Health Authorities Act, 1960
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: —(1) In this Act—
“the Cork Corporation” means the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Cork;
“the Dublin Corporation” means the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Dublin;
“the DÃºn Laoghaire Corporation” means the Corporation of DÃºn Laoghaire;
“functions” includes powers and duties;
“the Limerick Corporation” means the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Limerick;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;
“sanitary authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 1952;
“the Waterford Corporation” means the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Waterford.
(2) A reference in this Act to performance of functions includes, with respect to powers, a reference to exercise of powers.
(3) A reference in this Act to any other enactment shall, except so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.
num: 2
paragraphs: —(1) There is hereby established a body which shall be known as the Dublin Health Authority.
(2) The Dublin Health Authority shall consist of nine members appointed by the council of the county of Dublin, fifteen members appointed by Dublin Corporation and three members appointed by the DÃºn Laoghaire Corporation.
(3) The Minister may by regulations substitute different numbers for all or any of the numbers specified in subsection (2) of this section and, while any such regulations are in force, that subsection shall have effect accordingly.
(4) The functional area of the Dublin Health Authority shall consist of the county borough of Dublin and the administrative county of Dublin, together with, with respect to functions related to the operation of services under the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, the administrative county of Wicklow.
(5) (a) Three members of the council of the county of Wicklow shall be appointed by resolution by that council for the purposes of this subsection.
(b) The persons appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be entitled to be present at meetings of the Dublin Health Authority and, as respects business at any such meeting relating to the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, to take part in discussions and to vote in like manner as if they were members of the Dublin Health Authority.
(c) The following provisions shall have effect for the purpose of this subsection:
(i) the appointment of persons shall be carried out, in the case of the first appointment, at the meeting of the council of the county of Wicklow held next after the establishment of the Dublin Health Authority, and thereafter at the annual meeting of the council held next after every quinquennial election of members of the council;
(ii) every person appointed shall hold office as a person appointed for the purposes of this subsection (unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified) until the day after his successor has been appointed;
(iii) where a person appointed ceases to be, or is disqualified for being, a member of the council, he shall also cease to be, or be disqualified for being, appointed for the purposes of this subsection;
(iv) a person appointed may resign by giving notice in writing signed by him to the secretary of the council, but the resignation shall not become effective until the meeting of the council held next after the receipt of the notice given to the secretary;
(v) a casual vacancy occurring among the persons appointed shall be filled by the council within one month after the occurrence of the vacancy or within such further time as the Minister may allow.
(6) (a) Subsection (5) of this section shall cease to have effect on its being so provided by order made by the Minister.
(b) An order under this subsection shall not be made save upon request made by the council of the county of Wicklow by resolution.
(7) Where it is proposed to make regulations under this section, a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.
num: 3
paragraphs: —(1) There is hereby established a body which shall be known as the Cork Health Authority.
(2) The Cork Health Authority shall consist of twenty-eight members appointed by the council of the county of Cork and twelve members appointed by the Cork Corporation.
(3) The Minister may by regulations substitute a different number for either of the numbers specified in subsection (2) of this section, or substitute different numbers for both of those numbers, and, while any such regulations are in force, that subsection shall have effect accordingly.
(4) The functional area of the Cork Health Authority shall consist of the county borough of Cork and the administrative county of Cork.
(5) Where it is proposed to make regulations under this section, a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.
num: 4
paragraphs: —(1) There is hereby established a body which shall be known as the Limerick Health Authority.
(2) The Limerick Health Authority shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the council of the county of Limerick and eight members appointed by the Limerick Corporation.
(3) The Minister may by regulations substitute a different number for either of the numbers specified in subsection (2) of this section, or substitute different numbers for both of those numbers, and, while any such regulations are in force, that subsection shall have effect accordingly.
(4) The functional area of the Limerick Health Authority shall consist of the county borough of Limerick and the administrative county of Limerick.
(5) Where it is proposed to make regulations under this section, a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.
num: 5
paragraphs: —(1) There is hereby established a body which shall be known as the Waterford Health Authority.
(2) The Waterford Health Authority shall consist of twelve members appointed by the council of the county of Waterford and seven members appointed by the Waterford Corporation.
(3) The Minister may by regulations substitute a different number for either of the numbers specified in subsection (2) of this section, or substitute different numbers for both of those numbers, and, while any such regulations are in force, that subsection shall have effect accordingly.
(4) The functional area of the Waterford Health Authority shall consist of the county borough of Waterford and the administrative county of Waterford.
(5) Where it is proposed to make regulations under this section, a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.
num: 6
paragraphs: —The following provisions shall have effect in relation to a health authority established by this Act:
(a) the authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession;
(b) the authority may sue and be sued in their corporate name and may hold and dispose of land;
(c) the authority shall provide and have a common seal and all courts of justice shall take judicial notice of such seal;
(d) notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, the members of the authority who are appointed by the council of a county shall be members of that council and the members of the authority who are appointed by the corporation of a county or other borough shall be members of the city or borough council for that borough;
num: 7
paragraphs: —(1) A health authority established by this Act shall perform all the functions which, immediately before such establishment were performed by the relevant local authorities under, in relation to the operation of services provided under, or in connection with the administration of, the following enactments:
(a) the Health Acts, 1947 to 1958,
(b) the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958,
(c) the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ,
(d) the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1952,
(e) the Notification of Births Acts, 1907 and 1915,
(f) the Acts relating to the registration of marriages,
(g) the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1936,
(h) Part I of the Children Act, 1908, and sections 2 and 3 of the Children (Amendment) Act, 1957 ,
(i) the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919 ,
(j) the Blind Persons Act, 1920 ,
(k) the State Lands (Workhouses) Act, 1930 ,
(l) the Registration of Maternity Homes Act, 1934 ,
(m) the Midwives Act, 1944 , as amended by the Nurses Act, 1950 and section 60 of the Nurses Act, 1950 ,
(n) section 3 of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1946 ,
(o) the Adoption Act, 1952 .
(2) In subsection (1) of this section “the relevant local authorities” means—
(a) with respect to the Dublin Health Authority—the council of the county of Dublin, the Dublin Corporation, the Dublin Board of Assistance, the Rathdown Board of Assistance, the Balrothery Board of Assistance and the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board;
(b) with respect to the Cork Health Authority—the council of the county of Cork, the Cork Corporation, the Board of Public Assistance for the South Cork Public Assistance District, the Cork Sanatoria Board and the Cork Mental Hospital Board;
(c) with respect to the Limerick Health Authority—the council of the county of Limerick, the Limerick Corporation and the Limerick Mental Hospital Board;
(d) with respect to the Waterford Health Authority—the council of the county of Waterford, the Waterford Corporation, the Board of Public Assistance for the Waterford Public Assistance District and the Waterford Mental Hospital Board.
(3) Where, with respect to a public general infirmary for a county and a county borough included in the functional area of a health authority established by this Act, there existed, immediately before the establishment of the health authority, any function under statute of a local authority to make any payment to the infirmary, that function shall, on such establishment, become by virtue of this subsection a function of the health authority.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , the functional area of a health authority established by this Act shall, on such establishment, become a public assistance district for the purposes of that Act and the health authority shall be the public assistance authority for the public assistance district.
num: 8
paragraphs: —(1) A health authority established by this Act shall be a joint body within the meaning and for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1955.
(2) A health authority established by this Act shall be a local authority within the meaning and for the purposes of—
(a) the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1959,
(b) the Local Authorities (Combined Purchasing) Act, 1925 ,
(c) the Local Authorities (Mutual Assurance) Acts, 1926 to 1935,
(d) the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Acts, 1926 and 1940,
(e) the Juries Act, 1927 ,
(f) the Local Authorities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1936 ,
(g) the Local Authorities (Combined Purchasing) Act, 1939 ,
(h) the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1948, and the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956.
(3) The Minister shall perform—
(a) ministerial functions under the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (except section 12), the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) (Amendment) Act, 1940 , and the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1959, in relation to the following offices and employments and holders thereof, that is to say, offices and employments under a health authority established by this Act other than those in respect of which ministerial functions under the said Acts are for the time being vested in the Minister for Social Welfare, and
(b) ministerial functions under Part IV of the Local Government Act, 1941 , in relation to a health authority established by this Act,
but ministerial functions with respect to the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Health Authority shall not be performed by the Minister save after consultation with the Minister for Local Government.
num: 9
paragraphs: —The expression “health authority” in any Act passed before the commencement of this section, or in any order, regulation or other instrument made before the commencement of this section in exercise of a power conferred by any such Act, shall—
(a) include a health authority established by this Act, and
(b) not include the council of a county or corporation of a county borough who appoint members of a health authority established by this Act.
num: 10
paragraphs: —(1) (a) Where a local authority (whether the council of a county or the corporation of a county or other borough) who appoint members of a health authority established by this Act by resolution so decide, there shall stand established a local committee of the health authority for, in case the local authority are the council of the county of Dublin, the County Health District of Dublin or, in any other case, the functional area of the local authority, and the members of the committee shall consist of the members of the health authority appointed by the local authority and such other persons as the local authority may appoint from time to time (being, notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, members of the council of the county or the city or borough council for the borough).
(b) Where the council of a county who appoint members of a health authority established by this Act by resolution so decide, there shall stand established a local committee of the health authority for a specified part, in case the council are the council of the county of Dublin, of the County Health District of Dublin or, in any other case, of the county, and the members of the committee shall consist of such of the members of the health authority appointed by the council as are representative of that part of the County Health District of Dublin or the county and such other persons (being, notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, members of the council and being representative of that part of the County Health District of Dublin or the county) as the council may from time to time appoint.
(c) Not more than three committees shall stand established under this subsection at the same time at the instance of the same council of a county.
(2) (a) In relation to the area for which a committee of a health authority under this section was established and as respects such services as, in the case of the committee, are specified by regulations made by the Minister for the purpose of this subsection, there shall stand delegated to the committee the functions of the members of the health authority under section 27 of the County Management Act, 1940 , and section 2 of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955 , and, where appropriate for the purposes of the said delegation, any reference in those sections to an elective body shall be construed as including a reference to the committee.
(b) The fact that functions of a health authority stand delegated under the foregoing paragraph shall not prevent the health authority from themselves exercising those functions.
(3) The quorum, procedure and place of meeting of a committee established under this section shall be such as may be appointed by rules to be made by the local authority who appointed the committee.
num: 11
paragraphs: —(1) The expenses (other than those incurred under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) of the Dublin Health Authority shall be contributed as follows:
(a) for the local financial year in which the Dublin Health Authority are established—by the Dublin Corporation and the councils of the counties of Dublin and Wicklow in such proportions as those authorities may agree upon with the consent of the Minister or, failing such agreement being made within a period of six months (or such longer period as may be approved of by the Minister) after the day of the establishment of the Dublin Health Authority, in such proportions as may be determined by a person appointed for the purpose by the Minister;
(b) for subsequent local financial years—by the Dublin Corporation, the D[html]n Laoghaire Corporation and the councils of the counties of Dublin and Wicklow in such proportions as those authorities may agree upon with the consent of the Minister or, failing such agreement being made within a period of six months (or such longer period as may be approved of by the Minister) after the day of the establishment of the Dublin Health Authority, in such proportions as may be determined by a person appointed for the purpose by the Minister.
(2) (a) For the local financial year in which the Dublin Health Authority are established—
(i) the Dublin Corporation shall supply to the Authority the moneys required to meet the expenses incurred by the Authority under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , in relation to persons in the county borough of Dublin, and
(ii) the council of the county of Dublin shall supply to the Authority the moneys required to meet the expenses so incurred in relation to persons in the county of Dublin.
(b) For subsequent local financial years—
(i) the Dublin Corporation shall supply to the Dublin Health Authority the moneys required to meet the expenses incurred by the Authority under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , in relation to persons in the county borough of Dublin,
(ii) the council of the county of Dublin shall supply to the Authority the moneys required to meet the expenses so incurred in relation to persons in the County Health District of Dublin, and
(iii) the DÃºn Laoghaire Corporation shall supply to the Authority the moneys required to meet the expenses so incurred in relation to persons in the borough of DÃºn Laoghaire.
(3) The expenses (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) of a health authority (other than the Dublin Health Authority) established by this Act shall be contributed, by the local authorities who appoint members of the health authority, in such proportions as those authorities may agree upon with the consent of the Minister or, failing such agreement being made within a period of six months (or such longer period as may be approved of by the Minister) after the day of the establishment of the health authority, in such proportions as may be determined by a person appointed for the purpose by the Minister.
(4) A person in making a determination under this section in relation to a health authority established by this Act shall have regard to—
(a) the cost in respect of each area concerned, during the five local financial years next preceding that in which the health authority became established, of the operation of services which have become transferred to the health authority,
(b) the principles which have previously governed the allocation of the expenses of joint bodies operating any of those services.
(5) An agreement or determination under this section shall have effect as from the establishment of the health authority to whom it relates.
(6) (a) An agreement under this section may be varied—
(i) by agreement between the authorities concerned made with the consent of the Minister, or
(ii) by a person whom the Minister, acting at the request of one of the authorities concerned, appoints to review the agreement.
(b) A determination under this section may be varied—
(i) by agreement between the authorities concerned made with the consent of the Minister, or
(ii) by a person whom the Minister, acting either at the request of one of the authorities concerned or on his own initiative, appoints to review the determination.
(7) A local authority who appoint members of a health authority established by this Act (other than the Dublin Health Authority) shall supply to the health authority the moneys required to meet the expenses incurred by the health authority under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , in relation to persons in the functional area of the local authority.
(8) A contribution by the council of the county of Dublin to the expenditure of the Dublin Health Authority in respect of any local financial year other than that in which the Authority are established shall be charged on the County Health District of Dublin.
(9) All moneys required by this section to be supplied by the council of a county or the corporation of a county or other borough shall be supplied on demand made by the relevant health authority in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for Local Government.
(10) Nothing in this section shall be taken as preventing a demand by the council of the county of Dublin being made on, and being met by, the DÃºn Laoghaire Corporation, at any time after the local financial year in which the Dublin Health Authority are established, to provide for adjustments in respect of expenditure, for that year or any earlier local financial year, on the services which are transferred to that authority.
(11) Without prejudice to, and subject to any adjustments arising from, the provisions of this Act in relation to the proportions in which the expenditure of health authorities established by this Act are to be met—
(a) a local authority who appoint members of a health authority established by this Act shall pay to that authority in the local financial year in which that authority are established—
(i) any moneys included in their estimates of expenses for services administered by them which are transferred to the health authority which, at the date of the establishment of that authority, have not been expended, and
(ii) any moneys demanded from them by a body dissolved by section 15 of this Act which, at the date of such establishment, have not been paid to that body, and
(b) the council of the county of Wicklow shall pay to the Dublin Health Authority, in the local financial year in which that authority are established, any moneys demanded from that council by the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board which, at the date of such establishment, have not been paid to that board.
(12) An agreement under this section between two or more local authorities shall be made by resolutions of those authorities.
num: 12
paragraphs: —(1) (a) In this subsection “the Authority” means the Dublin Health Authority.
(b) Pending the making of an agreement or determination pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 11 of this Act, the expenses (other than those incurred under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) of the Authority for the local financial year in which the Authority are established shall be contributed by the Dublin Corporation and the councils of the counties of Dublin and Wicklow in proportion to their respective expenditures (as estimated by them respectively subject to the approval of the Minister), on the services (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) for their respective areas which have been transferred to the Authority, in the local financial year preceding that in which the Authority are established.
(c) Pending the making of an agreement or determination pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 11 of this Act, the expenses (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) of the Authority for the local financial years subsequent to that in which the Authority are established shall be contributed by the Dublin Corporation, the council of the county of Wicklow, the council of the county of Dublin, and the D[html]n Laoghaire Corporation in proportion to the following sums:
(i) the expenditure by the Dublin Corporation (as estimated by them subject to the approval of the Minister), on the services (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) which have been transferred to the Authority, in the local financial year immediately preceding that in which the Authority are established,
(ii) the expenditure by the council of the county of Wicklow (as estimated by them subject to the approval of the Minister), on services under the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, in that year,
(iii) the sum obtained by multiplying the expenditure by the council of the county of Dublin (as estimated by them subject to the approval of the Minister), on the services (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) which have been transferred to the Authority, in that year by the part of the total expenditure by that council (as estimated by them) in that year which was chargeable on the county-at-large and which was levied on the County Health District of Dublin, and dividing the result of the multiplication by the said total expenditure,
(iv) the sum obtained by multiplying the expenditure by the council of the county of Dublin (as estimated by them subject to the approval of the Minister), on the services (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) which have been transferred to the Authority, in that year by the part of the total expenditure by that council (as estimated by them) in that year which was chargeable on the county-at-large and which was levied on the borough of DÃºn Laoghaire, and dividing the result of the multiplication by the said total expenditure.
(2) Pending the making of an agreement or determination pursuant to subsection (3) of section 11 of this Act, the expenses (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) of a health authority (other than the Dublin Health Authority) established by this Act shall be contributed, by the local authorities who appoint members of the health authority, in proportion to their respective expenditures (as estimated by them respectively subject to the approval of the Minister), on the services (other than those under the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ) which have been transferred to the health authority, in the local financial year immediately preceding that in which the health authority became established.
(3) An allocation of expenses pursuant to this section shall be subject to the relevant agreement or determination pursuant to section 11 of this Act when that agreement or determination has been made, and the appropriate adjustments shall be made accordingly.
(4) In this section, a reference to expenditure shall be construed as not including a reference to capital expenditure defrayed out of borrowed moneys.
num: 13
paragraphs: —In applying the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955 , to a health authority established by this Act, the sections set out in the Second Schedule to this Act shall be substituted for sections 9 and 10 of that Act.
num: 14
paragraphs: —(1) In this section—
“the Act” means the Health Services (Financial Provisions) Act, 1947 ;
“net health expenditure” and “standard year” have the same meanings as in the Act.
(2) The standard expenditure for the purposes of the Act for a health authority established by this Act shall be the aggregate of the standard expenditures for those purposes of the local authorities who appoint members of the health authority, with the addition, in the case of the Dublin Health Authority, of the proportion chargeable to the council of the county of Wicklow of the net health expenditure of the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board in respect of the standard year.
(3) In respect of each local financial year after that in which the Dublin Health Authority is established, the standard expenditure for the purposes of the Act for the council of the county of Wicklow shall be reduced by an amount equal to the proportion chargeable to that council of the net health expenditure of the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board in respect of the standard year.
(4) A health authority established by this Act shall, in respect of the local financial year in which they are established, be a joint authority within the meaning of and for the purposes of the Act, but shall not be such a joint authority in respect of any subsequent local financial year.
(5) As respects local financial years up to (and inclusive of) that in which a health authority established by this Act are established, the expression “health authority” in the Act shall, notwithstanding section 9 of this Act, be construed as continuing to include a reference to the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough who appoint members of that health authority, and as not including a reference to that health authority.
(6) A health authority established by this Act shall make every payment which—
(a) is in respect of any local financial year after that in which that health authority are established,
(b) would, but for this subsection, be made by a local authority who appoint members of that health authority, and
(c) would, but for this Act, be part of the net health expenditure for the purposes of the Act of that local authority in respect of that local financial year.
num: 15
paragraphs: —(1) (a) The Dublin Board of Assistance, the Rathdown Board of Assistance, the Balrothery Board of Assistance, the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board and the Dublin Fever Hospital Board shall, by virtue of this subsection, be dissolved and cease to exist.
num: 16
paragraphs: —(1) In this section “appointing local authority” means, in relation to a health authority, a local authority appointing members of the health authority.
(2) On the establishment of a health authority established by this Act, the following property, namely:
(a) all property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action) which, immediately before the establishment, was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for an appointing local authority and was property which was solely for the purposes of services to be transferred on the establishment to the health authority, and
(b) all other property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which, immediately before the establishment, was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for an appointing local authority and stood designated by that authority as property to be transferred to the health authority,
and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property, shall, without any conveyance or assignment but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation, or company, become and be vested in or the property of or held in trust for (as the case may require) the health authority for all the estate, term, or interest for which the same immediately before the establishment was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for the appointing local authority, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the same and then subsisting and capable of being performed.
(3) All property transferred by subsection (2) of this section to a health authority established by this Act which, immediately before the establishment, was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation, or company in the name of an appointing local authority shall, upon the request of the health authority made at any time after the establishment, be transferred in such books by such bank, corporation or company into the name of the health authority.
(4) Every chose-in-action transferred by subsection (2) of this section to a health authority established by this Act may, after the establishment, be sued upon, recovered, or enforced by the health authority in their own name and it shall not be necessary for the health authority to give notice to the person bound by such chose-in-action of the transfer effected by that subsection.
(5) After the establishment of a health authority established by this Act, every bond, guarantee, or other security of a continuing character made or given by an appointing local authority to another person, or by any person to an appointing local authority, which was in force immediately before the establishment and which related solely to services to be transferred on the establishment to the health authority, and every contract or agreement in writing made between an appointing local authority and another person which was not fully executed and completed before the establishment and which related solely to services to be transferred on the establishment to the health authority shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the health authority were substituted therein for the name of the appointing local authority, and such security, contract or agreement shall be enforceable by or against the health authority accordingly.
(6) After the establishment of a health authority established by this Act, every rule and regulation lawfully made by an appointing local authority which was in force immediately before the establishment and which related solely to services to be transferred on the establishment to the health authority shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as a rule or regulation (as the case may be) made on the establishment by the health authority for the residue then unexpired of the period and in respect of the area for and in respect of which the same was actually made by the appointing local authority, and accordingly every such rule and regulation may be continued, varied or revoked, and penalties and forfeitures arising thereunder before or after the establishment may be recovered and enforced, by the health authority in the like manner and as fully as the same could have been continued, varied, revoked, recovered or enforced by the appointing local authority if this Act had not been passed.
(7) After the establishment of a health authority established by this Act, every resolution passed, order made, and notice served by an appointing local authority before the establishment the operation, effect or term of which had not ceased or expired before the establishment (being a resolution, order or notice relating solely to services to be transferred on the establishment to the health authority) shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as if it were a resolution passed, order made, or notice served by the health authority on the date on which the same was actually passed, made or served by the appointing local authority and as if the functions of the appointing local authority were, on the said date, performable by the health authority.
(8) All loan charges which, being in respect of money borrowed for the purposes of property transferred by subsection (2) of this section to a health authority established by this Act, become payable after the establishment shall be payable by the health authority.
num: 17
paragraphs: —(1) Upon the establishment of a health authority established by this Act, every officer of each local authority appointing members of the health authority who, immediately before the establishment, was an officer to be transferred under this subsection shall become an officer of the health authority and, for the purposes of any enactment relating to superannuation, his office under the local authority shall be deemed not to have been abolished.
(2) In subsection (1) of this section the reference to an officer to be transferred under that subsection shall be construed as referring to any of the following officers other than an Assistant County Manager or an Assistant City Manager:
(a) any officer whose duties relate solely to services which, on the establishment of the health authority, are to become transferred to the health authority, and
(b) any officer, other than an officer referred to in the foregoing paragraph, who has been designated by the local authority appointing members of the health authority as an officer to be transferred under that subsection.
(3) Where, immediately before the establishment of a health authority established by this Act, the Local Appointments Commissioners were engaged in the selection of a person or persons to be recommended for appointment to an office of which a holder would be transferred to the health authority pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the selection shall be completed in such manner as the Commissioners think proper, and the person or one of the persons so selected and recommended by the Commissioners for appointment shall be appointed by the health authority as if the selection and recommendation were made on a request made under section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , by the health authority after their establishment.
(4) Any question arising as to whether a particular officer or officers of a particular class is or are transferred pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be referred to and decided by—
(a) in case ministerial functions under the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1959, in relation to that officer or officers of that class are for the time being vested in the Minister for Social Welfare—that Minister, and
(b) in any other case—the Minister.
(5) Every contract of service express or implied which was in force immediately before the establishment of a health authority established by this Act between a local authority appointing members of the health authority and any person who was not an officer of the local authority and who was a person to be transferred under this subsection shall continue in force after the establishment, but shall be construed and have effect as if the health authority were substituted therein for the local authority, and every such contract shall be enforceable by or against the health authority accordingly.
(6) In subsection (5) of this section the reference to a person to be transferred under that subsection shall be construed as referring to—
(a) any person engaged solely in relation to services which, on the establishment of the health authority, are to become transferred to the health authority, and
(b) any person, other than a person referred to in the foregoing paragraph, who has been designated by the local authority appointing members of the health authority as a person to be transferred under that subsection.
(7) Any question arising in relation to subsection (5) of this section as to whether a particular person or persons of a particular class was or were a person or persons to be transferred under that subsection shall be referred to and decided by—
(a) in case ministerial functions under the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 1959, in relation to that person or persons of that class are for the time being vested in the Minister for Social Welfare—that Minister, and
(b) in any other case—the Minister.
num: 18
paragraphs: —(1) There is hereby established the office of chief executive officer under the Dublin Health Authority and the title of holders of that office shall be Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Health Authority.
(2) With respect to functions in relation to the Dublin Health Authority, section 13 of the County Management Act, 1940 , and subsection (9) of section 17 of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955 —
(a) shall apply in relation to the Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Health Authority in the same way as they apply in relation to a Dublin Assistant City Manager, and
(b) shall not apply otherwise.
(3) The following provisions shall have effect with respect to the application of section 17 of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955 , to a health authority established by this Act:
(a) subsection (10) of the section shall be construed as if “for Health”were inserted before “as an approved officer”;
(b) where a delegation is made under the section to an officer of the Dublin Health Authority, that officer shall, without prejudice to paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of the section, perform the delegated function under the supervision of the Chief Executive Officer of the Dublin Health Authority.
num: 19
paragraphs: —(1) There is hereby established the office of chief medical officer under a health authority established by this Act and the title of holders of that office shall be__________Chief Medical Officer (with a reference to the relevant area prefixed).
(2) The chief medical officer under a health authority established by this Act shall advise the health authority generally in relation to the health of the people and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him in relation to the functions of the health authority or the functions of any sanitary authority in the functional area of the health authority.
(3) The provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 10 and section 20 of the Local Government Act, 1941 , relating to the duties of officers and of subsections (2) and (6) of the said section 10 relating to appeals shall apply in relation to the office of chief medical officer under a health authority established by this Act as if it were also an office under the sanitary authority of every sanitary district in the functional area of that health authority.
(4) The expression “chief medical officer” in the Health Act, 1947 , shall include a chief medical officer under a health authority established by this Act.
(5) On the commencement with respect to a health authority of this section—
(a) section 69 of the Health Act, 1947 , shall cease to apply to the county in the functional area of the health authority, and
(b) section 71 of that Act shall cease to apply to the county borough in that area.
(6) The following provisions shall apply in relation to a person who, immediately before the commencement with respect to a health authority established by this Act of this section, held, in a permanent capacity, either the office of city medical officer for the county borough the corporation of which appoint members of the health authority or the office of county medical officer for the county the council of which appoint members thereof—
(a) such person shall, upon such commencement, become and be the chief medical officer under this section of the health authority,
(b) the first-mentioned office shall, for the purposes of any enactment relating to superannuation, be deemed not to have been abolished.
(7) The following provisions shall apply in relation to a person who, immediately before the commencement with respect to a health authority established by this Act of this section, stood transferred to the service of the health authority in accordance with this Act, being a person who, immediately before that transfer, held, in a permanent capacity, either the office of city medical officer for the county borough the corporation of which appoint members of the health authority or the office of county medical officer for the county the council of which appoint members thereof—
(a) such person shall, upon such commencement, become and be the chief medical officer under this section of the health authority,
(b) such person shall cease to hold the office which, immediately before such commencement, he held under the health authority, but that office shall, for the purposes of any enactment relating to superannuation, be deemed not to have been abolished.
num: 20
paragraphs: —(1) Where, immediately before the commencement of this section with respect to a health authority,—
(a) a person held in a permanent capacity the office of city medical officer for the county borough the corporation of which appoint members of the health authority, and
(b) a person held in a permanent capacity the office of county medical officer for the county the council of which appoint members thereof,
then, if either such person, at any time while they are both in the service of the health authority, intimates to the Minister that he is willing to be appointed to an office, then vacant, of county medical officer for a county other than the county the council of which appoint members of the health authority, the Minister may by order direct the council of the county in which the vacancy exists so to appoint him.
(2) The council of a county to whom a direction is given under subsection (1) of this section shall forthwith comply with the direction and the provisions of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Acts, 1926 to 1940, shall not apply to the appointment.
num: 21
paragraphs: —(1) A sanitary authority may, if at any time they are not satisfied with—
(a) the assignment of duties in relation to any of their functions to an officer or a class of officers to whom this section applies, or
(b) the performance of duties assigned in relation to any of their functions to an officer or a class of officers to whom this section applies,
request the Minister to issue a direction to the health authority concerned to provide for a satisfactory assignment or satisfactory performance (as may be appropriate) of such duties.
(2) After considering a request under subsection (1) of this section and any representations made in relation to the request by the health authority concerned, the Minister may issue such direction (if any) as he thinks fit to the health authority in relation to the assignment or performance of the duties referred to in the request, and the health authority shall forthwith comply with any such direction.
(3) This section applies to any officer under a health authority established by this Act who holds an office in relation to which the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 10 and section 20 of the Local Government Act, 1941 , apply as if it were also an office under the sanitary authority of every sanitary district in the functional area of that health authority.
num: 22
paragraphs: —(1) The 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 shall, by virtue of this section, become vested in the health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , in whose functional area such person is ordinarily resident.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall have effect subject to the proviso that the general duty referred to therein shall, in the case of a person ordinarily resident in the county of Wicklow, become vested in the Dublin Health Authority and not in the council of the county of Wicklow.
(3) In any Act passed before the commencement of this subsection, or in any order, regulation or other instrument made before the commencement of this subsection in exercise of a power conferred by any such Act,—
(a) any reference to a mental hospital authority shall be construed as a reference to—
(i) a health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , in their capacity as an authority performing functions under the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, or
(ii) a joint board performing functions under those Acts;
(b) any reference to a mental hospital district shall be construed as a reference to the functional area of a health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , or, in the case of two or more health authorities within that meaning performing their functions jointly, to their functional areas combined;
(c) any reference to a district mental hospital shall be construed as a reference to a health institution within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , designated by the authority maintaining it as a district mental hospital;
(d) any reference to an auxiliary mental hospital shall be construed as a reference to a health institution within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , designated by the authority maintaining it as an auxiliary mental hospital.
(4) (a) The Minister shall, by order under section 45 of the Health Act, 1953 , which shall be expressed to come into operation on the commencement of this section, provide for and authorise joint action by the relevant health authorities in the performance of the relevant functions of each authority as respects the whole of their functional area and for that purpose establish a joint board.
num: 23
paragraphs: —(1) Any function with respect to which a resolution is provided for by this Act shall be a reserved function.
(2) In this section “reserved function” means—
(a) as respects the corporation of a county borough—a reserved function for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough,
(b) as respects the council of a county or the DÃºn Laoghaire Corporation—a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1955.
num: 24
paragraphs: —(1) All elections made under subsection (4) of section 5 of the Waterford Infirmary Act, 1896, after the establishment of the Waterford Health Authority shall be made by that Authority.
(2) In the case of the South Cork Charitable Infirmary and the North Cork Infirmary, all appointments of members of the joint committee which, apart from this subsection, would be made under subsection (2) of section 15 of the Local Government Act, 1898 , by the council of the county of Cork or the Cork Corporation shall, after the establishment of the Cork Health Authority, be made by that Authority.
(3) Section 53 and subsection (2) of section 54 of the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , shall not apply to a public assistance district consisting of a county borough and a county included in the functional area of a health authority established by this Act.
(4) Section 86 of the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , is hereby amended—
(a) by inserting “and any health authority established under the Health Authorities Act, 1960 ,” after “corporation of a county borough” in subsection (1);
(b) by substituting “health authority in whose functional area” for “public assistance authority for the public assistance district in which” in paragraph (c) of subsection (2);
(c) by substituting “health authority” for “public assistance authority” in both paragraph (d) and paragraph (e) of subsection (2).
(5) The provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 10 and section 20 of the Local Government Act, 1941 , relating to the duties of officers and of subsections (2) and (6) of the said section 10 relating to appeals shall apply in relation to any office under a health authority established by this Act the duties of which require the holder thereof to assist the chief medical officer (or a county or city medical officer) under that health authority in the performance of his duties as if it were also an office under the sanitary authority of every sanitary district in the functional area of that health authority.
(6) Subsection (2a) of section 6 of the Tuberculosis (Establishment of Sanatoria) Act, 1945 , is hereby amended by the insertion of “or a health authority established by the Health Authorities Act, 1960 ,” after “ Health Act, 1953 ,” and of “or ‘health authority established by the Health Authorities Act, 1960 ’ (as may be appropriate) after ‘joint board ’”.
(7) Subsection (1) of section 2 of the Health Act, 1947 , is hereby amended as follows:
(i) in the definition of the expression “the manager”, the following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph (b):
“(b) as respects a health authority which is the council of a county or a health authority established by the Health Authorities Act, 1960 —the manager for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1955;”,
(ii) in the definition of the expression “medical officer of health” there shall be inserted “or any other medical officer who is an assistant to a chief medical officer” after “county borough”.
(8) In the application of section 69 of the Health Act, 1947 , to a county the council of which appoint members of a health authority established by this Act, the references in subsection (2) to the council of a county shall be construed as references to that health authority.
(9) Section 70 of the Health Act, 1947 , shall not apply to a county the council of which appoint members of a health authority established by this Act.
(10) In the application of section 71 of the Health Act, 1947 , to a county borough the corporation of which appoint members of a health authority established by this Act—
(a) the reference in subsection (1) to the functions of the corporation of the county borough shall be construed as including a reference to the functions of that health authority, and
(b) the reference in subsection (2) to the corporation of the county borough shall be construed as a reference to that health authority.
(11) Section 72 of the Health Act, 1947 , shall not apply to a county borough in the functional area of a health authority established by this Act.
(12) (a) Subsection (1) of section 4 of the Meath Hospital Act, 1951 , shall have effect, on and after the first Monday in April in the first election year within the meaning of that Act in which, on the first Monday in April, the Dublin Health Authority stand established and the first appointments of members thereof stand completed, as if—
(i) the following paragraph were substituted for paragraph (a):
“(a) eleven members (in this Act referred to as health authority members) elected in accordance with section 4A of this Act,”;
(ii) paragraph (c) and “(c),” in paragraph (f) were deleted.
(b) The following section is hereby inserted after section 4 of the Meath Hospital Act, 1951 :
“4A. (1) The Dublin Health Authority shall in each election year, on or before the first Monday in April in that election year, elect eleven members to act as health authority members, and the term of office of every person so elected shall commence on the day next following the said first Monday.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the first election year in which the Dublin Health Authority stand established if, on the first Monday in April in that year, the first appointments of members of that Authority do not stand completed.
(3) Every health authority member elected at an election held under subsection (1) of this section shall, unless he sooner dies or resigns, hold office until the expiration of the first Monday in April in the next election year.
(4) Whenever a health authority member dies or resigns, the Dublin Health Authority shall, as soon as conveniently may be, elect a person to fill the vacancy and the person so elected shall hold office for the period for which the health authority member dying or resigning would have held office if he had not died or resigned.”
(c) Subsection (2) of section 5 and subsection (2) of section 7 of the Meath Hospital Act, 1951 , shall not apply in relation to the first election year within the meaning of that Act in which, on the first day of April, the Dublin Health Authority stand established and the first appointments of members thereof stand completed or in relation to any subsequent election year within that meaning.
(13) Subsection (4) of section 45 of the Health Act, 1953 , is hereby amended:
(a) by the insertion in paragraph (h) of “or the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958,” after “or this Act”;
(b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (h):
“(i) the board shall appoint a banking company to act as their treasurer.”
(14) Section 48 of the Health Act, 1953 , is hereby amended:
(a) by the insertion of “, Limerick” after “Cork” in subsection (1);
(b) by the deletion of subsection (7);
(c) by the insertion of the following paragraph in subsection (8) after paragraph (a):
“(aa) the county borough of Limerick and the county of Limerick,”.
num: 25
paragraphs: —(1) On the commencement of this section, the following portions of this Act shall cease to have effect:—
(a) the words “together with, with respect to functions related to the operation of services under the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, the administrative county of Wicklow” in subsection (4) of section 2;
(b) subsection (5) of section 2;
(c) the words “with the addition, in the case of the Dublin Health Authority, of the proportion chargeable to the council of the county of Wicklow of the net health expenditure of the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board in respect of the standard year” in subsection (2) of section 14;
(d) subsection (3) of section 14.
(2) The 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 who is ordinarily resident in the county of Wicklow shall, by virtue of this section, become vested in the health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , in whose functional area such person is ordinarily resident.
(3) The Minister may by regulations—
(a) make any adaptations or modifications of sections 11 and 12 of this Act or of any agreement or determination under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 11 of this Act which appear to him to be necessary having regard to the commencement of this section;
(b) make any other consequential or ancillary provisions which appear to him to be necessary having regard to such commencement, including, in particular, provisions relating to—
(i) the transfer or retention of property or liabilities,
(ii) the payment, on account of any such transfer or retention, of money, either in one sum or by instalments,
(iii) the transfer of patients.
num: 26
paragraphs: —Every regulation (other than a regulation of which a draft is required by this Act to be approved of by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas) made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.
num: 27
paragraphs: —The Minister may by regulations make, in respect of any statute, order or regulation in force at the passing of this Act and relating to any matter or thing dealt with or affected by this Act, any adaptations or modifications which appear to him to be necessary to enable the statute, order or regulation to have effect in conformity with this Act.
num: 28
paragraphs: —The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
num: 29
paragraphs: —(1) In this section “the Act” means the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 .
(2) The definitions of the expressions “auxiliary mental hospital”, “district mental hospital” and “mental hospital district” contained in section 3 of the Act are hereby repealed.
(3) Sections 14 to 18, 20 to 29, 31, 34 to 48, 50 to 62, 95, 98 and 100 to 105 of the Act are hereby repealed.
(4) Any regulations made under section 40 of the Act which were in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall be deemed to have been made under subsection (1) of section 8 of the Health Act, 1953 .
(5) Any regulations made under section 41 of the Act which were in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall be deemed to have been made under subsection (2) of section 8 of the Health Act, 1953 .
(6) Any arrangements made under section 101, 102 or 103 of the Act which were in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall be deemed to have been made under section 10 of the Health Act, 1953 .
num: 30
paragraphs: —(1) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular area, body, purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed with reference to different areas, different bodies, different purposes and different provisions.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall be subject to the restriction that section 25 of this Act shall not be brought into operation save on the first day of any local financial year after that in which the Dublin Health Authority are established.
num: 31
paragraphs: —This Act may be cited as the Health Authorities Act, 1960.