S.I. No. 329/1956:

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE COMMITTEES (QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS) ORDER, 1956.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE COMMITTEES (QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS) ORDER, 1956.

I, RISTEÁRD UA MAOLCHATHA, Minister for Education, in exercise of the power conferred on me by subsection (5) of section 11 and section 23 of the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926), hereby, after consultation with the Minister for Local Government, order as follows :

1. This Order may be cited as the School Attendance Committees (Qualifications of Officers) Order, 1956.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Order.

3. In this Order " the Minister " means the Minister for Education.

4. (1) The following qualifications shall, for the purpose of subsection (5) of section 11 of the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926), be the prescribed qualifications for a person to be appointed by a school attendance committee to be an officer (other than a chief executive officer) of the committee :

(a) being, to the satisfaction of the committee and of the Minister, on the 1st day of January next before the making of the appointment--

(i) not less than twenty-one years of age, and

(ii) not more than forty years of age ;

(b) possessing, to the satisfaction of the committee and of the Minister, a competent knowledge of so much of the subjects of Irish and English (except the memorising of poetry in those languages) as is comprised in the courses for the time being prescribed in the Intermediate Certificate Programme for Secondary Schools, and of so much of the subject of Arithmetic as is prescribed in the course of Elementary Mathematics prescribed in that Programme ;

(c) possessing, to the satisfaction of the committee and of the Minister, a competent knowledge of the School Attendance Act, 1926 (No. 17 of 1926), and the orders and regulations made thereunder ;

(d) having, to the satisfaction of the committee and of the Minister, a good general education ;

(e) being, to the satisfaction of the committee and of the Minister, in good health ; and

(f) being, to the satisfaction of the committee and of the Minister, of good character.

(2) In determining, for the purposes of clause (ii) of subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this Article, the age of a person on the 1st day of January next before the making of an appointment (in this paragraph referred to as the critical date) the following provisions shall have effect :

(a) if he is or has been the chief executive officer of a school attendance committee, there shall, irrespective of the length of his service as a chief executive officer, be deducted from his actual age on the critical date, five years ;

(b) if he has rendered at least two years' satisfactory service in the Permanent Defence Force (as defined by the Defence Act, 1954 (No. 18 of 1954)) there shall, subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, be deducted from his actual age the period of his service in that Force during which he was in receipt of Army pay up to a maximum of six years.

(3) A deduction under subparagraph (b) of paragraph (2) of this Article from the age of a person shall not be made if--

(a) he is a person who was awarded a cadetship or permanent commission in the said Permanent Defence Force unless, having been awarded a cadetship, he was found unsuitable for a permanent commission for reasons not affecting his suitability for civilian employment, or

(b) in the case of a vacancy occurring after the 31st day of March, 1957, a period of two years has elapsed since he completed his service with that Force.

(5) The School Attendance Committees (Qualifications of Officers) Order, 1947 (S. R. & O. No. 139 of 1947), is hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 22nd day of December, 1956.

RISTEÁRD UA MAOLCHATHA,

Minister for Education.