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13 1999

HEALTH (EASTERN REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY) ACT, 1999

PARTII

The Eastern Regional Health Authority

Establishment of Eastern Regional Health Authority.

7. —(1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body to be known as the Eastern Regional Health Authority, and in this Act referred to as “the Authority”.

(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and may sue and be sued in its own name and may acquire, hold and dispose of land and other property.

(3) The Authority shall provide itself with a seal and all courts of justice shall take judicial notice of the seal.

(4) The functional area of the Authority shall be the county borough of Dublin and the administrative counties South Dublin, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kildare and Wicklow.

(5) Subject to this Act, any reference to a health board, however expressed, in any Act, passed before the establishment day, or instrument made before such day under any such Act, shall be construed as including a reference to the Authority.

(6) Sections 4, 5 and 26(1) of the Principal Act and section 65 of the Health Act, 1953 , shall not apply to the Authority.

Functions of Authority.

8. —(1) The Authority shall perform the functions conferred on it under this Act and any other functions which are performable by health board and such other functions as may be provided for by law.

(2) The Authority shall, having regard to the resources available and as it sees fit, plan, arrange for and oversee the provision of services in its functional area.

(3) In performing its functions under this section, the Authority shall—

(a) make arrangements under section 10 with persons for the provision of services,

(b) co-ordinate the provision of services,

(c) put in place systems, procedures and practices to enable it to monitor and evaluate services provided in accordance with arrangements made under section 10 ,

(d) provide in its annual report an account of measures taken to monitor and evaluate services and an account of the outcomes of such measures,

(e) have regard to the advice (if any) tendered to it by each of the three Area Health Boards, and

(f) have regard to the right of voluntary bodies who provide services in accordance with arrangements made under section 10 to manage their own affairs in accordance with their independent ethos and traditions.

(4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prejudicing the performance by the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Children's Hospital of its functions under its Charter.

Delegation of functions of Authority.

9. —(1) The Authority shall provide in writing for such of its reserved functions in relation to the provision of services which, immediately before the establishment day, were performed by the Eastern Health Board, to be exerciseable on its behalf, in relation to the functional area of an Area Health Board, by that Area Health Board.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Authority may, from time to time, and where it considers such action would secure the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of resources, provide in writing for such of its reserved functions as it may determine to be exerciseable on its behalf, in relation to the whole or part of its functional area, by a specified Area Health Board and where the Authority does so, any provision made under subsection (1) in relation those functions shall cease to have effect.

(3) The performance of its functions under subsections (1) and (2) shall be a reserved function of the Authority.

Arrangements by Authority for provision of services.

10. —(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), the Authority shall, having regard to the resources available to it, make one or more arrangements with one or more persons for the provision of services within its functional area.

(2) (a) Subject to section 9 (2) and subsection (3), the Authority shall, having regard to the resources available to it, make and carry out an arrangement with each Area Health Board for the provision within the Area Health Board's functional area of services which, immediately before the establishment day, were provided by the Eastern Health Board.

(b) The Authority may make arrangements with an Area Health Board for the provision of services other than those specified in paragraph (a).

(c) Paragraph (a) shall not be construed as preventing the Authority or an Area Health Board from discontinuing or curtailing any service.

(3) The Authority may determine an arrangement or any part thereof made under subsection (2)(a) in relation to the provision of a service and make and carry out an arrangement in lieu thereof with a voluntary body for the provision of the service.

(4) An arrangement made under this section shall include the following:

(a) a written agreement between the Authority and the person who proposes to provide the services, covering a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years and specifying—

(i) the principles by which both parties agree to abide for the duration of the agreement, and

(ii) such standards relating to the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of the services to be provided as may be agreed between the parties,

and

(b) a written agreement, to be renewed annually, between the Authority and the person who proposes to provide the services specifying—

(i) the services to be provided, and

(ii) the funds to be made available therefor.

(5) The Authority may delegate its power to make an arrangement under subsection (1) to an Area Health Board, other than where:

(a) the arrangement is with any one of the persons specified in the Second Schedule, or

(b) the arrangement is with another Area Health Board.

(6) A person (not being an Area Health Board) who provides services in accordance with an arrangement made under this section shall keep, in such form as may be approved by the Authority, all proper and usual accounts and records of all income received or expenditure incurred by it.

(7) Accounts kept in pursuance of subsection (6) shall be submitted annually for audit and a copy of the accounts and the auditor's certificate and report thereon shall be presented to the Authority within such period as may be specified by the Authority.

(8) The expense of an audit carried out under subsection (7) shall be paid for by the person keeping the accounts.

Membership of Authority.

11. —(1) The Authority shall consist of 55 members.

(2) Of the members of the Authority—

(a) 30 shall be appointed by the local authorities whose functional areas areas included in the functional area of the Authority, of whom—

(i) 10 members of Dublin Corporation shall be appointed by Dublin Corporation, and

(ii) 4 shall be appointed by each of the councils of the counties of Fingal, South Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kildare and Wicklow, and the members appointed by the council of a county shall be members of that council,

and the persons so appointed shall, where so prescribed, include such numbers of persons from such local electoral areas as may be prescribed,

(b) 13 shall be members of registered professions appointed by election, of whom—

(i) 9, including not less than 2 consultants in general hospitals, not less than one consultant psychiatrist, not less than 2 general medical practitioners and not less than one registered medical practitioner with special knowledge or experience in preventive medicine, shall be appointed by election by registered medical practitioners practising in the functional area of the Authority,

(ii) one shall be appointed by election by registered dentists practising in the functional area of the Authority,

(iii) one shall be appointed by election by registered nurses (other than registered psychiatric nurses) practising in the functional area of the Authority,

(iv) one shall be appointed by election by registered psychiatric nurses practising in the functional area of the Authority, and

(v) one shall be appointed by election by registered pharmaceutical chemists and registered dispensing chemists and druggists practising in the functional area of the Authority,

(c) 9 shall be representative of voluntary service providers, appointed by the Minister, of whom—

(i) 3 shall be nominated for appointment by such persons or organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of the voluntary hospitals in the functional area of the Authority,

(ii) 3 shall be nominated for appointment by such persons or organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of the voluntary intellectual disability service providers in the functional area of the Authority, and

(iii)3 shall be nominated for appointment by such persons or organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of other voluntary service providers in the functional area of the Authority,

and

(d) 3 shall be appointed by the Minister.

(3) The Authority shall hold at least 6 meetings in each year and such other meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

(4) Subject to subsection (3), the rules set out in the Second Schedule (as amended by section 22 ) to the Principal Act, shall apply in relation to the Authority.

Regional Chief Executive.

12. —(1) Subject to subsection (3) and notwithstanding any other enactment, the Authority shall, pursuant to a recommendation from the Local Appointments Commissioners, appoint a person who shall act as the chief executive officer of the Authority and such person shall be known and in this Act referred to as the Regional Chief Executive.

(2) Subject to this Act, any reference to the chief executive officer of a health board in any Act, passed before the establishment day, or instrument made, before such day, under any such Act shall be construed as including a reference to the Regional Chief Executive.

(3) Notwithstanding section 15(1) of the Principal Act, the Minister may, before the establishment day, appoint a person who, on the establishment day, shall be deemed to have been appointed to be the Regional Chief Executive and that person shall, unless he or she otherwise dies, resigns or is removed by the Minister, hold the office for a period not exceeding 3 years.

(4) The Minister may remove a person appointed under subsection (3).

(5) Section 13(1), (3) and (8) of the Principal Act shall not apply to the Regional Chief Executive.

(6) The appointment of the Regional Chief Executive in accordance with subsection (1) shall be a reserved function.

Accountability of Regional Chief Executive.

13. —(1) The Regional Chief Executive shall, whenever required by the Committee of Dáil éireann established under the Standing Orders of Dáil éireann to examine and report to Dáil éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, give evidence to that committee on—

(a) the regularity and propriety of the transactions recorded or required to be recorded in any book or other record of account subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General which the Authority or the Area Health Boards are required by or under statute to prepare,

(b) the economy and efficiency of the Authority and the Area Health Boards in the use of their resources,

(c) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Authority and the Area Health Boards for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of their operations, and

(d) any matter affecting the Authority or any Area Health Board referred to in a special report of the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 11(2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 , or in any other report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (in so far as it relates to a matter specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)) that is laid before Dáil éireann.

(2) In the performance of his or her duties under this section, the Regional Chief Executive shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy.