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1 1970

HEALTH ACT, 1970

Chapter IV

Dissolution of Certain Bodies, etc.

Dissolutions of certain health authorities and consequential provisions.

34. —(1) The Minister shall by order provide for the dissolution of the Dublin Health Authority, the Cork Health Authority, the Limerick Health Authority and the Waterford Health Authority.

(2) An order under this section may include provisions for—

(a) the transfer of any of the property, rights and liabilities of the Authority (in this section and in the Third Schedule referred to as the dissolved body) to the relevant health board or to a relevant local authority,

(b) the preservation of continuing contracts made by the dissolved body,

(c) the continuance of pending legal proceedings,

(d) the transfer of the holder of any health office under the dissolved body to an office under the relevant health board which, in the opinion of the Minister, is similar to that health office,

(e) the transfer, with the consent of the Minister for Social Welfare, of the holder of any public assistance office under the dissolved body to an office under the relevant health board or a relevant local authority which, in the opinion of that Minister, is similar to that public assistance office.

(3) The Third Schedule shall have effect in relation to a dissolution under this section, and to any transfers of property, rights and liabilities, preservation of contracts, continuance of legal proceedings or transfers of officers provided for by an order under this section, and in that Schedule references to the commencement shall be construed as references to the commencement of the order.

(4) Where, immediately before the commencement of an order under this section, the Local Appointments Commissioners were engaged in the selection of a person or persons to be recommended for appointment to an office of which a holder would be transferred to a health board or local authority in accordance with the order, the selection shall be completed in such manner as the Commissioners think proper, and the person or one of the persons so selected and recommended by the Commissioners for appointment shall be appointed by the health board or local authority as if the selection and recommendation were made on a request made under section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , by the chief executive officer to the health board after its establishment or by the local authority.

(5) In this section—

health office” means an office in relation to which ministerial functions under the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1968, were, immediately before the commencement of the appropriate order, performable by the Minister;

public assistance office” means an office in relation to which ministerial functions under the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1968, were, immediately before the commencement of the appropriate order, performable by the Minister for Social Welfare;

relevant health board” means, in relation to a particular dissolved body, the health board the functional area of which includes the area which, before the commencement of the appropriate order under this section, was the functional area of the dissolved body;

relevant local authority” means, in relation to a particular dissolved body, a local authority specified in section 84, the functional area of which, before the commencement of the appropriate order under this section, was included in the functional area of the dissolved body.

Dissolutions of joint boards under section 45 of Health Act, 1953.

35. —(1) The Minister shall, by order under section 45 (9) of the Health Act, 1953 , which shall be expressed to come into operation on the commencement of this section, revoke any orders then operative providing for the establishment of joint boards under that section and, for the purpose of any such order, the said section 45 (9) shall be construed with the following modifications:

(a) paragraph (a) shall be construed as if “a health board or two or more health boards or to a joint board of health boards or a regional hospital board” were substituted for “a health authority or two or more health authorities or to another joint board or to two or more other joint boards”;

(b) paragraph (d) shall be construed as if “a health board or a joint board of health boards” were substituted for “one of the health authorities who appointed the members of the dissolved joint board or under another joint board the functional area of which is coterminous with, includes or is included in that of the dissolved joint board”.

(2) A reference in subsection (1) to a joint board of health boards shall be construed as a reference to a joint board established under section 11.

Transfers of certain property.

36. —(1) On the commencement of section 6 the following property—

(a) all health institutions, and all other property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which, immediately before such commencement, was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for a local authority (other than as a sanitary authority) and was property which was solely for the purposes of services to be transferred on such commencement, and

(b) all other property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which, immediately before such commencement, was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for a local authority and had been designated by that authority as property to be transferred to the health board,

and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property, shall, without any conveyance or assignment, but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company, become and be vested in or the property of or held in trust for (as the case may require) the health board for all the estate, term or interest for which the same immediately before such commencement was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for the local authority, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the same and then subsisting and capable of being performed.

(2) All property transferred by subsection (1) to a health board which, immediately before the commencement of section 6, was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation or company in the name of a local authority shall, on the request of the health board made at any time after such commencement, be transferred in the books by the bank, corporation or company into the name of the health board.

(3) Every chose-in-action transferred by subsection (1) to a health board may, after the commencement of this section, be sued on, recovered, or enforced by the health board in its own name and it shall not be necessary for the board to give notice to the person bound by the chose-in-action of the transfer effected by that subsection.

(4) After the commencement of this section, every bond, guarantee, or other security of a continuing character made or given by a local authority to another person, or by any person to a local authority, which was in force immediately before such commencement and which related solely to services to be transferred on the commencement of section 6 to the health board, and every contract or agreement in writing made between a local authority and another person which was not fully executed and completed before such commencement and which related solely to services to be transferred on such commencement shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the health board were substituted therein for the name of the local authority, and the security, contract or agreement shall be enforceable by or against the health board accordingly.

(5) After the commencement of this section, every rule and regulation lawfully made by a local authority which was in force immediately before such commencement and which related solely to services to be transferred on the commencement of section 6 to the health board shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as a rule or regulation made on such commencement by the health board for the residue then unexpired of the period and in respect of the area for and in respect of which the same was actually made by the local authority and, accordingly, every such rule and regulation may be continued, varied or revoked, and penalties and forfeitures arising thereunder before or after such commencement may be recovered and enforced by the health board in the like manner and as fully as the same could have been continued, varied, revoked, recovered or enforced by the local authority if this Act had not been passed.

(6) After the commencement of this section, every resolution passed, order made, and notice served by a local authority before such commencement, the operation, effect or term of which had not ceased or expired before such commencement (being a resolution, order or notice relating solely to services to be transferred on the commencement of section 6 to the health board) shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as if it were a resolution passed, order made, or notice served by the health board on the date on which the same was actually passed, made or served by the local authority and as if the functions of the health authority were on that date performable by the health board.

(7) All loan charges which are in respect of money borrowed for the purposes of property transferred by subsection (1) to a health board and become payable after the commencement of this section shall be payable by the health board.

(8) Any debt of a local authority in respect of which loan charges become payable by a health board under subsection (7) shall become and be a debt of the board.

(9) Where—

(a) property falls to be transferred from a local authority under this section,

(b) the entire functional area of that authority is not included in the functional area of one health board, and

(c) a doubt or dispute arises as to the health board to which the transfer is to be made under this section,

the Minister shall nominate the health board to which the transfer is to be made, and references in this section to a health board shall be construed accordingly in relation to that property.

(10) The Minister may by order provide for the transfer of any specified health institution to a regional hospital board and may in such order provide for the application of any provision of this section to such transfer in the same way as it applies to a transfer to a health board.

(11) Where the Minister has made an order under subsection (10), the relevant property shall not be included in the property transferred to a health board under subsection (1).

Transfer of certain officers and continuance of certain contracts of service.

37. —(1) On the commencement of section 6 every officer of each local authority appointing members of the health board who, immediately before such commencement, was an officer to be transferred under this subsection shall become an officer of the health board and, for the purpose of any enactment relating to superannuation, his office under the local authority shall be deemed not to have been abolished.

(2) In subsection (1) the reference to an officer to be transferred under that subsection shall be construed as referring to any of the following officers—

(a) any officer whose duties relate solely to services which, on the commencement of section 6, are to become transferred to the health board,

(b) any officer, other than an officer referred to in paragraph (a), in relation to whom ministerial functions under the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1968, are vested in the Minister, other than any such officer designated by the Minister as being an officer not to be transferred under that subsection, and

(c) any officer, other than an officer referred to in paragraph (a) or an officer to be transferred under paragraph (b), who has been designated by the local authority appointing members of the health board as an officer to be transferred under that subsection.

(3) Where, immediately before the commencement of this section, the Local Appointments Commissioners were engaged in the selection of a person or persons to be recommended for appointment to an office to which the holder would be transferred to the health board pursuant to subsection (1), the selection shall be completed in such manner as the Commissioners think proper, and the person or one of the persons so selected and recommended by the Commissioners for appointment shall be appointed by the health board as if the selection and recommendation were made on a request made under section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , by the chief executive officer to the health board after such commencement.

(4) Any question arising as to whether a particular officer or officers of a particular class is or are transferred pursuant to subsection (1) or as to the board to which an officer is to be transferred shall be referred to and decided by the Minister.

(5) Every contract of service, express or implied, which was in force immediately before the commencement of this section between a local authority appointing members of the health board and any person who was not an officer of the local authority but who was a person to be transferred under this subsection, shall continue in force after such commencement, but shall be construed and have effect as if the health board were substituted therein for the local authority, and every such contract shall be enforceable by or against the health board accordingly.

(6) In subsection (5) the reference to a person to be transferred under that subsection shall be construed as referring to—

(a) any person engaged solely in relation to services which, on the commencement of section 6, are to become transferred to the health board, and

(b) any person, other than a person referred to in paragraph (a), who had been designated by the local authority appointing members of the health board as a person to be transferred under that subsection.

(7) Any question arising in relation to subsection (5) as to whether a particular person or persons of a particular class was or were a person or persons to be transferred under that subsection shall be referred to and decided by the Minister.