Dentists Act , 1928

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health;

the expression “the Board” means the Dental Board constituted by this Act;

the expression “the register” means the Register of Dentists for Saorstát Eireann to be established under this Act;

the expression “the General Council” means the General Council of Medical Education and Registration constituted under the Medical Acts;

the expression “the General Dental Board” means the Dental Board in the United Kingdom as constituted under the Dentists Acts as modified by the Agreement set out in the First Schedule to this Act;

the expression “the General Dentists Register” means the Dentists Register maintained under the Dentists Acts;

the expression “the Medical Council” means the Medical Registration Council constituted under the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927 (No. 25 of 1927);

the expression “registered dentist” means—

(a) in relation to anything done or to be done or an event happening before the establishment of the register, a person who at the time when such thing is done or to be done or such event happens is either registered in the General Dentists Register or, having been so registered at any time after the 1st day of January, 1922, has ceased to be so registered otherwise than by reason of his death or his having been convicted of a felony, misdemeanour, crime, or offence or his having been found guilty of infamous or disgraceful conduct in a professional respect or his registration having been procured by fraud or made by mistake, and

(b) in relation to anything done or to be done or an event happening after the establishment of the register, a person who at the time when such thing is done or to be done or such event happens is registered in the register;

the expression “qualifying examination” means an examination in dentistry or dental surgery held for the purpose of granting certificates of fitness to practise dentistry or dental surgery by any university or college in Saorstát Eireann for the time being having power to grant such certificates;

the expression “practice of dentistry or dental surgery” means the performance of any operation and the giving of any treatment, advice, opinion or attendance usually performed or given by a dental surgeon or dentist and includes the performance of any operation or the giving of any treatment, advice or attendance on or to any person preparatory to or for the purpose of or in connection with the fitting, insertion or fixing of artificial teeth;

the expression “self-governing dominion” means and includes the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and New-foundland;

the expression “British possession” does not include Great Britain or Northern Ireland or the self-governing dominions.

2 Confirmation of Agreement and consequential amendments of the law.

2.—(1) The Agreement set forth in the First Schedule to this Act is hereby confirmed and shall take effect on whichever of the following dates is the later, that is to say, the date of the passing of this Act and the date of the passing into law by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of legislation to give statutory effect to the said Agreement.

(2) For the purpose of enabling the said Agreement to have statutory effect in Saorstát Eireann it is hereby enacted that—

(a) the said Agreement, in so far as the terms thereof are inconsistent with the Dentists Acts, shall be deemed to amend or modify to that extent those Acts and those Acts are hereby amended and modified accordingly;

(b) the Dentists Acts as so amended or modified shall be and continue in force in Saorstát Eireann so far as is so provided by the said Agreement or is necessary to enable the said Agreement to have full force and effect in Saorstát Eireann;

(c) save as is otherwise enacted in the foregoing paragraph the Dentists Acts shall cease to have effect on the date of the passing of this Act.

3 Constitution of the Dental Board.

3.—(1) A board to be styled the Dental Board (in this Act referred to as the Board) shall be established in accordance with this Act to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and may provide itself with a seal and may sue and be sued under its said style and name.

(3) The Board shall consist of members who shall be nominated and elected respectively by the several bodies and persons specified in the Second Schedule to this Act and, in the case of elected members, shall be elected from the several classes specified in the Second Schedule to this Act.

4 Term of office of member of the Board.

4.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section in relation to persons elected or nominated to fill casual vacancies every member of the Board shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified, hold his office as such member for the term of five years reckoned, in the case of the first members, from the establishment of the Board and, in the case of every subsequent member, from the expiration of the term of office of his predecessor.

(2) A member of the Board elected or nominated to fill a casual vacancy in the Board shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified, hold office for the residue of the term for which the member whose death, resignation, or disqualification occasioned the vacancy would have held office if he had not died, resigned, or become disqualified.

(3) Every member of the Board shall on the cesser of his membership by effluxion of time be eligible for re-election or re-nomination.

5 Resignation of member of the Board.

5.—A member of the Board may at any time resign his office as such member by letter addressed and sent to the Board and every such resignation shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board commencing next after the receipt of such resignation by the Board.

6 Casual vacancies in the Board.

6.—(1) Whenever a vacancy (in this Act called a casual vacancy) occurs in the membership of the Board by reason of the death, resignation, or disqualification of a nominated member, the Board shall forthwith notify the body by which such member was nominated of the occurrence of such vacancy and such body shall as soon as conveniently may be nominate a person to fill such vacancy.

(2) Whenever a vacancy (in this Act called a casual vacancy) occurs in the membership of the Board by reason of the death, resignation, or disqualification of an elected member, the Board shall at its next meeting but one after the occurrence of such vacancy elect a person to fill such vacancy.

(3) Every person nominated or elected under this section to fill a casual vacancy shall be nominated or elected from the class of persons (if any) from which the member whose death, resignation, or disqualification occasioned such vacancy was required to be nominated or elected.

7 President of the Board.

7.—(1) It shall be the duty of the Board to elect from time to time as occasion requires one of its members to be the President of the Board.

(2) Every President of the Board shall hold office as such President from the date of his election to that office until the happenings of whichever of the following events first happens, that is to say:—

(a) the expiration of his term of office as a member of the Board,

(b) his ceasing to be a member of the Board otherwise than by the expiration of his term of office,

(c) his resigning the office of President of the Board.

8 Meetings and procedure of the Board.

8.—(1) The Board shall fix the times and places of its meetings and every meeting of the Board subsequent to the first meeting thereof shall be held at the time and place so fixed.

(2) The procedure of the Board at its meetings and otherwise shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations in that behalf made by the Board under this Act.

(3) One-third of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

(4) Every decision to be made by the Board at any meeting thereof shall be made by a simple majority of the members of the Board present at such meeting and voting on such decision.

(5) The President of the Board shall act as Chairman of every meeting thereof at which he is present and in the absence of the President from any such meeting the members of the

Board present at such meeting shall elect one of their number to be the chairman of such meeting.

(6) Whenever at a meeting of the Board an equal number of votes of the members of the Board present and voting is cast for and against a proposed motion or resolution the chairman of such meeting shall, in addition to his vote as a member of the Board, have a casting vote.

(7) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies in its membership.

9 First nomination of nominated members of the Board.

9.—(1) As soon as may be after the passing of this Act the Minister shall send to the Medical Council a notice in writing requesting them to nominate three members of the Board.

(2) Not less than three nor more than four weeks after the sending of the notice mentioned in the foregoing sub-section the Minister shall communicate to the Executive Council the names of the members of the Board nominated by the Medical Council and shall at the same time request the Executive Council to nominate a member of the Board.

(3) When the Executive Council has nominated a member of the Board pursuant to the foregoing sub-section the Minister shall by notice in writing sent by post to every member of the Board nominated pursuant to this section appoint a time and place for the first meeting of the nominated members of the Board.

(4) The nominated members of the Board shall meet at the time and place appointed under this section for their first meeting.

10 First meeting of the nominated members of the Board.

10.—(1) The nominated members of the Board shall at their first meeting and thereafter do the following things, that is to say:—

(a) regulate their procedure and appoint the times and places of their meetings, and

(b) prepare with the approval of the Minister a scheme for holding in accordance with this section an election of elected members of the Board to hold office during the five years next after the establishment of the Board, and

(c) hold such election and communicate to the Minister the names of the persons elected thereat.

(2) The scheme to be prepared under this section for the election of elected members of the Board shall provide for the voting thereat being made by post and for such voting being secret and for the holding of such election at such time and in such manner that the same is completed and the names of the persons elected thereat communicated to the Minister within two months after the first meeting of the nominated members of the Board.

(3) Two nominated members of the Board shall constitute a quorum at the first and every subsequent meeting of the nominated members of the Board.

(4) The powers of the nominated members of the Board under this section shall cease on the establishment of the Board.

11 The establishment of the Board.

11.—(1) As soon as may be after the completion of the election of elected members of the Board required by this Act to be held by the nominated members of the Board and the communication to the Minister by such nominated members of the names of the persons elected at such election the Minister shall publish in the Iris Oifigiúil a notice declaring the Board to be established as on and from a date named in such notice and stating the names of the persons then elected and nominated in pursuance of this Act to be members of the Board.

(2) The date to be named in the said notice published in the Iris Oifigiúil as the date for the establishment of the Board shall be subsequent to but not more than ten days subsequent to the publication of such notice and all references in this Act to the establishment of the Board as a point in time shall be construed as referring to the date so named in such notice.

12 First meeting of the Board.

12.—(1) As soon as may be after the establishment of the Board the Minister shall by notice in writing sent by post to every member of the Board appoint a time and place for the first meeting of the Board.

(2) The Board shall meet at the time and place appointed under this section for its first meeting and shall thereupon enter on its duties under this Act and in particular shall at such meeting or as soon as may be thereafter proceed to establish the register.

13 Nomination of the nominated members of the Board.

13.—(1) Not more than two months nor less than one month before every expiration of the term of office of the nominated members of the Board, the Board shall send to each of the bodies entitled under this Act to nominate members of the Board a letter notifying such body of the date of such expiration and requesting such body to nominate such number of persons to become and be members of the Board on such expiration as such body is entitled under this Act to nominate in respect of the period of five years commencing on such expiration.

(2) Every body nominating a member of the Board shall, in the case of a nomination made before the establishment of the Board, communicate to the Minister and, in the case of a nomination made after such establishment, communicate to the Board in writing the name of the person so nominated by it and no such nomination shall be complete until the name of the person nominated has been so communicated to the Minister or the Board (as the case may be) by the body making such nomination.

14 Elections of elected members of the Board.

14.—(1) Before every expiration of the term of office of the elected members of the Board, the Board shall hold an election in accordance with this Act of such number and classes of elected members of the Board as are prescribed by this Act in respect of the period of five years commencing on such expiration and shall so hold and conduct such election that the same is completed before but not more than two weeks before the commencement of the term of office of the members.

(2) Every election of elected members of the Board held after the establishment of the Board shall be conducted in accordance with a scheme prepared, either generally or for such particular election, by the Board with the approval of the Minister, and every such scheme shall provide for the voting at every election held thereunder being by post and for such voting being secret.

15 Officers and servants of the Board.

15.—(1) The Board shall appoint a registrar (in this Act referred to as the registrar) and may appoint such other officers and servants as it thinks proper.

(2) The registrar and every other officer and servant of the Board shall receive such remuneration and be subject to such conditions of service as the Board shall direct.

16 The duties of the registrar.

16.—(1) It shall be the duty of the registrar to keep the register and to make therein such entries and erasures as he shall be directed by the Board by regulations made under this Act to make therein and for that purpose the Board may by such regulations delegate to the registrar such of the powers and duties of the Board under this Act in relation to the register as are of a ministerial character and do not involve the exercise of any discretion or are authorised by this Act to be so delegated.

(2) The registrar shall also act as secretary of the Board and perform such other duties and in particular such duties in relation to the preparation, printing, publication, and sale of the dental register as the Board shall direct.

17 Accounts of the Board and the audit thereof.

17.—(1) The Board shall keep in such form as shall be approved by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Finance all proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by the Board.

(2) The accounts of the Board shall be audited at least once in every year by an auditor appointed for the purpose by the Minister and the fees of such auditor shall be fixed by the Minister and such fees and also the expenses generally of such audits shall be paid by the Board.

(3) As soon as may be after every audit under this section of the accounts of the Board the Board shall cause such accounts and the auditor's certificate and report thereon to be printed, published, and put on sale either by inclusion in the volume containing the dental register or as a separate volume and shall immediately after every such publication present to the Minister and to each House of the Oireachtas a copy of such accounts and such certificate and report thereon as so printed and published.

18 Fees to be paid to members of the Board.

18.—There shall be paid by the Board to the members thereof such fees for their attendance at its meetings and such travelling expenses in connection with such attendances as shall be determined by the Board with the approval of the Minister and the consent of the Minister for Finance.

19 Expenses of the Board and of the Minister.

19.—(1) All expenses incurred by the Board in the execution of this Act up to the expiration of one year after the establishment of the register shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be defrayed out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) All expenses incurred by the Board after the expiration of one year after the establishment of the register shall be defrayed by the Board out of its own moneys.

(3) All expenses incurred by the Minister in the execution of this Act shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

20 Application of moneys received by the Board.

20.—The Board shall out of the moneys received by it, whether by way of fees or otherwise, pay the expenses incurred by the Medical Council in the execution of their duties under this Act (the amount of such expenses to be settled in default of agreement by the Minister) and the expenses of the Board which are required by this Act to be defrayed by the Board out of its own moneys and shall allocate the surplus (if any) of such moneys to purposes connected with dental education and research or any public purposes connected with the profession of dentistry in such manner as the Board may determine.

21 Making of regulations by the Board.

21.—The Board may by regulations made by it prescribe all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) the procedure of the Board at its meetings and otherwise,

(b) the maintenance and keeping generally of the register and, with the approval of the Minister, the form of the register,