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37 2001

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 2001

Chapter 2

Position of Manager

Position of manager.

144. —(1) For every county and city there shall be a manager to be known as “the ....... County Manager” or “the ....... City Manager”, as appropriate (with the name of the county or city prefixed) who shall hold employment under that county council or city council, as the case may be.

(2) Any function which immediately before the commencement of this provision is, by virtue of any enactment a function of the town clerk of a city shall, on and from such commencement, vest in and be a function of the manager of the local authority concerned.

(3) A county manager shall by virtue of his or her position be the manager—

(a) for every town council the administrative area of which is situated within the county concerned, and

(b) for every joint body whose functional area is wholly situated within such county.

(4) Where the functional area of a joint body extends into 2 or more counties or into a city and one or more counties, then such county or city manager as the Minister shall by order appoint shall also be the manager for such joint body.

(5) Where immediately before the commencement of this provision an order is in force under section 8(1) of the County Management Act, 1940 , appointing a manager for a joint body, such order shall be deemed to have been made under subsection (4).

(6) Any person who immediately before the commencement of this provision held either in a temporary or permanent capacity the office of county or city manager or whose tenure as manager is governed by section 147 shall, on and from such commencement, continue to be a temporary manager or a manager, as the case may be, within the meaning and for the purposes of this Part.

(7) The Minister may prescribe by regulations any body to be a joint body and any body so prescribed shall be a joint body for the purposes of this section.

(8) The position of manager is, subject to section 145 , an office to which the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , applies.

(9) A reference in any enactment to a manager for a local authority or to any cognate expression shall be read as a reference to a manager for a local authority for the purposes of this section.

Appointment of manager.

145. —(1) Subject to subsection (3), the following are reserved functions—

(a) the appointment by a county council or city council of a manager under section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (in this section referred to as the “Act of 1926”) by virtue of a recommendation of the Local Appointments Commissioners, and

(b) the suspension or removal from employment of a manager in accordance with section 146 .

(2) For the purposes of section 6 of the Act of 1926 a request shall be deemed to have been submitted in respect of the employment of a manager—

(a) in the case of a manager to whom section 147 applies,

(i) 6 months in advance of the expiration of the tenure period referred to in section 147 (1), or

(ii) on the date that manager ceases to hold employment,

whichever is the earlier, and

(b) in any other case,

(i) 6 months in advance of the date that manager would attain the age-limit for his or her employment, or

(ii) on the date that manager ceases to hold employment,

whichever is the earlier.

(3) Where, as respects a county council or city council—

(a) a recommendation is made under section 6 of the Act of 1926 of a person for appointment as the manager, and

(b) on the expiration of 3 months after the date of the recommendation, the person has not become appointed, under subsection (1), then, notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other enactment, the person shall thereupon, if still available for appointment, become and be appointed by virtue of this subsection as the manager.

(4) Where a position of manager becomes vacant the Minister shall appoint a person to be the manager temporarily until a permanent appointment to the position is made but such temporary appointment may be terminated by the Minister at any time.

(5) Section 5 of the Act of 1926 does not apply to the position of manager.

Suspension and removal of manager.

146. —(1) (a) Subject to this section, the elected council of a county council or city council may by resolution suspend or remove from employment the manager for such county council or city council, as the case may be, for stated misbehaviour or if his or her suspension or removal appears to them to be necessary for the effective performance by the county council or city council, as the case may be, of its functions.

(b) A copy of any resolution passed under this section shall be sent without delay to the Minister.

(2) Notice of the intention to propose a resolution under this section shall—

(a) be signed by at least one-third of the total number of members of the county council or city council concerned,

(b) contain a statement of the reasons for the proposed suspension or removal,

(c) in the case of a suspension, specify a period not exceeding 2 months for the proposed suspension,

(d) specify a day for the holding of a special meeting to consider the proposed suspension or removal being a day which is not less than 21 days after the day on which the notice is delivered under paragraph (e),

(e) be delivered to the meetings administrator, and

(f) be delivered or sent to the manager concerned.

(3) The meetings administrator shall on receipt of a notice and without delay send a copy of it to every member of the local authority and convene a special meeting for the date so specified to consider the proposed suspension or removal.

(4) The manager may prepare a statement of response in relation to the proposed suspension or removal and such statement shall be sent to each member of the local authority concerned.

(5) It is necessary for the passing of a resolution under this section that—

(a) at least three-quarters of the total number of members of the county council or city council concerned vote in favour of the resolution, and

(b) the members of the council concerned shall have considered any statement prepared by the manager under subsection (4).

(6) A person who is suspended under this section may subsequently be removed from office in accordance with this section.

(7) (a) A manager shall not be removed under this section without the sanction of the Minister given under this subsection.

(b) The Minister may appoint a panel of 3 persons—

(i) to consider the removal of a manager the subject of a resolution under this section and the manager's statement of response,

(ii) to recommend whether the Minister should give sanction to such removal, and

(iii) to make such other recommendations (if any) as the panel may consider appropriate in all the circumstances.

(c) A panel shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

(d) A panel shall include a chairperson and 2 other persons having knowledge of or experience in local government, human resources or management.

(e) A sanction shall not be given under this subsection except by virtue of a recommendation under paragraph (b).

(8) The Minister may by regulations prescribe any matter of procedure for the purposes of this section.

Tenure of manager.

147. —(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, a person appointed to a position of manager holds the employment unless he or she earlier dies, resigns or is removed, during whichever of the following tenure periods is the shorter—

(a) a period of such length as the Minister specifies by order,

(b) the period from the date of the appointment to the date on which he or she attains such age as the Minister specifies by order,

and on the expiration of that period he or she ceases to hold the employment.

(2) Notwithstanding any enactment (including subsection (1)) or instrument made under such enactment, the tenure period of a manager referred to in subsection (1)(a) shall, subject to and in accordance with this section and with regulations made by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, be extended where notification (in this section referred to as the “prescribed notification”)—

(a) is given by the manager to the Cathaoirleach of the local authority concerned, and

(b) is in the form prescribed by regulations made under this section,

but in no case shall the tenure period as so extended exceed 10 years.

(3) On receipt of a prescribed notification the Cathaoirleach of the local authority concerned shall—

(a) inform the members of the local authority of it at the next meeting of that local authority, and

(b) transmit a copy of it to the Minister and to the Local Appointments Commissioners.

(4) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of subsection (2) and such regulations may provide for:

(a) the form of the prescribed notification;

(b) the period (in this section referred to as the “notification period”) within which a prescribed notification shall be given;

(c) subject to subsection (2), the period by which the tenure period shall be extended;

(d) the positions of manager to which subsection (5) does not apply;

(e) the application of different periods for the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) to specified classes of manager.

(5) Subject to regulations made under subsection (4)(d):

(a) a manager whose tenure period is extended under subsection (2) shall not apply for appointment to any position of manager during the period commencing on the date the manager gives a prescribed notification and ending on a date which is 6 months prior to the expiration of the extended tenure period (in this subsection referred to as the “exclusion period”), and

(b) notwithstanding section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , a manager who has given a prescribed notification shall not be considered by the Local Appointments Commissioners for selection for any position of manager during the exclusion period.

(6) (a) A notification period referred to in subsection (4)(b) shall be wholly within the tenure period.

(b) A prescribed notification for the purposes of this section which is given outside of the notification period is invalid.

(7) Where the tenure period of a manager stands extended in accordance with this section, such extended tenure period shall be the tenure period for the purposes of subsection (2) of section 145 and that section shall apply accordingly.

(8) The Local Government (Tenure of Office) Order, 2000 (S.I. No. 221 of 2000), and the Local Government (Tenure of Office of Managers) Regulations, 2000 (S.I. No. 219 of 2000), shall be deemed to have been made under subsections (1) and (4), respectively, and shall continue to have effect and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

(9) Nothing in this section operates to interfere with or alter the tenure of a manager—

(a) appointed before the commencement of section 47 of the Local Government Act, 1991 (in this subsection referred to as the “Act of 1991”), or

(b) whose tenure is governed by an order under section 47 of the Act of 1991, or

(c) whose tenure is governed by such an order and section 47A (inserted by section 1 of the Local Government Act, 2000 ) of the Act of 1991,

notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of the Act of 1991 and of the Local Government Act, 2000 .

Deputy manager.

148. —(1) (a) A manager, following consultation with the Cathaoirleach of the county or city council concerned (in this section referred to as the “relevant Cathaoirleach”), may by order appoint an employee to be a deputy manager for the purposes of subsection (2) and may at any time terminate such appointment.

(b) An order under paragraph (a) may provide that where an appointee specified in the order is not available such other employee as may be so specified shall stand appointed as deputy manager for so long as the first-mentioned appointee is unavailable.

(c) An appointment under this subsection may be made by reference to a particular individual or to the holder for the time being of a particular employment.

(2) A deputy manager shall by virtue of this section act as and be the manager for the duration of any period which may arise from time to time (whether by way of vacation, illness or other reason) during which the manager is temporarily unable to act.

(3) (a) Where a manager has for any reason become temporarily unable to act and—

(i) has not made an appointment under subsection (1),

(ii) there is no subsisting appointment, or

(iii) the appointee is incapacitated or otherwise unable to act,

the relevant Cathaoirleach may appoint an employee of the local authority to be deputy manager for the remainder of the duration of the inability of the manager to act and may at any time terminate such appointment.

(b) Notification of an appointment under subsection (1) or (3) shall be sent to the Minister and every member of every local authority concerned as soon as may be after the appointment is made.

(4) (a) The Minister may appoint an employee of a local authority to be deputy manager if a manager is for any reason temporarily unable to act and an appointment under subsection (1) or (3) is not for the time being in force.

(b) The Minister may at any time terminate an appointment to which paragraph (a) applies.

(5) A deputy manager shall act as and be the manager during the continuance of the inability of the manager to act or until—

(a) the appointment is sooner terminated under subsection (1), (3) or (4), or

(b) on account of the death, retirement, resignation or inability otherwise to act, of the deputy manager.

(6) A reference in any enactment including this Act to a manager shall be read as including a deputy manager acting as manager in accordance with this section.

Executive functions.

149. —(1) In this section—

“elected council” includes the members of a joint body;

“local authority” includes a joint body.

(2) In respect of each local authority for which he or she is manager, a manager is responsible for—

(a) the efficient and effective operation of each such local authority, and

(b) for ensuring under section 132 the implementation without undue delay of the decisions of the elected council.

(3) For the purposes of discharging the responsibilities set out under subsection (2), the manager shall—

(a) exercise and perform in respect of each local authority for which he or she is the manager the executive functions of such local authority (including all functions in relation to the employees of each such local authority), and

(b) for that purpose carry on and manage and control generally the administration and business of the authority.

(4) Every function of a local authority which is not a reserved function is, for the purposes of this Act, an executive function of such local authority.

(5) All such matters and things, including the making of contracts and the affixing of the official seal, as are necessary for or incidental to the exercise or performance of the executive functions of a local authority shall, subject to this Act or any regulations made under it, be done by the manager for such local authority.

(6) Subject to law, the functions of a manager shall be performed in accordance with the policy of the local authority as determined by the elected council in accordance with Chapter 1 of this Part.