Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2019
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Board of Executive | ||
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9. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following Part after Part 3A: | ||
“Part 3B | ||
Board of Executive | ||
Membership of Board | ||
16N. (1) The Executive shall have a Board (in this Act referred to as the ‘Board’) consisting of the following members: | ||
(a) a chairperson; | ||
(b) a deputy chairperson; | ||
(c) 10 ordinary members. | ||
(2) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b), (c) and (d), the chairperson, the deputy chairperson and the ordinary members of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have sufficient experience and expertise relating to matters connected with the functions of the Executive to enable them to make a substantial contribution to the effective and efficient performance of those functions. | ||
(b) At least 2 of the persons appointed under paragraph (a) shall be persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have experience of, or expertise in, advocacy in relation to matters affecting patients. | ||
(c) At least 2 of the persons appointed under paragraph (a) shall be persons who are practising, or have practised, as a member of a health profession, whether in or outside the State. | ||
(d) At least one of the persons appointed under paragraph (a) shall be a person who, in the opinion of the Minister, has experience of, or expertise in, financial matters. | ||
(3) The Minister shall, in so far as practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the members of the Board there is an equitable balance between men and women. | ||
(4) The chairperson shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 5 years from the date of appointment, as the Minister shall determine. | ||
(5) The deputy chairperson shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 5 years from the date of appointment, as the Minister shall determine. | ||
(6) Subject to subsection (7), an ordinary member shall hold office for such period, not exceeding 5 years from the date of appointment, as the Minister shall determine. | ||
(7) Of the ordinary members of the Board first constituted under this section— | ||
(a) 5 members shall hold office for a period of 3 years from the date of appointment to the office, and | ||
(b) 5 members members shall hold office for a period of 5 years from the date of such appointment. | ||
(8) Subject to subsection (9), a member of the Board whose term of office expires by the efflux of time shall be eligible for reappointment to the Board. | ||
(9) A person who is reappointed to the Board in accordance with subsection (8) shall not hold office for more than 2 consecutive terms and in any event may not serve for a period of more than 10 years. | ||
(10) A member may resign from office by letter sent to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on the later of— | ||
(a) the date specified in the letter, or | ||
(b) the date of receipt of the letter by the Minister. | ||
(11) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after an appointment to the Board, publish in Iris Oifigiúil notice of the name of the person so appointed. | ||
(12) For the purpose of this section, ‘health profession’ means any of the following professions: | ||
(a) dentist; | ||
(b) a designated profession within the meaning of section 3 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 ; | ||
(c) medical practitioner; | ||
(d) midwife; | ||
(e) nurse; | ||
(f) pharmacist. | ||
Casual vacancies | ||
16O. (1) If a member resigns, dies, ceases to hold office (other than by effluxion of time), ceases to be qualified to hold office or is removed from office, the Minister shall as soon as practicable appoint a person to fill the casual vacancy so arising. | ||
(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall hold office for the unexpired period of his or her predecessor’s term of office or such other period as the Minister may determine not exceeding 5 years including such unexpired period. | ||
(3) A member appointed under subsection (1) is eligible for reappointment to the Board, on the expiry of the unexpired period or other period, as appropriate, referred to in subsection (2), but may not serve for more than 2 further consecutive terms and in any event may not serve for a period of more than 10 years. | ||
Functions of Board | ||
16P. (1) The Board is the governing body of the Executive with authority, in the name of the Executive, to perform the functions of the Executive. | ||
(2) The Board shall— | ||
(a) satisfy itself that appropriate systems, procedures and practices are in place— | ||
(i) to achieve the Executive’s object, | ||
(ii) for the internal performance management and accountability of the Executive in respect of the Executive’s— | ||
(I) performance of its functions, | ||
(II) achieving objectives in accordance with the corporate plan, and | ||
(III) delivery of health and personal social services in accordance with this Act, | ||
and | ||
(iii) in order to enable compliance with the policies (whether set out in codes, guidelines or other documents, or any combination thereof) of the Government or a Minister of the Government to the extent that those policies may affect or relate to the functions of the Executive, | ||
and | ||
(b) establish and implement arrangements for the management of the performance of the chief executive officer. | ||
(3) The Board is accountable to the Minister for the performance of its functions under subsections (1) and (2). | ||
(4) The Board may delegate in writing to the chief executive officer any of the Executive’s functions. | ||
(5) If a function of the Executive is delegated to the chief executive officer under subsection (4), the delegation remains in force until the Board revokes the delegation by notice in writing given to that officer. | ||
(6) The Board shall notify the Minister in writing of any delegation made under subsection (4) and of any revocation of such delegation. | ||
(7) The Board shall inform the Minister in writing of any matter that it considers requires the Minister’s attention. | ||
Membership of either House of Oireachtas or European Parliament | ||
16Q. (1) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Board or a committee of the Board if the person is— | ||
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, | ||
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a member of the European Parliament, | ||
(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 as having been elected to that Parliament, or | ||
(d) elected or co-opted as a member of a local authority. | ||
(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a member of the European Parliament or a local authority shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified for membership of the Board or a committee of the Board. | ||
Removal of member of Board | ||
16R. (1) The Minister may at any time remove from office a member of the Board if, in the Minister’s opinion— | ||
(a) the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions, | ||
(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, | ||
(c) the member’s removal is necessary for the effective and efficient performance by the Board of its functions, | ||
(d) the member has contravened section 25(1) or 26 or an applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 , or | ||
(e) in performing functions under this Act, the member has not been guided by a code of conduct that has been drawn up under section 10(3) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 and that relates to the member. | ||
(2) A member of the Board shall cease to be qualified for office and shall cease to hold office if he or she— | ||
(a) is adjudicated bankrupt, | ||
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, | ||
(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment, | ||
(d) is convicted of any indictable offence, | ||
(e) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in connection with a company or not, | ||
(f) is, or is deemed to be, the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990 or a disqualification order within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014 , or | ||
(g) is removed by a competent authority for any reason (other than failure to pay a fee) from any register established for the purpose of registering members of a profession in the State or another jurisdiction. | ||
(3) A member who does not, for a consecutive period of 6 months, attend a meeting of the Board ceases at the end of that period to hold office unless the member demonstrates to the Minister’s satisfaction that the failure was due to ill-health. | ||
(4) In this section, ‘applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 ’, in relation to a member, means a provision of that Act that, by virtue of a regulation under section 3 of that Act, applies to that member. | ||
Removal of all members of Board from office | ||
16S. (1) The Minister may remove all the members of the Board from office if— | ||
(a) the Board fails to achieve a quorum for 3 consecutive meetings, | ||
(b) the Board does not comply with a judgment, order or decree of any court, | ||
(c) the Board does not comply with a direction of the Minister or any other requirement imposed on it by or under any enactment including this Act, or | ||
(d) the Minister is of the opinion that the Board’s functions (in particular, its functions under section 16P) are not being performed in an effective and efficient manner. | ||
(2) The Minister may, if he or she is of the opinion that the Board’s functions are not being performed in an effective and efficient manner, appoint a person to— | ||
(a) conduct an independent review of any matter giving rise to that opinion, and | ||
(b) submit a report to the Minister on the results of the review. | ||
(3) The Board shall co-operate with a review under subsection (2) and give the person conducting it all reasonable assistance, including access to such premises, equipment and records as the person may require for the purposes of the review. | ||
(4) The removal of the members of the Board from office does not revoke or otherwise affect any delegation of the Executive’s functions to the chief executive officer under section 16P(4). | ||
Committees of Board | ||
16T. (1) The Board may establish committees, consisting in whole or in part of persons who are members of the Board, to assist and advise it in relation to the performance of any of its functions. | ||
(2) In appointing members of a committee the Board shall have regard to the knowledge and experience necessary for the proper and effective and efficient discharge of the functions of the committee. | ||
(3) The Board may at any time remove a member of a committee for stated reasons. | ||
(4) The acts of a committee shall be subject to confirmation by the Board, unless the Board otherwise determines. | ||
(5) The Board may determine the terms of reference and the procedures of a committee. | ||
(6) The Board may appoint a member of a committee to be the chairperson of a committee. | ||
(7) A committee shall provide the Board with such information as the Board may from time to time require, in respect of the committee’s activities and operations, for the purposes of the performance by the Board of its functions. | ||
(8) The Board may at any time dissolve a committee. | ||
(9) In this section, ‘committee’ means a committee established under subsection (1). | ||
Remuneration and expenses of members of Board and committees | ||
16U. (1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determine the remuneration and expenses payable under this section. | ||
(2) The remuneration and allowances for expenses, if any, determined in accordance with subsection (1) are payable by the Executive out of funds at its disposal to— | ||
(a) the members of the Board, and | ||
(b) the members of a committee of the Board. | ||
(3) The remuneration and allowances for expenses, if any, determined in accordance with subsection (1) are payable by the Minister out of money provided by the Oireachtas to a person appointed under section 16S(2) to conduct an independent review.”. |