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27 1950

NURSES ACT, 1950

PART VI.

Financial Provisions.

Accounts of the Board and audit thereof.

58. —(1) The Board shall cause the accounts of the Board to be kept in such form as the Minister directs or approves.

(2) The accounts of the Board shall be made up in respect of such periods as may be determined by the Minister.

(3) The accounts of the Board shall be audited by a local government auditor appointed from time to time by the Minister for that purpose after consultation with the Minister for Local Government.

(4) The Minister shall determine the fee to be paid by the Board in respect of an audit under this section and the fee so determined shall be paid by the Board to the Minister and shall thereupon be paid into or disposed of by him for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs.

(5) The Board shall prepare an abstract of the accounts of the Board in such form as the Minister directs or approves and such abstract shall be certified to be correct by the local government auditor auditing such accounts.

(6) The Board shall—

(a) keep copies of an abstract prepared in pursuance of subsection (5) of this section available for purchase or inspection at their principal office,

(b) furnish to the Minister such number of copies of an abstract prepared in pursuance of subsection (5) of this section as he may require,

(c) publish an abstract prepared in pursuance of subsection (5) of this section in such manner as may be approved or directed by the Minister, and

(d) furnish to each health authority a copy of an abstract prepared in pursuance of subsection (5) of this section.

Payments by Minister to the Board.

59. —(1) Where the abstract prepared in pursuance of section 58 of this Act of the accounts of the Board relating to any year shows a balance against the Board on current expenditure the Minister shall, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, pay the balance to the Board.

(2) Where any doubt, dispute or question arises, or, in the opinion of the Minister, is likely to arise, as to whether any expenditure is current expenditure for the purposes of this section, such doubt, dispute or question shall be decided by the Minister and such decision shall be final.

Payments by health authorities to the Minister.

60. —(1) Where the Minister pays a balance to the Board under section 59 of this Act, the following provisions shall have effect—

(a) the Minister shall apportion half of the amount of such balance between health authorities in proportion to the populations, according to the latest census of population, of their respective functional areas;

(b) the Minister shall send by post to each health authority a notice specifying the amount assigned to such health authority on the apportionment;

(c) such health authority shall pay to the Minister the amount so specified within three months after the receipt of the notice, and

(d) if such health authority fails to make such payment, the amount due may be deducted by the Minister from any sum payable to such health authority under the Health Services (Financial Provisions) Act, 1947 (No. 47 of 1947).

(2) Any moneys received or deducted by the Minister under this section shall be paid into or disposed of by him for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs.

Estimates of receipts and expenditure of the Board.

61. —(1) The Board shall, within such period as the Minister shall direct, submit to the Minister estimates (in such form and under such subheads as the Minister may approve) of expenditure and receipts of the Board during the next accounting period.

(2) The Board shall not—

(a) adopt the estimates referred to in subsection (1) of this section without the approval of the Minister, or

(b) exceed the expenditure mentioned in the said estimates or exceed the expenditure mentioned under any subhead of the said estimates without the consent of the Minister.

Investment of moneys of the Board.

62. —The Board may invest moneys of the Board in any securities authorised for the investment of trust funds.

Power of the Board to borrow temporarily.

63. —The Board may, with the consent of the Minister, given after consultation with the Minister for Finance, borrow temporarily by arrangement with bankers such sums as they may require for the purpose of providing for current expenditure.

Contributions from the Hospitals Trust Fund.

64. —The Hospitals Trust Board shall make out of the Hospitals Trust Fund such contributions towards any proper expenses of a capital nature which have been or are to be incurred by the Board as the Minister from time to time directs.