S.I. No. 140/1960:

MENTAL HEALTH BOARDS ORDER, 1960.

MENTAL HEALTH BOARDS ORDER, 1960.

The Minister for Health in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 45 of the Health Act, 1953 (No. 26 of 1953) and in compliance with subsection (4) of section 22 of the Health Authorities Act, 1960 (No. 9 of 1960) and, as respects the application of section 103 of the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947) with the consent of the Minister for Local Government, hereby orders as follows:--

1. This Order may be cited as the Mental Health Boards Order, 1960.

2. This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1960.

3. In this Order--

"the Minister" means the Minister for Health and "the council" means the council of a county.

4. (1) Joint action by each of the councils grouped in the manner set forth in the first column of the First Schedule to this Order is hereby authorised, as respects the whole of the functional area of each of the Councils in the performance of their general duty under Part IV of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 , to provide treatment, maintenance, advice and services for a person suffering from mental illness.

(2) For the purpose of the joint action authorised by this Order, the joint boards named in the second column of the said Schedule are hereby established and such joint action shall be carried out by each of the said boards.

5. (1) The sum required to defray the expenses incurred by a joint board during every year ending on the 31st day of March shall be supplied by the councils by whom the members of the board are appointed in proportion to the net cost of maintenance of the patients from their respective counties maintained by the board during the year determined in the manner specified in sub-article (2) of this article.

(2) The net cost of maintenance of the patients from each county shall be determined as follows:--

(a) from the total expenditure of the board on revenue account during the year there shall be deducted the total of the sums received by the board during the year by way of revenue other than sums in respect of the maintenance of any patients coming from any of the counties in the functional area of the board;

(b) the amount so ascertained shall be divided between the several counties in the functional area of the board in proportion to the average daily number of all the patients from each such county maintained by the board during the year;

(c) from the amount ascertained for any county in accordance with the preceding paragraph, there shall be deducted the total sum received by the board during the year in respect of the maintenance of all patients from that county and the remainder after the said deduction shall be taken to be the net cost of the maintenance of the chargeable patients from that county during the year.

6. (1) Each joint board shall consist of the person appointed in accordance with this Order by the councils authorised to carry out joint action by such board.

(2) The total number of members of a joint board shall be the number specified in the third column of the First Schedule to this Order opposite the name of the said joint board.

(3) The number of members of a joint board to be appointed by each of the councils shall as nearly as possible be proportional to the contributions payable by the councils severally to the expenses of the board (or, in the case of the first appointment of members, of the joint board under section 15 of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 , whose functional area is co-terminous with that of the board) during the local financial year ending on the 31st day of March next previous to the appointment, and such number shall, in case of dispute, be determined by the Minister.

(4) An appointment of members of a joint board shall be made in each year at the annual meeting of the council appointing the members.

7. Every member of a joint board shall hold office (unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified) until his successor has been appointed.

8. A member of a council who has been appointed by the council to be a member of a joint board and who ceases to be, or is disqualified for being a member of the council shall also cease to be, or be disqualified for being, a member of the board.

9. (1) A member of a joint board may resign his membership by giving notice in writing signed by him to the secretary of the council by whom he was appointed, but the resignation shall not become effective until the meeting of the council held next after the receipt of the notice given to such secretary.

(2) A member of a council may, with the consent of not less than one-fourth of the members of the council, notify the secretary of the council in writing of his intention to propose that the membership of all the members of a joint board who are appointed by the council shall be terminated and the secretary shall thereupon summon a meeting of the council for a date not later than one month after the receipt of the notification and shall give to every member of the council at least fourteen days' notice thereof and, in the event of a resolution (for the passing of which not less than two-thirds of the members present vote) being passed at such meeting approving of such proposal, the membership of all such members of the joint board shall forthwith stand terminated and new members of the board shall be appointed forthwith in lieu of those whose membership is terminated.

(3) The membership of a member of a joint board who, for a consecutive period of six months has not attended a meeting of the board, shall thereupon terminate and, at the meeting of the relevant council held next after the expiration of such period, a new member shall be appointed to fill the vacancy so created in the membership of the board.

(4) Where a meeting of a joint board is abandoned owing to a failure to obtain a quorum, the names of the members who attended at the time and place appointed for the holding of the meeting shall be recorded and such members shall be deemed to have attended a meeting of the Board for the purpose of the next preceding paragraph.

10. A casual vacancy occurring in the membership of a joint board shall be filled by the council by whom the member causing the vacancy was appointed within one month after the occurrence of the vacancy or within such further time as the Minister may allow.

11. The quorum of a joint board shall be one-fourth of the total number of members of the board.

12. (1) A joint board shall hold meetings for the transaction of their business at least once in each quarter and at such other times as may be necessary for properly exercising their powers and performing their duties.

(2) The first meeting of a joint board shall be held after the appointment of members of the board has been completed on a day to be appointed by the manager for the board and such meeting shall be an annual meeting.

(3) A joint board shall at their first meeting appoint a day of the year not earlier than the 17th day of July nor later than the 1st day of August for the holding of subsequent annual meetings and may at any subsequent annual meeting alter the day so appointed.

(4) A joint board shall hold an annual meeting in each year on the day which is for the time being appointed for the holding of the annual meetings under this Order, unless that day falls on a Sunday or bank holiday, when the meeting shall be held on the next following day which is neither a Sunday nor a bank holiday.

(5) If the first or any other annual meeting of a joint board is for any reason (including a quorum not being present) not held on the day appointed for the holding of such meeting under this Order, the secretary to the board shall as soon as may be summon a meeting of the board for a convenient hour on the day which appears to him to be the earliest convenient day for the purpose, and the meeting held in pursuance of such summons shall be for all purposes an annual meeting held on the date appointed under this Order,

13. (1) At every annual meeting of a joint board, the board shall elect one of their members to be chairman of the board and may elect another of their members to be vice-chairman of the board.

(2) Whenever the office of chairman or vice-chairman of a joint board becomes vacant otherwise than by the termination of the ordinary term of the office, the board shall at their next meeting after the vacancy occurs or, in the case of a resignation of office, at the meeting at which the resignation becomes effective, elect one of their members to be chairman or vice-chairman of the board.

(3) A person elected to be chairman or vice-chairman of a joint board shall, unless he sooner resigns the office of chairman or vice-chairman or sooner ceases to be, or becomes disqualified for being, a member of the board, hold office as chairman or vice-chairman until his successor has been appointed.

(4) The chairman or vice-chairman of a joint board may at any time resign his office as chairman or vice-chairman by giving notice in writing signed by him to the board, but the resignation shall not become effective until the commencement of the meeting of the board held next after the receipt by them of the resignation.

(5) Where the chairman or vice-chairman of a joint board ceases to be or becomes disqualified for being, a member of the board, he shall forthwith cease to be chairman or vice-chairman of the board.

(6) Whenever, at the election of the chairman of a joint board, there is an equality of votes for two or more persons, it shall be determined by lot which of those persons shall be chairman of the board.

14. (1) The proceedings of a joint board shall not be invalidated by any vacancy or vacancies among their members or by any defect in the appointment of the board or in the appointment or qualification of any member thereof.

(2) The chairman of a joint board may call a meeting of the board.

(3) If the chairman of a joint board refuses to call a meeting of the board after a requisition for that purpose signed by three members of the board has been presented to him, any three members of the board may forthwith, on that refusal, call a meeting of the board, and, if the chairman (without so refusing) does not, within seven days of the presentation of the requisition call a meeting of the board, any three members of the board, may, on the expiration of those seven days, call a meeting of the board.

(4) Three clear days at least before a meeting of a joint board, notice of the time and place of the intended meeting, signed by the chairman, or, if the meeting is called by members of the board, by those members, shall be fixed on the hall or other place at which the board is accustomed to meet, and, if the meeting is called by members of the board, the notice shall specify the business proposed to be transacted thereat.

(5) Three clear days at least before a meeting of a joint board, a summons to attend the meeting, specifying the business proposed to be transacted thereat and signed by the secretary to the board shall be left or delivered by post at the usual place of abode of every member of the board, but failure so to leave or deliver such summons for or to a member or some of the members of the board shall not affect the validity of a meeting.

(6) No business shall be transacted at a meeting of a joint board other than that specified in the summons relating thereto, except (in case of an annual meeting) business required to be transacted thereat.

(7) At a meeting of a joint board--

(a) the chairman of the board shall, if he is present, be chairman of the meeting,

(b) if and so long as the chairman of the board is not present or the office of chairman is vacant, the vice-chairman (if any), shall, if he is present, be chairman of the meeting,

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

(8) Minutes of the proceedings of a meeting of a joint board shall be drawn up and fairly entered in the book for that purpose and shall be signed by the chairman of the meeting or of the next ensuing meeting.

(9) The names of the members present at a meeting of a joint board shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting.

(10) The names of the members voting on any question arising at a meeting of a joint board shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the meeting and the record shall show which members vote for and which against the question.

(11) All acts of a joint board and all questions coming or arising before a board may be done and decided by the majority of such members of the board as are present and vote at a meeting of the board duly held according to law.

(12) In case of equality of votes on any question arising at a meeting of a joint board, other than the election of a chairman, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

15. (1) The provisions of the Health Acts, 1947 and 1953 which are specified in the Second Schedule to this Order shall, to the extent specified therein, apply to the joint boards established by this Order.

(2) The provisions of the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958 which apply to a health authority in their capacity as an authority performing functions under these Acts shall apply to the joint boards established by this Order.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Provisions of Health Acts 1947 and 1953 applied to joint board.

1. Health Act, 1947.

Section 2 (as amended by Section 6 of the Health Act, 1963), Sections 10 and 11 (as amended by Section 13 of the Health Act, 1953 ), Part VIII, section 99, section 103 (as amended by section 42 of the Health Act, 1953 ), Section 104 (as amended by section 43 of the Health Act, 1953 ) and Section 105 of the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947).

2. Health Act, 1953.

Sections 8 to 12, Section 44 (insofar as it relates to the prosecution of offences under Part VIII of the Health Act, 1947 ), Section 47, Section 49, Sections 62 to 64 and sub-section (1) of Section 65 of the Health Act, 1953 (No. 26 of 1953).

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Health this twenty-seventh day of June One Thousand Nine Hundred and Sixty.

SEÁN MacENTEE,

Minister for Health.

I hereby consent to the application by article 15 of this Order of section 103 of the Health Act, 1947 (as amended by section 42 of the Health Act, 1953 ) to the joint boards established by this Order

Dated this thirtieth day of June, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Sixty.

NEIL T. BLANEY,

Minister for Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order makes provision for the establishment under Section 45 of the Health Act, 1953 , of joint boards to perform functions of certain health authorities in the provision of mental treatment. The new boards replace the existing mental hospital boards which are constituted under the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 . Under the provisions of the Order the new boards will be constituted and financed in the same manner as the boards which they replace.