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AN BILLE .ARACHAIS SLAINTE SHAORALAIGH, 1956.

VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE BILL, 1956.

Mar a tugadh isteach.

As introduced.

Vv ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS.

Section.

1.

Definitions.

2.

Establishment day.

3.

Establishment of the Board.

4.

Schemes of voluntary health insurance.

5.

Constitution of the Board.

6.

Appointment, service and remuneration of members of the Board.

7.

Removal of members of the Board.

8.

Resignation and disqualification of member of the Board.

9.
9.

Disqualification of member of either House of Oireachtas for membership of Board.

10.

Disclosure by members of the Board of interest in pro­ posed contract.

11.

Seal of the Board.

12.

Meetings and procedure of the Board.

13.

Officers and servants of the Board.

14.

Exercise of functions of the Board through managing director or its officers or servants.

15.

Pensions and gratuities to or in respect of officers and servants of the Board.

16.
16.

Loan to Board to pay expenses of establishment and preliminary expenses.

17.

Loan to Board to meet any initial losses.

18.

Power of the Board to borrow temporarily.

19.

Accounts and audits.

20.

Annual report.

21.

Furnishing of information to Minister.

22.

Non-application of Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1953.

23.

Expenses.

24.

Short title.

[No.

34 of 1956.]

AN BILLE ARACHAIS SLAINTE SHAORALAIGH, 1956.

VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE BILL, 1956.


BILL entitled AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A 5 BOARD TO BE KNOWN AS THE VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE BOARD, TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE MAKING AND CARRYING OUT BY THAT BOARD OF SCHEMES OF VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID.

10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS Definitions.

1.—In this Act— Establishment day.

Establishment of the Board.

Schemes of voluntary health insurance.


“ the Board ” means the Voluntary Health Insurance Board estab­ lished by this Act; 15 “ the establishment day ” means the day appointed to be the estab­ lishment day for the purposes of this Act by order of the Minister made under section 2 of this Act; “ the Minister ” means the Minister for Health.

2.—The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the estab- ^0 lishment day for the purposes of this Act.
3.—(1) There shall, by virtue of this section, be established on the establishment day a board to be styled and known as the Voluntary Health Insurance Board to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual suc­ cession and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of land.
4.—(1) The Board shall make and carry out a scheme of volun­ tary health insurance for defraying, to such extent as the Minister #0 may from time to time specify, the cost to persons paying subscrip­ tions to the Board in respect thereof, and to dependants of such persons, of such medical, surgical, hospital and other health ser­ vices as the Minister may from time to time specify.
(2) The Board may make and carry out such other schemes of 35 voluntary health insurance as it may think fit, subject to the con­ sent of the Minister in regard to the scope and extent of the benefits.

(3) A scheme under this section may be amended by a subse­ quent scheme made by the Board, subject to the consent of the Minister in regard to any amendment relating to the scope or 40 extent of benefits.
2 (4) The Board shall so fix the subscriptions provided for by schemes under this section that taking one year with another the revenue of the Board from subscriptions together with its other revenues (if any) shall be sufficient, but only sufficient (as nearly as 5 may be), after the Board has made such allowance as it thinks proper for reserves, depreciation and other like purposes, to meet the charges (including repayments of loans to the Minister) properly chargeable to revenue.
5.—(1) The Board shall consist of a chairman and a managing 10 director, and such number (not being more than three) of other Constitution of the Board.

members as the Minister from time to time determines.

(2) The chairman of the Board shall be that member of the Board who, at the time of his appointment to be a member of the Board or subsequently, is appointed by the Minister to be such 15 chairman.
(3) The managing director of the Board shall be that member of the Board who, at the time of his appointment to be a member of the Board or subsequently, is appointed by the Minister to be such managing director.
20 6.—(1) The Minister shall, before the establishment day, appoint such number of persons (not exceeding five) to be members of the Board as he thinks fit and the term of office of every person so appointed shall commence on the establishment day, and if any such person dies before the establishment day, a vacancy shall 25 thereby exist in the membership of the Board immediately upon its Appointment, service and remuneration of members of the Board.

establishment.
establishment.

(2) After the establishment of the Board, the members thereof shall be appointed by the Minister from time to time as occasion requires.

30 (3) The term of office of a member of the Board shall be such period, not exceeding five years, as the Minister may determine when appointing him.

(4) A member of the Board whose term of office expires by effluxion of time shall be eligible for re-appointment.
35 (5) A member of the Board shall be paid, out of funds at the disposal of the Board, such remuneration and allowances for expenses as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, determines.

(6) The managing director of the Board shall hold office on 40 such terms (other than the payment of remuneration and allow­ ances for expenses) as shall be fixed by the Minister at the time of his appointment.

7.—The Minister may at any time remove a member of the Board from office.
Removal of members of the Board.

45 8.—(1) A member of the Board may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of the receipt of the letter by the Minister.

Resignation and d isqualif icat ion of member of the Board.
(2) A member of the Board shall be disqualified from holding 50 and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors, or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer imprisonment or penal servitude or ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State.

3 Disqualification of member of either House of Oireachtas for membership of Board.
9—(1) Where a member of the Board becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas, he shall, upon his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein, cease to be a member of the Board.

(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Stand- 5 ing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall be disqualified from being a member of the Board.

Disclosure by members of the Board of interest in proposed contract.
10.—A member of the Board who has— (a) any interest in any company or concern with which the Board proposes to make any contract, or 10 (b) any interest in any contract which the Board proposes to make, shall disclose to the Board the fact of the interest and the nature thereof, and shall not be present during any discussion by the Board relating to the contract, and the disclosure shall be recorded 15 in the minutes of the Board.

Seal of the Board.
Seal of the Board.

11.—(1) The Board shall as soon as may be after its establish­ ment provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Board or some other member thereof 20 authorised by the Board to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.
(3) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Board, and every document purporting to be an instrument made by the Board 25 and to be sealed with the seal (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with this section) of the Board shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

Meetings and procedure of the Board.


12.—(1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as 30 may be necessary for the due fulfilment of its functions.

(2) The Minister may fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Board.

(3) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall, unless the Minister otherw ise directs, be three.
35 (4) At a meeting of the Board— (а) the chairman of the Board shall, if present, be chairman of the meeting, (б) if and so long as the chairman of the Board is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the members of 40 the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.
(5) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be deter­ mined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question, and in the case of an equal division of votes, the 45 chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(6) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members.

(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, the procedure and business of the 59 Board.
4 13.—(1) The Board shall appoint such and so many persons to be officers and servants of the Board as the Board from time to time thinks proper.

Officers and , servants of the Board.

(2) An officer or servant of the Board shall hold his office or 5 employment on such terms and conditions as the Board from time to time determines.

(3) There shall be paid by the Board to its officers and servants out of funds at its disposal such remuneration and allowances as the Board determines.
10 14.—The Board may exercise any of the powers and perform any of the functions and duties imposed on the Board by this Act through or by the managing director or through or by any of its officers or servants authorised by the Board in that behalf.

Exercise of functions of the Board through managing director or its officers or servants.
15.—(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, 15 make a scheme (in this section referred to as a pension scheme) for the provision of pensions or gratuities, or pensions and gratuities, for or in respect of such officers or servants of the Board as it may think fit, and any scheme so made shall be carried out by the Board.

Pensions and gratuities to or in respect of officers and servants of the Board.
20 (2) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, at any time by a subsequent pension scheme (in this subsection and in subsequent subsections of this section referred to as an amending scheme) amend a pension scheme or a previous amending scheme, and any such amending scheme may be expressed to operate 25 retrospectively.
(3) Where an amending scheme amends a pension scheme, an officer or servant to whom such pension scheme applies or applied may, within six months after the coming into operation of the amending scheme, elect not to have the amending scheme apply to 30 him and, if he does so elect, the amending scheme shall not apply to him.

(4) An amending scheme shall not terminate or reduce any pension which was, immediately before the coming into force of such amending scheme, payable under the scheme thereby amended.
35 16.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, lend, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to the Board, upon such terms and conditions as to time and manner of repayment, rate of interest, security, and other matters whatsoever as he may think proper, a sum not exceeding twenty-five thousand 40 pounds to be applied by the Board in or towards paying the expenses of the establishment of the Board and the preliminary expenses incurred by the Board in carrying out its functions under this Act and for no other purpose.
(2) Sums advanced by the Minister to the Board under this 45 section shall be repaid by the Board upon the terms and conditions laid down by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance under subsection (1) of this section, and any sums so repaid shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

Loan to Board to pay expenses of establishment and preliminary expenses.
50 17.—(l) The Minister may, from time to time during the period of five years commencing on the first day on which a subscription in respect of a scheme under section 4 of this Act is received by the Board, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, lend, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, to the Board, upon such 55 terms and conditions as to time and manner of repayment, rate of interest, security, and other matters whatsoever as he may think Loan to Board to meet any initial losses.
5 proper, a sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate twenty-five thousand pounds to be applied by the Board in or towards meeting the losses (if any) incurred by the Board during that period in carrying out its functions under this Act.
(2) Sums advanced by the Minister to the Board under this 5 section shall be repaid by the Board upon the terms and conditions laid down by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance under subsection (1) of this section, and any sums so repaid shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct.

10 Power of the Board to borrow temporarily.

18.


—The Board may borrow temporarily by arrangement with bankers such sums as it may require for the purpose of providing for current expenditure.

Accounts and audits.

19.


—(1) The Board shall keep in such form as may be approved by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, all 15 proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it, including a balance sheet and income and expenditure account, and in particular shall keep in such form as aforesaid all such special accounts as the Minister may from time to time direct.
(2) The accounts of the Board shall be audited annually by a 20 duly qualified auditor appointed for that purpose from time to time by the Board with the consent of the Minister, and the fees of the auditors and the expenses generally of the audits shall be paid by the Board.
(3) Immediately after audit under this section of the accounts 25 of the Board, the Board shall send to the Minister a copy of the balance sheet and income and expenditure account as certified by the auditors and a copy of the auditors’ report and shall publish and put on sale the said documents.

(4) The Minister shall cause copies of the documents referred 30 to in subsection (5) of this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

Annual report.

20.
Annual report.

20.

—(1) The Board shall, in each year, at such date as the Minister may direct, make tc the Minister a report of its proceed­ ings under this Act during the preceding year and the Minister 35 shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(2) Whenever the Minister so directs, such annual report shall also include information on such particular aspects of the Board s proceedings under this Act as the Minister may specify.
40 Furnishing of information to Minister.

21.

—The Board shall submit to the Minister such information regarding its proceedings under this Act as he may from time to time require.

Non-application of Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1953.

22.

—The Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1953, shall not apply in relation to the Board, in relation to any person who pays a sub- ^ scription to the Board or in relation to any scheme under section 4 of this Act.

Expenses.

23.
Expenses.

23.

—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administra­ tion of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the 50 Oireachtas.

Short title.

24.—This Act may be cited as the Voluntary Health Insurance Act, 1956.

6 AN BILLE ARACHAIS SLAINTE SHAORALAIGH, 1956.

VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE BILL, 1956.


BILLE (mar a tugadh isteach) da ngairmtear BILL (as introduced) entitled Acht do dheanamh socruithe chun bord a bhunu ar a dtabharfar an Bord Arachais Slainte Shaoralaigh, do dheanamh socruithe chun go ndeanfaidh an Bord sin, agus go gcuir- fidh i gcrich, sceimeanna arachais slainte shaoralaigh, agus do dheanamh socruithe i dtaobh nithe a bhaineas leis na nithe reamh- raite.
An Act to provide for the establishment of a board to be known as the Voluntary Health Insurance Board, to make provision for the making and carrying out by that Board of schemes of voluntary health insurance and to provide for matters connected with the matters aforesaid.

An tAire Slainte a thug isteach.

Introduced by the Minister for Health.

Do hordaiodh ag Dail Eireann a chlobhualadh, 24 Deireadh Fomhair, 1956.

Ordered by Dail Eireann io be printed, 21th October, 1956.
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