First Previous (PART 4 Intestate Estates Fund Deposit Account) Next (PART 6 Disbursement of Moneys from Fund)

32 2001

DORMANT ACCOUNTS ACT, 2001

PART 5

Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board

Establishment of Board.

30. —There shall stand established on the establishment day a body to be known as the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board, to perform the functions conferred on it by or under this Act.

Functions of Board.

31. —(1) The functions of the Board are—

(a) to prepare, in accordance with section 42 , a plan for the disbursement of moneys from the Fund and to direct the Agency to make disbursements, and

(b) to report to the Minister under section 45 .

(2) The Board has all the powers that are necessary for or incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act.

(3) The Board shall, subject to this Act, be independent in the performance of its functions.

Membership of Board and terms of office of members.

32. —(1) The Board shall consist of a chairperson and 8 ordinary members.

(2) The chairperson and the ordinary members shall be appointed by the Minister and shall include—

(a) an officer of the Minister not below the rank of principal officer,

(b) a person who, in the Minister's opinion, represents the interests of the financial services industry,

(c) 3 persons who—

(i) in the Minister's opinion, have knowledge of, or experience in relation to, the purposes specified in section 42 for which disbursements may be made, and

(ii) are appointed by the Minister after consultation with the organisations that the Minister considers to be representative of the purposes so specified,

and

(d) 3 persons who, in the Minister's opinion, have knowledge of, or experience relating to any other matters that appear to the Minister to be relevant to the Board's functions.

(3) The Minister shall fix the term of office of each member of the Board and, subject to this section, membership shall be on the terms that the Minister may determine.

(4) Four of the ordinary members of the Board appointed under subsection (2) shall hold office for a term not exceeding 3 years, and the remaining ordinary members shall hold office for a term not exceeding 5 years, as determined by the Minister.

(5) (a) A member of the Board whose term of office expires or is about to expire with the passage of time is, subject to paragraph (b), eligible for re-appointment to the Board at the Minister's discretion.

(b) A member of the Board shall not serve more than 2 consecutive terms of office.

(c) The terms of office referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall include any term of office as chairperson.

(6) A member of the Board may resign from office by letter sent to the Minister.

Conditions of office of members of Board.

33. —(1) A member of the Board (including the chairperson) may at any time be removed from membership of the Board by the Minister if, in the Minister's opinion, the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions, or has committed stated misbehaviour, or his or her removal appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Board of its functions.

(2) A member of the Board shall cease to be and shall be disqualified from being a member of the Board where the member—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is, on conviction on indictment by a court of competent jurisdiction, sentenced to imprisonment, or

(d) is disqualified or restricted from being a director of any company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1999).

(3) A person who ceases to be an officer of the Minister for the purposes of appointment under section 32 (2)(a), ceases to hold office as a member of the Board.

(4) A member of the Board shall, subject to this Act, hold office on the terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and allowances) that may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

Casual vacancies.

34. —(1) If a member of the Board dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, or for any other reason (other than section 32 (4) or (5)) ceases to be a member of the Board, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(2) A person appointed to be a member of the Board under this section shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy.

Chairperson of Board.

35. —(1) The term of office of the chairperson of the Board shall be 5 years.

(2) Where the chairperson of the Board ceases to be a member of the Board, he or she also thereupon ceases to be chairperson of the Board.

(3) The chairperson of the Board may at any time resign his or her office as chairperson by letter sent to the Minister and the resignation shall, unless previously withdrawn in writing, take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the Board has been informed by the Minister of the resignation.

(4) The chairperson of the Board shall, unless he or she sooner dies or otherwise ceases to be chairperson by virtue of subsection (2) or (3), hold office until the end of his or her term of office and, if he or she is re-appointed as a member of the Board, he or she shall be eligible for re-appointment as chairperson of the Board.

Meetings and procedure.

36. —(1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for performing its functions.

(2) At a meeting of the Board—

(a) the chairperson of the Board shall, if present, be the chairperson of the meeting, or

(b) if and so long as the chairperson of the Board is not present or if the office of chairperson is vacant, the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting.

(3) Every question that is to be decided at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Board present and voting on the question and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairperson of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), the Board may act notwithstanding one or more than one vacancy among its membership or any deficiency in the appointment of a member that may subsequently be discovered.

(5) Unless the Minister otherwise directs, the quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be 5.

(6) Subject to this Act, the Board shall regulate its procedure by rules or otherwise.

(7) The Minister may provide the Board with the secretarial, clerical and administrative support that the Minister considers necessary or appropriate.

Membership of either House of the Oireachtas or European Parliament.

37. —(1) A member of the Board who—

(a) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) is elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or as a representative in the European Parliament,

(c) is regarded pursuant to section 19 of the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997 , as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy,

(d) becomes a member of a local authority, or

(e) becomes a member of the board of a health board,

thereupon ceases to be a member of the Board.

(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit in the House or who is a representative in the European Parliament is, while he or she is entitled or is a representative, disqualified from becoming a member of the Board.

(3) A person who is a member of a local authority or of the board of a health board is disqualified from becoming a member of the Board.

(4) The Board shall not employ or otherwise retain in any capacity a person who would otherwise be disqualified under this section from becoming a member of the Board.

Consultants and advisers.

38. —(1) Subject to the prior approval of or at the request of the Minister, the Board may from time to time engage any consultants or advisers that the Board or the Minister, as the case may be, may consider necessary for the performance by the Board of its functions.

(2) Any fees payable by the Board to a consultant or adviser engaged under this section shall be paid by the Agency out of the reserve account.

Disclosure of certain interests.

39. —(1) Where a matter is to be decided by the Board at a meeting, any member of the Board present at the meeting who has an interest in the matter, otherwise than as a member, shall—

(a) at the meeting, in advance of any consideration of the matter, disclose to the Board the fact of the interest and the nature of the interest,

(b) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision relating to the matter,

(c) absent himself or herself from any meeting or that part of the meeting during which the matter is discussed,

(d) take no part in any deliberation of the Board relating to the matter, and

(e) not vote on a decision relating to the matter.

(2) Where a member discloses an interest in a matter under this section—

(a) the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, and

(b) for so long as the matter is being dealt with by the meeting, the member shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting unless the Board otherwise determines.

(3) Where, at a meeting of the Board, a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a member of the Board, would be a failure by him or her to comply with the requirements of subsection (1)

(a) the question may be determined by the chairperson of the Board, whose decision shall be final, and

(b) if the question is so determined, particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting concerned.

(4) If the Minister is satisfied that a member of the Board has contravened subsection (1), the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that member from office.

(5) A person who is removed from office under subsection (4) is disqualified for membership of the Board.

Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information.

40. —(1) Subject to subsection (3), a person shall not, unless he or she is duly authorised by the Board, disclose confidential information obtained by him or her while carrying out or as a result of carrying out duties—

(a) as a member of the Board, or

(b) as a consultant or adviser to the Board or an employee of such person.

(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) prohibits the disclosure of information by means of a report made—

(a) to the Board, or

(b) by or on behalf of the Board to the Minister.

(4) In this section “confidential information” includes—

(a) information that is expressed by the Board to be confidential either as regards particular information or as regards information of a particular class or description, and

(b) proposals of a commercial nature.