Mental Treatment Act, 1961

Superannuation.

41.—(1) The Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 , shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in the First Schedule to this Act.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (10) of section 71 of the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 , an allowance—

(a) which is payable by—

(i) a health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , in their capacity as an authority performing functions under the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1961, or

(ii) a joint board performing functions under those Acts, and

(b) which would, disregarding that subsection, be suspended or reduced under section 75 of the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1948 ,

shall be suspended or reduced under the said section 75.

(3) (a) In Part VIII of the Principal Act (other than sections 65 and 93 of that Act) the word “Minister”, wherever occurring, shall be construed as referring to the Minister for Local Government.

(b) The Minister for Local Government shall be the consenting authority for the purposes of subsection (3) of section 2 and subsection (8) of section 14 of the Asylum Officers' Superannuation Act, 1909 , the settling authority for the purposes of section 12 of that Act and the determining authority for the purposes of section 15 of that Act.

(4) The following subsections are hereby substituted for subsections (4), (5) and (6) of section 65 of the Principal Act:

“(4) (a) Where the whole of the employment of an officer or servant of a mental hospital authority consists of the care or charge of patients, his name shall be entered in the register maintained under this section by the authority.

(b) Where—

(i) part only of the employment of an officer or servant of a mental hospital authority consists of the care or charge of patients, and

(ii) the prescribed conditions are fulfilled in his case, his name shall be entered in the register maintained under this section by the authority.

(c) The Minister may by regulations specify the conditions (in this section referred to as the prescribed conditions) fulfilment of which, in the case of an officer or servant of a mental hospital authority part only of whose employment consists of the care or charge of patients, will require entry of the officer's or servant's name in the register maintained under this section by the authority.

(5) The name of an officer or servant shall be removed from a register maintained under this section by a mental hospital authority if (but only if)—

(a) by reason of a new appointment or otherwise, he becomes an officer or servant of the authority no part of whose employment consists of the care or charge of patients,

(b) having been an officer or servant the whole of whose employment consists of the care or charge of patients, he becomes, by reason of a new appointment or otherwise, an officer or servant part only of whose employment consists of the care or charge of patients and the prescribed conditions are then not fulfilled in his case, or

(c) being an officer or servant part only of whose duties consist of the care or charge of patients, the prescribed conditions cease to be fulfilled in his case.

(6) If an officer or servant of a mental hospital authority is aggrieved—

(a) by their failure to enter his name in the register maintained by them under this section, or

(b) by their removal of his name from such register,

he may complain to the Minister in writing and, if after consideration of the complaint, the Minister directs the authority to enter or re-enter (as may be appropriate) the name of the officer or servant in such register, they shall carry out such direction,”

(5) No allowance shall be granted under section 77 or 78 of the Principal Act save by reference to an officer or servant whose name—

(a) stands entered in a register maintained under section 65 of the Principal Act, and

(b) stood so registered at the commencement of this section.

(6) Where—

(a) an allowance under Part VIII of the Principal Act is, on the commencement of this section, in course of payment in whole or in part,

(b) the person to whom the allowance was granted was granted it by reference to his having been an officer who ceased to hold office on reaching an age limit, and

(c) it was not a condition of his having been appointed to be such officer that he should so cease to hold office,

the body paying the allowance may, subject to the sanction of the Minister for Health, grant—

(i) an increase of the allowance, the increase being of such amount as the body may consider proper subject to the restriction that it shall not exceed one-eighth of the salary by reference to which the allowance was computed, and

(ii) an increase of the lump sum granted with the allowance, being an increase of such amount as the body may consider proper subject to the restrictions that it shall not exceed one-third of the salary by reference to which the allowance was computed and that it shall be such that the lump sum as increased shall not exceed four-thirds of the said salary.