STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 253 of 1999.

SAINT LUKE'S HOSPITAL BOARD (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER, 1999.

S.I. No. 253 of 1999.

SAINT LUKE'S HOSPITAL BOARD (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER, 1999.

The Minister for Health and Children in exercise of the powers conferred on him by Sections 3 to 6 of the Health (Corporate) Bodies Act, 1961 (No. 27 of 1961) , (as adapted by the Health (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order ( S.I. No. 308 of 1997 )) hereby orders as follows:--

1. This Order may be cited as the Saint Luke's Hospital Board (Establishment) Order, 1999.

2. In this Order--

“the Board” means the Saint Luke's Hospital Board established by this Order;

“the Chairperson” means the Chairperson for the time being of the Board;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

“the Provincial Council of the Daughters of Charity” means the Provincial Council of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Ireland;

“the Saint Luke's and Saint Anne's Hospital Board” means the entity established by the Saint Luke's and Saint Anne's Hospital Board (Establishment) Order, 1988 ( S.I. No. 322 of 1988 );

“Saint Luke's Hospital” means Saint Luke's Hospital, situated at Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin, which will be managed by the Board;

“the Board of Management of St. Vincent's Hospital” means the Board of Management of Saint Vincent's Hospital, situated at Elm Park, Dublin;

“The Chief Executive Officers of the Health Boards” means the Chief Executive Officers of the Health Boards established under the Health Act, 1970 (No. 1 of 1970) as amended by the Health Amendment (No. 3) Act, 1996 (No. 32 of 1996) ;

“member of the staff” includes an officer and a servant.

3. (1) A reference in this Order to an Article shall be construed as a reference to an Article appearing in this Order unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.

(2) A reference in this Order to a paragraph, subparagraph or clause shall be construed as a reference to the paragraph, subparagraph or clause of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.

4. (1) A body, to be known as the Saint Luke's Hospital Board, is hereby established to perform the functions conferred on it by this Order.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and with power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold land or an interest in land.

5. The functions of the Board are as follows:

(a) to provide a service for the diagnosis, treatment and care of cancer patients, with particular emphasis on the provision of radiotherapy services;

(b) in providing the service referred to in paragraph (a), to ensure that St. Luke's Hospital, as a leading centre for cancer diagnosis, treatment, care, research, education and prevention, contributes to the development of integrated cancer services under the National Cancer Strategy;

(c) to encourage health promotion measures aimed at decreasing the incidence of cancer and assisting its early detection, and to support and provide health education initiatives for the public in the area of cancer;

(d) to provide such screening services in relation to cancer as may, from time to time, be approved by the Minister;

(e) to educate and train members of the medical profession, medical students, nurses and other persons engaged or to be engaged on duties in connection with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer;

(f) to engage in research or arrange for the conduct of research in the field of cancer;

(g) to maintain and administer hospitals, institutions and other premises necessary for the performance of the functions of the Board;

(h) to furnish advice, information and assistance in relation to cancer services to the Minister, to health boards or to other hospitals or health agencies;

(i) to take over the property (including choses-inaction), assets, rights, contracts of employment and liabilities of the Saint Luke's and Saint Anne's Hospital Board;

(j) to provide such other services and facilities as may, from time to time, be approved by the Minister, after consultation with the Board.

6. The Board shall consist of ten members appointed by the Minister, one of whom shall be nominated by the Board of Management of Saint Vincent's Hospital, one nominated by the Irish Hospice Foundation, one nominated by the Irish Cancer Society, one nominated by the Chief Executive Officers of the Health Boards and one nominated by the Irish College of General Practitioners.

7. The term of office of a member of the Board shall be for such period, not exceeding four years, as may be specified by the Minister when appointing the member and the member shall hold office for the period for which appointed unless the member sooner dies, resigns by letter addressed to the Minister or ceases to be a member under Article 8.

8. A member appointed by the Minister under Article 6 shall cease to be a member of the Board on being so informed by the Minister, after consultation with any relevant nominating body.

9. If a member of the Board dies, resigns, retires or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned and the person so appointed shall be appointed in the same manner as the member of the Board who occasioned the casual vacancy. The person shall be appointed for the remainder of the term of office of the member of the Board who occasioned the vacancy.

10. The Minister shall appoint from amongst the members of the Board a Chairperson, who shall hold office as Chairperson for four years from the date of appointment or until such earlier date as he or she ceases to be a member of the Board, in which case the Minister may appoint another member of the Board to be Chairperson of the Board for the unexpired period of office of the previous Chairperson.

11. The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be four.

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

(2) The Board shall have power to adopt standing orders governing the procedures to be followed at its meetings and the performance of its functions generally.

13. The proceedings of the Board shall not be invalidated by any vacancy or vacancies among its members or by any defect in the appointment of the Board or any member thereof.

14. (1) The Chairperson may, at any reasonable time, call a meeting of the Board.

(2) If the Chairperson refuses to call a meeting of the Board, after a requisition for that purpose, signed by not less than three members of the Board, has been presented to the Chairperson, any three members of the Board may, subject to paragraph (4), thereafter call a meeting of the Board.

(3) If the Chairperson, without so refusing, does not, within seven days after the presentation of a requisition for that purpose signed by not less than three members of the Board, call a meeting of the Board, any three members of the Board, on the expiration of those seven days, may, subject to paragraph (4), call a meeting of the Board.

(4) The period of notice for the holding of a meeting shall be such period as is reasonable in the circumstances (including the circumstance of the venue of the proposed meeting).

15. At a meeting of the Board--

(a) the Chairperson shall, if present, chair the meeting;

(b) if and so long as the Chairperson is not present the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting.

16. Minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the Board shall be kept and shall be verified by the chairperson of that meeting or of the next ensuing meeting.

17. (1) The names of the members present at a meeting of the Board shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the Board.

(2) All acts of the Board and all questions coming or arising before the Board may be done and decided by the majority of such members of the Board as are present and where a vote is considered necessary, by vote at a meeting of the Board which shall be properly recorded.

(3) In case of equality of votes on any question arising at a meeting of the Board, the chairperson of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

18. (1) A person shall not receive any remuneration for acting as a member or Chairperson of the Board.

(2) Members of the Board may be paid travelling and subsistence allowances in accordance with such scales as may from time to time be approved by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

19. (1) The Board shall, as soon as may be after its establishment, provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of--

(a) the Chairperson, or such other member of the Board duly authorised by the Board to act in that behalf, and

(b) an officer of the Board duly 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 and to be sealed with the seal of the Board (purporting to be authenticated in the manner provided for in this Order) shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without proof unless the contrary is shown.

20. (1) The Board shall submit estimates of income and expenditure to the Minister in such form, in respect of such periods, and at such times as may be required by the Minister and shall furnish to the Minister any information which the Minister may require in relation to such estimates.

(2) The Board shall cause to be kept proper accounts, in a form approved by the Minister, of all income and expenditure of the Board, and of the sources of such income and the subject matter of such expenditure, and of the property, credits and liabilities of the Board.

(3) (a) Subject to subparagraph (b), the financial year of the Board shall be the period of 12 months ending on the 31st day of December in any year.

(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), the period beginning on the commencement of this Order and ending on the 31st day of December, 1999, shall be deemed to be a financial year of the Board.

(4) The annual financial statements of the Board for each year shall be prepared in accordance with any accounting standards which may be laid down by the Minister. The annual financial statements shall be prepared within three months of the end of the previous year for submission to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the audit of these annual financial statements shall be carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General in accordance with section 5 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 .

(5) Submission and presentation of the annual financial statements and auditor's report(s) thereon shall be carried out in accordance with section 11 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 .

21. (1) The Board shall, in each year, not later than 30th April make a report to the Minister of its activities during the preceding year.

(2) The Board shall submit to the Minister such information regarding the performance of its functions as the Minister may from time to time request.

22. (1) There shall be a chief officer of the Board who shall be called the “Chief Executive”.

(2) The Chief Executive shall be appointed by the Board and shall hold office for such period and upon such terms and conditions (other than terms and conditions relating to remuneration and allowances for expenses) as the Board may, with the approval of the Minister, determine from time to time.

(3) The terms and conditions relating to the remuneration and allowances for expenses of the Chief Executive shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Minister.

(4) The Chief Executive shall perform such functions as the Board may determine from time to time.

(5) The Chief Executive shall not be a member of the Board.

(6) The Chief Executive shall be entitled to attend at all Board meetings unless the Board otherwise decides.

23. (1) The Board may, subject to the approval of the Minister, appoint such and so many officers and employ such and so many servants as the Board may, from time to time, think proper and in appointing any officer or employing any servant the Board shall comply with any directions given by the Minister relating to the procedure to be followed.

(2) The Board shall, subject to the approval of the Minister, determine the remuneration and conditions of service (including superannuation) of the members of its staff.

(3) The Chief Executive shall, from time to time, assign such duties as he or she considers appropriate to each member of the staff of the Board and each such member of the staff shall perform the duties so assigned.

(4) The Minister may, whenever and so often as he or she thinks fit, declare that any of the powers conferred on the Board by this article shall be exercisable only with the consent of the Minister, and whenever any such declaration is in force, the said powers may, in relation to any office or employment to which the declaration applies, be exercised only with such consent.

24. (1) A member of the Board who has either a direct or indirect interest in any company or concern with which the Board proposes to enter into any contract, or in any other contract which the Board proposes to make,

(a) shall disclose or cause to be disclosed to the Board the fact and the nature of such interest at the meeting of the Board at which the question of entering into such a contract is first considered or, if he or she as no such interest at that time, as soon as may be after he or she has acquired such interest,

(b) shall take no part in the deliberations of the Board relating to such a contract save to such extent as the Chairperson of the Board may permit,

(c) shall not vote on a decision relating to such a contract, and

(d) shall not be counted in the quorum present at any meeting while such a contract (if made) or such a proposal is being considered.

(2) A disclosure under this article shall be recorded in the records of the Board.

(3) Where the Minister is satisfied that a member of the Board has failed to comply with a requirement of sub-article (1) of this article, the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that member from office and a person so removed shall thenceforth be disqualified from membership of the Board.

25. A member of the Board shall not, without the consent of the Board, disclose, save in accordance with law, any information obtained by him or her while performing duties as a member of the Board.

26. (1) For the purpose of the performance of its functions, the Board may, with the consent of the Minister, borrow money with or without security.

(2) The Board shall not, for the purpose of the performance of its functions, acquire any land or an interest in land without the consent of the Minister.

(3) The Board may, subject to any general directions given by the Minister--

(a) sell, exchange, let or otherwise dispose of any interest in land vested in it.

(b) exchange or otherwise dispose of any property held by it.

27. (1) The Board may, subject to the approval of the Minister, accept gifts of money, land and other property upon such trusts, terms and conditions, if any, as may be specified by the donor.

(2) The Board may not accept a gift if the trusts, terms or conditions attached by the donor to it would be inconsistent with or prejudice the performance of the functions of the Board.

28. This Order shall come into operation on the 30th day of July, 1999.