S.I. No. 94/1930 - School Attendance Committees Order, 1930.


SCHOOL ATTENDANCE COMMITTEES ORDER, 1930.

WHEREAS by virtue of section 10 of the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 7 of 1926), as affected by the School Attendance (County Borough of Limerick) Order, 1927, and amended by section 89 of the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 (No. 27 of 1930), the Minister for Education, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, may by order prescribe the time and mode of filling casual vacancies in the school attendance committees for the school attendance areas which are co-terminous with or included in any of the county boroughs of Dublin, Cork and Waterford or the Borough of Dun Laoghaire, the period of office of persons appointed to fill such vacancies, and the times of meeting, quorum, conduct of business, and keeping of accounts of such committees :

AND WHEREAS the Minister for Education has, before making this Order, consulted the Minister for Local Government and Public Health in regard thereto :

NOW, the Minister for Education, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 10 of the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926), as amended by section 89 of the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 (No. 27 of 1930), and of every other power him in this behalf enabling hereby orders as follows :—

1. —This Order may be cited as the School Attendance Committees Order, 1930.

2. —The Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923), applies to the interpretation of this Order in like manner as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas.

3. —In this Order :—

The expression " the Minister " means the Minister for Education ;

the expression " the Act " means the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926) ;

the expression " the county borough of Dublin " means the county borough of Dublin as extended for the time being by or under the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930 (No. 27 of 1930) ;

the expression " first school attendance committee " has the same meaning as that expression has in section 10 of the act ;

the word " committee " means a school attendance committee other than a first school attendance committee;

the expression " the chief executive officer " when used in relation to a committee includes any person for the time being acting as chief executive officer to such committee.

4. —This Order shall apply to every committee for a school attendance area which is co-terminous with or included in any of the county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, and Waterford or the borough of Dun Laoghaire, and shall apply to the committee for each such area as on and from the day which has been or shall be prescribed or is deemed by statute to have been prescribed by the Minister under section 10 of the act for the commencement of the term of office of the successors of the first school attendance committee for such area.

5. —(1) Whenever a vacancy (in this Order referred to as a casual vacancy) occurs in the membership of a committee by reason of the death, resignation, or removal of a member thereof, the chief executive officer of such committee shall forthwith send notice in writing of the fact of such vacancy, where such member was appointed by a council, to such council or, where such member was appointed by the Minister, to the Minister.

(2) Whenever a council receives notice under this clause of a casual vacancy in a committee which occurred by reason of the death, resignation, or removal of a member of such committee who was appointed by such council, such council shall, as soon as conveniently may be, appoint a person to be a member of such committee to fill such vacancy.

(3) Whenever the Minister receives notice under this clause of a casual vacancy in a committee which occurred by reason of the death, resignation, or removal of a member of such committee who was appointed by the Minister, the Minister shall appoint a person to be a member of such committee to fill such vacancy.

6. —Where a person who has been appointed to be a member of a committee (otherwise than to fill a casual vacancy) dies or resigns before the commencement of his term of office as such member, such death or resignation shall be deemed to create a casual vacancy in such committee within the meaning of this Order, and such vacancy shall, for the purposes of this Order be deemed to have occurred on the day after the day on which the term of office of such person would have commenced if he had not so died or resigned, and references in this Order to a member of a committee shall include a person so dying or resigning.

7. —A person appointed to fill a casual vacancy in the membership of a committee shall (unless he previously dies, resigns or is removed from office) hold office as a member of such committee for the residue of the term for which the member whose death, resignation or removal occasioned the vacancy would have held office as such member if he had not died, resigned or been removed.

8. —(1) Every committee shall, within fourteen days after every day prescribed by the Minister under section 10 of the act as the time for the commencement of the period of office of the members of such committee, hold a meeting to be known and in this Order referred to as a triennial meeting.

(2) Every committee shall hold at least one meeting in every month other than the months of July, August and September, and shall hold at least two meetings during the period commencing on the 1st day of July and ending on the 30th day of September in everyyear and such meetings shall be held in such places, at such hours, and on such days as such committee may with the approval of the Minister determine.

(3) The quorum for a meeting of a committee shall be three members of such committee.

(4) If a quorum be not present at any meeting of a committee, the chief executive officer of such committee shall, at the expiration of one hour from the hour fixed for the commencement of such meeting, enter in the minute book the fact that such quorum was not present and the names of the members (if any) who were present at such meeting, and shall also report to the Minister the fact that no quorum was present at such meeting.

(5) Three clear days at least before every meeting of a committee, the chief executive officer of such committee shall send by post or deliver to every member of such committee at his ordinary place of abode a notice specifying the place, hour and day of such meeting, and the business proposed to be transacted thereat.

9. —(1) Every committee shall, at every triennial meeting, elect one of its members to be the chairman of such committee.

(2) Whenever the office of chairman of a committee becomes vacant through the death, resignation, or disqualification of the chairman, such committee shall, at its next meeting after the occurrence of such vacancy, elect one of its members to be the chairman of such committee.

(3) Every person elected to be the chairman of a committee shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified, hold office as such chairman until the commencement of the next triennial meeting of such committee after the meeting at which he is so elected.

(4) The chairman of a committee may, at any time, resign his office as such chairman by letter addressed to the chief executive officer of such committee and every such resignation shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of such committee held next after the receipt of such resignation by such officer.

(5) Whenever the chairman of a committee ceases, during his term of office as such chairman, to be a member of such committee he shall be disqualified for being and shall forthwith cease to be such chairman.

(6) Whenever, at an election of the chairman of a committee, there is an equality of votes for two or more persons, one of those persons shall be elected by lot.

10. —(1) A committee may at any time, if it so thinks fit, elect one of its members to be the vice-chairman of such committee.

(2) Whenever a vice-chairman is elected by a committee, the provisions of this Order in relation to the term of office, resignation, and disqualification of the chairman of such committee shall apply in respect of such vice-chairman in like manner as they apply in respect of such chairman.

11. —(1) At a meeting of a committee :—

(a) The chairman of such committee shall, if he is present, be the chairman of the meeting

(b) if the chairman of such committee is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the vice-chairman (if any) of such committee shall, if he is present, be the chairman of the meeting ;

(c) if the chairman of such committee is not present or the office of chairman is vacant and there is no vice-chairman of such committee or the vice-chairman is not present, the members of the committee who are present shall choose one of their number to be the chairman of the meeting.

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

12. —Every committee shall cause minutes of the proceedings of every meeting of such committee to be kept in a book to be provided for that purpose by such committee.

13. —At every meeting of a committee the following business shall be conducted thereat in the following order, that is to say :—

(a) The minutes of the last previous meeting shall be read to the meeting and signed by the chairman of such meeting, and an entry that such minutes have been so read and signed shall be made in the minute book ;

(b) the chief executive officer of such committee shall report to the meeting the action taken upon any orders given by the committee at any previous meeting and the committee shall consider such report and shall give such further orders or directions as may be deemed necessary ;

(c) any correspondence which has passed with the committee since the last previous meeting shall be read, and such directions given upon it as may be necessary ;

(d) the accounts of proposed expenditure (if any) since the last previous meeting shall be examined and approved or revised, and necessary directions shall be given with regard to same.

14. —The chairman of a meeting of a committee shall cause to be read aloud at such meeting any notice for the proposed appointment of an officer of such committee and also any resolution then received intended to be proposed at any future meeting of such committee.

15. —Subject to the provisions of this Order, a committee may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations with regard to their meetings and the conduct of business thereat.

Given under my Seal of Office, this 12th day of December, 1930.

(Signed), J. M. O'SULLIVAN,

Minister for Education.