Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1939

Delegation of Ministerial powers and duties to parliamentary secretaries.

9.—(1) It shall be lawful for the Government, by order made on the request of a Minister having charge of a Department of State, to delegate to the parliamentary secretary to such Minister all the powers and duties of such Minister under any particular Act or any particular statutory power or statutory duty of such Minister.

(2) The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to every delegation to a parliamentary secretary under this section, that is to say:—

(a) the Government may at any time revoke such delegation either at the request of the Minister on whose request it was made or without any such request;

(b) such delegation shall terminate on the happening of either or both of the following events, that is to say, the Minister on whose request such delegation was made ceasing to be the Minister to whose powers and duties such delegation relates or the parliamentary secretary to whom such delegation was made ceasing to be parliamentary secretary to the said Minister;

(c) such delegation shall operate, so long as it continues in force, to confer on and vest in the parliamentary secretary to whom it is made every of the statutory powers and duties delegated by such delegation;

(d) every statutory power and duty delegated by such delegation shall be exerciseable and performed by such parliamentary secretary in his own name but subject to the general superintendence and control of the Minister on whose request it was made and subject to any conditions or restrictions stated in such delegation;

(e) every statutory power or duty delegated by such delegation shall, notwithstanding such delegation continue to bevested in the Minister on whose request such delegation was made but shall be so vested concurrently with such parliamentary secretary and so as to be capable of being exercised or performed by either such Minister or such parliamentary secretary;

(f) such delegation shall not remove or derogate from the responsibility of the Minister on whose request it was made to Dáil Eireann or as a member of the Government for the exercise or performance of the statutory powers and duties thereby delegated.