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12 1958

GREYHOUND INDUSTRY ACT, 1958

PART II.

Bord na gCon.

Establishment of the Board.

6. —(1) There shall, by virtue of this section, be established on the establishment day a board to be styled and known as Bord na gCon to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal (which shall be judicially noticed) and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold land.

Constitution of the Board.

7. —The Board shall consist of seven members of whom one shall be the chairman and the others shall be ordinary members.

Chairman of the Board.

8. —(1) The chairman of the Board shall be appointed from time to time as occasion requires by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Finance and, subject to subsection (2) of this section, he shall hold office at the pleasure of the Minister.

(2) The chairman of the Board may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of the receipt of the letter by the Minister.

(3) The chairman of the Board shall not be beneficially interested in the ownership, control or operation of greyhound race tracks, the holding or conduct of public sales of greyhounds or the training of greyhounds for reward or in bookmaking.

(4) The chairman of the Board shall be paid by the Board such remuneration and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determines.

Provisions in relation to appointment, term of office, etc., of ordinary members of the Board.

9. —(1) The Minister shall, before the establishment day, appoint six persons (of whom three, but not more than three, shall be members of the Standing Committee of the Club) to be ordinary members of the Board and the term of office of every person so appointed shall commence on the establishment day, and if any such person dies before the establishment day, he shall be deemed, for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section, to have died on the establishment day.

(2) The Minister shall, in each fifth successive year after the year in which the establishment day falls, appoint six persons (of whom three, but not more than three, shall be members of the Executive Committee of the Club) to be ordinary members of the Board and the term of office of every person so appointed shall commence on the day next following the day of his appointment.

(3) Every member of the Board appointed under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed, hold office until the expiration of the day on which the Minister next appoints, in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section, six persons to be ordinary members of the Board.

(4) Whenever an ordinary member of the Board dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed—

(a) the Minister shall, as soon as conveniently may be, appoint another person to be a member of the Board,

(b) the person so appointed shall be a member of the Executive Committee of the Club if, immediately before the appointment, the number of the members of the Board who are members of the Executive Committee of the Club is less than three, and

(c) the person so appointed shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed, hold office until the expiration of the day on which the Minister next appoints, in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section, six persons to be ordinary members of the Board.

(5) An ordinary member of the Board shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition or arrangement with his creditors, or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer imprisonment or penal servitude, or, in the case of a member of the Executive Committee of the Club, if he ceases to be a member thereof.

(6) An ordinary member of the Board may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of the receipt of the letter by the Minister.

(7) The Minister may at any time, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, by order remove an ordinary member of the Board.

(8) An ordinary member of the Board whose term of office expires by effluxion of time shall be eligible for reappointment.

(9) An ordinary member of the Board shall be paid by the Board such remuneration and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determines.

(10) Every appointment in pursuance of this section shall be made by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Finance.

Meetings and procedure of the Board.

10. —(1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due fulfilment of its functions and the first meeting shall be held on, or as soon as conveniently may be after, the establishment day.

(2) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be four.

(3) At a meeting of the Board—

(a) the chairman of the Board shall, if present, be chairman of the meeting,

(b) if and so long as the chairman of the Board is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

(4) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question, and, in case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(5) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy among its members.

(6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, the procedure and business of the Board.

Officers and servants of the Board.

11. —(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Board may appoint such and so many officers and servants as it shall from time to time think proper.

(2) During the period of five years commencing on the establishment day, the appointment of any person to the post of chief officer of the Board shall be subject to the sanction of the Minister.

(3) The Board may at any time remove any officer or servant of the Board from being such officer or servant.

(4) There shall be paid by the Board to its officers and servants such remuneration and allowances as the Board may determine.

(5) An officer of the Board—

(a) shall not be beneficially interested in the ownership, control or operation of greyhound race tracks, the holding or conduct of public sales of greyhounds or the training of greyhounds for reward or in bookmaking, and

(b) when present on behalf of the Board at any race track meeting or coursing meeting, shall not engage in betting at the meeting or be beneficially interested in the ownership of a greyhound competing in a race or event at the meeting.

Offices of the Board.

12. —(1) For the purpose of providing offices and premises necessary for the due performance of its functions, the Board may—

(a) purchase or take on lease land,

(b) build, equip and maintain offices and premises.

(2) The Board may sell or lease any offices or premises held by it which are no longer required for the due performance of its functions.

Committees of the Board.

13. —(1) The Board may from time to time appoint such and so many committees as it thinks proper.

(2) The Board may delegate to a committee of the Board any of its functions which, in its opinion, can be better or more conveniently performed by a committee, and may regulate the procedure of any such committee.

(3) A committee of the Board shall consist of such number of members as the Board thinks proper and may, at the discretion of the Board, consist exclusively of persons who are members of the Board or partly of persons who are members of the Board and partly of persons who are officers of the Board.

(4) The acts of a committee of the Board shall be subject to confirmation by the Board save where the Board dispenses with the necessity for such confirmation.

Minutes.

14. —Minutes shall be kept of every meeting of the Board and of every meeting of any committee of the Board.

Seal of the Board.

15. —(1) The Board shall as soon as may be after its establishment provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Board or some other member thereof authorised by the Board to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

Application of funds of the Board.

16. —(1) The Board may apply its funds for all or any of the following purposes:

(a) the payment of expenses incurred by it in the exercise and performance of its powers and duties under this Act,

(b) the payment of any moneys in accordance with the terms of any totalisator licence held by it,

(c) the making of payments, grants or loans for all or any one or more of the following purposes:

(i) the increase of stake money and prizes at greyhound race meetings at greyhound race tracks and authorised coursing meetings,

(ii) the reduction of entry fees and similar charges in respect of greyhounds competing in events forming items at such meetings,

(iii) the carriage of greyhounds competing in such events,

(iv) the improvement of greyhound race tracks, authorised coursing grounds and the amenities thereof,

(v) the preservation of hares, and the care and management of hares in connection with authorised coursing meetings,

(vi) assisting the Club in the performance of its functions or contributing to the cost of schemes operated by the Club for the improvement and development of greyhound breeding and coursing,

(vii) any purpose conducive to the development of the export trade in greyhounds,

(viii) any other purpose conducive to the improvement and development of the greyhound industry.

(2) The Board may attach to any grant or loan made or proposed to be made by it under this section such conditions as the Board thinks proper.

Power of the Board to borrow.

17. —The Board may borrow such sums as it may require for the purposes of its functions, but the total amount due at any time in respect of such loans shall not, without the consent of the Minister, given with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, exceed twenty-five thousand pounds.

Investment of funds of the Board.

18. —The Board may invest moneys in its hands from time to time in any manner in which moneys of the Post Office Savings Bank are authorised by law to be invested.

Accounts and reports of the Board.

19. —(1) The Board shall keep proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it.

(2) The Board shall, within ninety days after the end of each accounting period or such longer time as the Minister shall in any particular case allow, furnish to the Minister an abstract of the accounts of the Board for that accounting period and a report of its proceedings during that accounting period.

(3) The abstract of the accounts of the Board shall be in such form (if any) as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, may direct and shall be certified by a duly qualified auditor appointed by the Board.

(4) The Minister shall lay copies of the abstract of the accounts and report of the Board for the accounting period before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they have been received by him.

(5) The Board shall furnish to the Minister such information with regard to the exercise of its powers and duties as the Minister may from time to time require.

Totalisator licence.

20. —(1) The Board may apply for and hold a totalisator licence.

(2) A condition prohibiting credit betting shall be attached to a totalisator licence granted to the Board.