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 as having been elected to that Parliament, | ||
he or she shall thereupon stand seconded from employment by the Regulator and shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, the Regulator any remuneration or allowances in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election, or when he or she is so regarded as having been so elected (as the case may be), and ending when such person ceases to be a member of either such House, or a representative in such Parliament. | ||
(3) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a representative in the European Parliament shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a representative, be disqualified for being a member of the Regulator or a committee established under paragraph 7, the chief executive or a member of the staff of the Regulator. | ||
(4) A period mentioned in subparagraph (2) shall not, for the purposes of any superannuation benefit, be reckoned as service with the Regulator. | ||
10. (1) Where at a meeting of the Regulator or a committee established under paragraph 7, a member of the Regulator or the committee, as the case may be, present at the meeting who, otherwise than in his or her capacity as such member, has a material interest in any matter which falls to be considered by the Regulator or that committee, such member shall— | ||
(a) at the meeting disclose to the Regulator or the committee the fact of such interest and the nature thereof, | ||
(b) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision to be made in relation to the matter, | ||
(c) absent himself or herself from the meeting or that part of the meeting during which the matter is being discussed, | ||
(d) take no part in consideration of the matter, and | ||
(e) not vote on a decision relating to the matter. | ||
(2) Where a material interest is disclosed pursuant to this paragraph, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting concerned and, for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being dealt with by the meeting, the member of the Regulator or the committee established under paragraph 7, as the case may be, by whom the disclosure is made shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting. | ||
(3) Where at a meeting of the Regulator or a committee established under paragraph 7 a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a member of the Regulator or the committee, as the case may be, would constitute a failure by such member to comply with the requirements of subparagraph (1), the question may, subject to subparagraph (4), be determined by the chairperson of the meeting, whose decision shall be final, and where such a question is so determined, particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. | ||
(4) Where, at a meeting of the Regulator or a committee established under paragraph 7, the chairperson of the meeting is the member in respect of whom a question to which subparagraph (3) applies falls to be determined, then the other members of the Regulator or of the committee attending the meeting shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting for the purpose of determining the question concerned. | ||
(5) Where the Minister is satisfied that a member of the Regulator has contravened subparagraph (1), the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that member from office and, where a person is removed from office pursuant to this subparagraph, he or she shall thenceforth be disqualified for membership of the Regulator. | ||
(6) Where the Regulator is satisfied that a member of a committee established under paragraph 7 has contravened subparagraph (1), the Regulator may, if it thinks fit, remove that member from office and, where a person is removed from office pursuant to this subparagraph, he or she shall thenceforth be disqualified for membership of the Regulator or such a committee. | ||
(7) In this paragraph and paragraph 11 “material interest” shall be construed in accordance with section 2 (3) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 . | ||
11. (1) Where a member of the staff of the Regulator has a material interest, otherwise than in his or her capacity as such a member, in any contract, agreement or arrangement, or proposed contract, agreement or arrangement, to which the Regulator is a party, that person shall— | ||
(a) disclose to the Regulator the fact of such interest and the nature thereof, | ||
(b) take no part in the negotiation of the contract, agreement or arrangement or in any deliberation by the Regulator or members of the staff of the Regulator in relation thereto, and | ||
(c) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision to be made in the matter nor make any recommendation in relation to the contract, agreement or arrangement. | ||
(2) Subparagraph (1) shall not apply to contracts or proposed contracts of employment of members of the staff of the Regulator with the Regulator. | ||
(3) Where a person contravenes this paragraph, the Regulator may make such alterations to the person’s terms and conditions of employment as it considers appropriate or terminate the person’s contract of employment. |