No. 29/1994:

REGIONAL TECHNICAL COLLEGES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1994

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 The Principal Act.

2 Appointment of Commission.

3 Amendment of section 9 of the Principal Act.

4 Governing body.

5 Default provisions.

6 Amendment of the Second Schedule to the Principal Act.

7 Failure by governing body to make regulations.

8 Short title, collective citation and construction.

AN ACT TO AMEND THE REGIONAL TECHNICAL COLLEGES ACT, 1992 .

[2nd December, 1994]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.—In this Act "the Principal Act" means the Regional Technical Colleges Act, 1992 .

2.—(1) Where the Minister is satisfied, after considering the report of a person appointed under section 20 of the Principal Act, that the affairs of a college are not being managed in an effective manner, the Minister may by order appoint a person or a body of persons, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, to carry out such and so many of the functions of any or all of the governing body, the chairman or the Director or of any of them as the Minister may determine and upon such appointment that body or person shall cease to exercise the functions thereby vested in the Commission.

(2) A Commission appointed under subsection (1) shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the purpose of carrying out the functions so vested and shall be appointed on such terms and for such period as the Minister decides, provided that in no case shall a Commission be appointed for a period longer than two years.

(3) Upon the appointment of a Commission the governing body, the chairman and the Director shall be informed of the reasons therefor and that body or person may, within fourteen days from the date of the appointment of the Commission show cause to the Minister why any functions vested in the Commission should not have been so vested and request the Minister to revest those functions in that body or person.

(4) A Commission in carrying out its functions may consult with and request information concerning the management of the affairs of the college from the governing body, the chairman or the Director, and in any such case that body or person shall provide any such information as is requested.

(5) The Minister may—

( a ) remove a Commission, or any member thereof, from office, or

( b ) vary the number of persons on the Commission.

(6) Where a Commission or a member thereof is removed from office within the two year term referred to in subsection (2), or where a member resigns or dies in office, the Minister may appoint another Commission or member as appropriate for the remainder of that term.

(7) Upon the termination of the appointment of a Commission, unless the Minister appoints another Commission, and in any case at the end of two years from the date of the first appointment, the functions vested in the Commission shall revest in the then acting governing body, chairman or Director.

(8) At any time prior to the termination of the appointment of a Commission, the Minister may by order revest any of the functions to which an order under subsection (1) applies in the body or person to which the order relates.

(9) The remuneration, if any, of every person appointed under subsection (1) or subsection (6) shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas under the Principal Act.

(10) The Minister shall, by order, appoint a Commission to the Regional Technical College, Letterkenny, County Donegal, within 14 days of the passing of this Act.

(11) Every order made under subsection (1), other than the order to which subsection (10) relates, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and it shall not have effect unless and until a resolution has been passed by each House confirming the order, provided that if either House fails to pass such a resolution within 28 days of the order having been so laid and neither House has passed a resolution annulling the order, the order shall have effect at the end of that period.

(12) Where an order to which subsection (11) relates takes effect due to the failure of either House to pass a resolution confirming the order, that House may, within the next 21 days during which it has sat after the making of the order, pass a resolution annulling the order and the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

3.—Section 9 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection:

"(4) Where an office of Director becomes vacant, the Minister may appoint a person to be the Director temporarily until a permanent appointment to the office is made and such temporary appointment may be terminated by the Minister at any time.".

4.—(1) Upon the expiration of the term of office of a governing body, the ordinary members shall be appointed by the Minister, on the recommendation of the vocational education committee, in accordance with the following provisions:

( a ) six persons of whom at least three shall be members of a local authority shall be nominated by the vocational education committee;

( b ) if the region served by the college includes all or part of the functional area of one or more than one vocational education committee other than the vocational education committee in whose functional area the college is situated, the Minister may direct that one or more, but not more than four in all, of the persons to whom paragraph ( a ) relates, shall be nominated by such of those other committees as the Minister may specify;

( c ) two persons, one of whom shall be a woman and one a man, being members of the academic staff of the college who are employed on a permanent, full-time basis or who are required, during the period beginning on the 1st day of September preceding the election and ending on the following 31st day of August, to teach not less than 280 time-tabled hours in the college, or such other number of hours as the Minster may from time to time specify, shall be elected by that staff in accordance with regulations made by the governing body;

( d ) one person, being a member of the staff (other than the academic staff) of the College who are employed on a permanent, full-time basis or who are required, during the period beginning on the 1st day of September preceding the election and ending on the following 31st day of August, to work not less than 50 per cent. of the number of hours which a full-time member of such staff is required to work, shall be elected by that staff in accordance with regulations made by the governing body;

( e ) two persons, one of whom shall be a woman and one a man, being registered students of the college, shall be chosen in accordance with regulations made by the governing body; and for the purposes of this provision registered students shall include full-time officers of the Students Union or other student representative body recognised by the governing body for that purpose;

( f ) one person shall be nominated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions;

( g ) five persons shall be nominated by the vocational education committee from among persons nominated to that committee by such organisations as the college, on the recommendation of the academic council considers require representation having regard to the particular courses provided by the college, excluding interests otherwise represented on the governing body. Such organisations shall be representative of industry, agriculture, commerce, the professions and other interests as appropriate to the activities of the college.

(2) In making recommendations to the Minister pursuant to subsection (1), the vocational education committee shall—

( a ) ensure that not fewer than seven of those so recommended are women and not fewer than seven are men, and

( b ) make such recommendations subject to such directives as may be issued by the Minister from time to time, including directives relating to an appropriate gender balance among the persons nominated by the vocational education committee under paragraph ( a ) of subsection (1).

(3) Subsection (1) is in substitution for subsection (4) of section 6 of the Principal Act, which is hereby repealed, and any reference in the Principal Act to that subsection shall be read as a reference to subsection (1) of this section.

(4) The provisions of paragraph ( c ) of subsection (1) shall apply to any elections, as provided therein, held with effect from the 1st day of April, 1994.

5.—(1) Where the vocational education committee—

( a ) fails to make recommendations in accordance with section 4, or

( b ) makes recommendations which do not allow the Minister to implement directives issued by her,

then the Minister, by notice in writing, shall inform the vocational education committee of the nature of its default and, within one month of the date of that notice, the vocational education committee shall make such revised recommendations as will amend that default.

(2) Where, at the end of the month provided for in subsection (1), the vocational education committee remains in default, the Minister shall inform it, by notice in writing, of the nature of that default and may thereafter appoint any body of persons as the Minister thinks fit to perform the functions of the governing body.

(3) The remuneration, if any, of every person appointed under subsection (2) shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas under section 15 of the Principal Act.

(4) The body appointed under subsection (2) shall exercise the functions of the governing body for a period of one year or for such lesser period as the Minister, on its appointment, shall determine and at the end of that period the Minister shall appoint a governing body under section 6 of the Principal Act, or another body under this section where subsection (1) continues to apply.

6.—The Second Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following in subparagraph (1) of paragraph 6:

"or

( f ) who was appointed on foot of an election by the academic staff or by the non-academic staff of the college, ceases to be a member of such staff,".

7.—(1) Where the term of office of a governing body comes to an end before that body has made valid regulations in respect of the holding of any or all of the elections provided for in section 4, the Minister may appoint a governing body with such lesser number of members than is provided for in subsection (1) of that section, as can be appointed in the absence of such regulations.

(2) A governing body appointed under subsection (1) shall, within two months of the date of the notice of its appointment, make the regulations referred to in subsection (1) and shall cause the elections, referred to therein, to be held in accordance with such regulations.

(3) Upon the holding of the elections referred to in subsection (1) and within one month of the date thereof, the Minister shall appoint those remaining members of a governing body recommended for appointment by the vocational education committee.

(4) This section shall be deemed to have come into effect on the 1st day of January, 1994.

8.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Act, 1994 .

(2) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Regional Technical Colleges Acts, 1992 and 1994, and shall be construed as one.

ACT REFERRED TO