No. 19/1931:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1931

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Definitions.

2 General powers of the Minister when a local authority is dissolved.

3 Powers in relation to subsidiary bodies.

4 Consequential dissolution of certain boards and committees.

5 Permissive powers of appointing committees.

6 Special provision for Grangegorman Mental Hospital Committee.

7 Revocation and amendment of orders.

8 Short title.

AN ACT TO EXTEND AND DEFINE THE POWERS OF THE MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN RELATION TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES DISSOLVED BY HIM AND IN RELATION TO SUBSIDIARY BODIES WHOLLY OR PARTLY APPOINTED BY SUCH LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND TO MAKE SPECIAL PROVISION IN REGARD TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE GRANGEGORMAN MENTAL HOSPITAL.

[8th July, 1931.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1.—(1) In this Act the expression "the Minister" means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health;

the expression "the Act of 1923" means the Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923 (No. 9 of 1923);

the expression "the Act of 1925" means the Local Government Act, 1925 (No. 5 of 1925);

the expression "local authority" has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1925;

the expression "subsidiary body" means a corporation, committee, board, or other body which is required by law to be composed wholly or partly of persons nominated by a local authority or by two or more local authorities.

(2) Where the person holding a particular office in or under a local authority is by law a member of any other body by virtue of his holding such office, such person shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be a member of such body nominated by such local authority.

2.—Whenever the Minister dissolves a local authority under section 72 of the Act of 1925 or has before the passing of this Act dissolved a local authority under that section or under section 12 of the Act of 1923, the Minister may make and, in the case of a local authority so dissolved before the passing of this Act (whether such local authority is or is not still dissolved at the passing of this Act), shall be deemed always to have had power to make by order such provision as he thinks necessary or proper for securing the effective carrying on of the powers, duties, and business of such local authority by the body, persons, or person appointed under the said section 72 or the said section 12 (as the case may be) to perform the duties of such local authority.

3.—Whenever the Minister dissolves a local authority under section 72 of the Act of 1925 or has before the passing of this Act dissolved a local authority under that section or under section 12 of the Act of 1923 the Minister shall have power, and in the case of a local authority so dissolved before the passing of this Act (whether such local authority is or is not still dissolved at the passing of this Act), shall be deemed always to have had power to make by order such provision in relation to any subsidiary body wholly or partly appointed by such local authority as the Minister thinks necessary or proper for securing the due exercise and performance by such subsidiary body of its powers and duties notwithstanding the dissolution of such local authority and, in particular, to do by order all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

( a ) where such subsidiary body is required by law to be composed wholly of persons nominated by such local authority either—

(i) to transfer the powers, duties, and property of such subsidiary body to the body, persons, or person to whom the powers and duties of such local authority are for the time being transferred under either of the said sections and to make provision for the exercise and performance of such powers and duties directly by such body, persons, or person, or

(ii) to make such provision as he thinks proper for the appointment of the members of such subsidiary body, including the appointment of particular persons to be such members, reducing the number of the members and the quorum of such subsidiary body, and suspending any statutory or other enactment requiring the members of such subsidiary body to be members of such local authority; and

( b ) where such subsidiary body is required by law to be composed in part only of persons nominated by such local authority, to make such provision as he thinks proper for filling all or any of those places in the membership of such subsidiary body which are required by law to be filled by persons nominated by such local authority, including appointing particular persons to fill such places, suspending any statutory or other provision requiring all or any of such places to be filled by persons who are members of such local authority, and reducing the number of such places and, in consequence of such reduction, reducing the total number of members and the quorum of such subsidiary body.

4.—Whenever the Minister dissolves the council of a county under section 72 of the Act of 1925 or has before the passing of this Act dissolved the council of a county under that section or under section 12 of the Act of 1923 (whether such council is or is not still dissolved at the passing of this Act) every board of public health, board of health and public assistance and committee (other than a joint committee) of management of a mental hospital which but for such dissolution would be required by law to be appointed by such council shall, unless provision to the contrary is or was made by the Minister, be or be deemed to have been dissolved at the same time as such council is or was so dissolved, and the property, powers, and duties of such board or committee shall be deemed to be or to have been transferred to and to be or have been vested in and exercisable by the body, persons, or person to whom the powers and duties of such council are for the time being transferred under the said section 12 or the said section 72.

5.—(1) Whenever the Minister dissolves a local authority under section 72 of the Act of 1925 or has before the passing of this Act dissolved a local authority under that section or under section 12 of the Act of 1923 and whenever a board of public health or a board of health and public assistance is deemed by virtue of this Act to be or to have been dissolved, the body, persons, or person to whom the powers and duties of such local authority or such board (as the case may be) are for the time being transferred or deemed to be transferred under either of the said sections or by virtue of this Act shall have and may exercise and, in the case of a dissolution which occurred or is deemed to have occurred before the passing of this Act (whether such local authority or board is or is not still dissolved at the passing of this Act) shall be deemed always to have had and been capable of exercising every permissive power of appointing a committee for any purpose which but for such dissolution would have been exercisable by such local authority or such board, as the case maybe.

(2) Whenever and so long as a permissive power of appointing a committee is exercisable or deemed to have been exercisable by any body, persons, or person by virtue of this section, any statutory or other provision restricting the membership of such committee in whole or in part to members of a particular local authority shall cease, and be deemed always to have ceased, to have effect.

6.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall operate to make lawful or valid any act done by the Joint Committee of Management of the Grangegorman Mental Hospital (in this section referred to as the said Committee) which was before the passing of this Act specifically adjudged by a Court of Justice to have been unlawful or invalid.

(2) It shall be lawful for the said Committee to do all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

( a ) to pay to any officer of the said Committee any arrears of salary up to the 17th day of July, 1929, and other moneys payable to such officer under an order made by any Court in consequence of a decision by such Court or by the Supreme Court that a resolution of the said Committee purporting to reduce the salary of such officer was invalid;

( b ) to pay to any officer of the said Committee who was in the employment of the said Committee on the 12th day of July, 1925, any arrears of salary up to the 17th day of July, 1929, to which he would be entitled if a resolution of the said Committee purporting to reduce his salary, which was decided by the Supreme Court before the passing of this Act to be invalid in respect of other officers of the said Committee, were invalid in respect of him;

( c ) to pay to any officer of the said Committee who was in the employment of the said Committee on the 12th day of July, 1925, salary as from the 17th day of July, 1929, at the rate at which such salary would be payable if the said resolution of the said Committee reducing or purporting to reduce such salary had not been passed.

(3) Save as is authorised by this section, it shall not be lawful for any officer of the said Committee to receive from or be paid by the said Committee any moneys alleged to be due to him on account of a resolution of the said Committee purporting to reduce the salaries of all or any of the officers of the said Committee having been decided by the Supreme Court to be invalid.

(4) The payment of any moneys by the said Committee in pursuance of an order made by a Court of Justice before the passing of this Act and grounded on the illegality or invalidity of a resolution of the said Committee purporting to reduce the salaries of any of the officers of the said Committee and the payment of the costs and expenses incurred by the said Committee in the proceedings in which any such order was made and the making of any other payment which is declared by this section to be lawful and the repayment of moneys and the payment of interest on moneys borrowed for making the said payments or any of them shall, for the purposes of section 68 of the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 (No. 27 of 1930), be excepted purposes within the meaning of that section.

(5) Sub-section (7) of section 51 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, shall apply in respect of any moneys which accrued due before the 30th day of June, 1931, and which the said Committee is authorised by this section to pay as if such moneys became due and payable on the 30th day of June, 1931.

7.—Every order made by the Minister under this Act and every order made by the Minister before the passing of this Act which is lawful and valid by virtue of this Act may be and shall be deemed always to have been capable of being revoked or amended by the Minister by a subsequent order.

8.—This Act may be cited as the Local Government Act, 1931 .