NATIONAL MATERNITY HOSPITAL, DUBLIN (CHARTER AMENDMENT) ACT, 1936

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER UNDER WHICH THE GOVERNORS OF THE NATIONAL MATERNITY HOSPITAL, DUBLIN, ARE INCORPORATED, TO CONFER FURTHER AND OTHER POWERS ON THE SAID GOVERNORS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE CORPORATION BY AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES RELATING TO THE SAID HOSPITAL. [22nd May, 1936.]

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Interpretation.

1.—In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—

the expression “the hospital” means the institution known as The National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, and the lands, hereditaments, buildings and premises connected therewith;

the expression “the Charter” means the Royal Charter of Incorporation of the Governors of the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, dated the 14th day of May, 1903;

the expression “the corporation” means the body corporate constituted by the Charter;

the expression “the Dublin Corporation” means the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Dublin;

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

the word “governors” means the members of the corporation for the time being and includes all persons constituted ex-officio governors by the Charter;

the expression “the executive committee” means the committee by this Act constituted to govern, manage, administer and control the property and affairs of the corporation;

the expression “annual meeting” means the annual meeting of the corporation by this Act directed to be held in every year;

the expression “the master” means the person for the time being holding the office of master of the hospital;

the expression “the present master” means John Francis Cunningham;

the expression “the honorary secretary” means the person for the time being holding the office of honorary secretary of the hospital;

the expression “the honorary treasurer” means the person for the time being holding the office of honorary treasurer of the hospital;

the expression “the trustees of the hospital” means the persons for the time being holding the office of trustees of the hospital and the survivors or survivor of them.

2 Amendment of restriction on power to hold lands.

2.—Such part of the Charter as empowers the corporation to purchase, hold, receive and enjoy lands shall be read and construed as if £30,000 were therein substituted for £2,000.

3 Amendment of restriction on number of governors.

3.—Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Charter the membership of the corporation shall not be restricted to sixty-five governors as in the Charter prescribed:

Provided however that the members of the corporation (including ex-officio governors) shall not be more in number in the whole than one hundred governors.

4 Amendment of constitution of corporation.

4.—(1) The Dublin Corporation shall have the right to nominate two of its members as governors and each such member so nominated shall be adjudged and deemed a governor as if duly elected by the corporation and shall hold office as such governor, unless he sooner dies, resigns, is removed or becomes disqualified, as from the day next following the day of his nomination as such governor until the day next following the nomination by the Dublin Corporation of another such member as a governor in his place.

• (2) The Minister shall have the right from time to time to nominate two persons as governors and each person so nominated shall be adjudged and deemed a governor as if duly elected by the corporation and shall hold office as such governor, unless he sooner dies or resigns, as from the day next following his nomination as such governor until the day next following the nomination by the Minister of another person as a governor in his place.

5 Exemption from payment of subscriptions of certain governors.

5.—All ex-officio governors and all governors who shall have been nominated in pursuance of the last preceding section of this Act shall be exempt from payment of any moneys which may for the time being be prescribed to be paid by governors by any regulation or bye-law of the corporation.

6 Meetings of the corporation.

6.—(1) Such part of the provisions of the Charter as provides for meetings of the corporation shall be and is hereby repealed.

• (2) In the year 1937 and in every subsequent year on a date not being later than the thirtieth day of June in each year a meeting of the corporation shall be held at the hospital or other convenient place. In addition to the annual meeting special meetings of the corporation may and shall be convened by the honorary secretary or honorary treasurer if and when required by order of the executive committee (by this Act constituted) or on a requisition signed by at least fifteen members of the corporation. At every meeting of the corporation ten members thereof shall constitute a quorum.

• (3) At the annual meeting and at every special meeting of the corporation the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin for the time being shall be the chairman thereof or in his absence the Lord Mayor of Dublin for the time being or in the absence of both the Administrator for the time being of the Catholic Parish of Saint Andrew, Westland Row, Dublin. In the absence of all the aforesaid three persons the governors present shall elect one of their number to be chairman of the meeting and in the event of two or moregovernors receiving an equal number of votes the question as to which of them is to be chairman shall be decided by lot.

• (4) The annual statement of accounts provided for by the Charter shall be made up to the thirty-first day of December in every year and presented by the executive committee to the next annual meeting.

7 Amendment of provisions relating to vice-patrons and endowment of beds.

7.—(1) Such part of the provisions of the Charter as provides that on any person making a donation of £25 to the funds of the hospital he or she shall thereupon become a vice-patron or vice-patroness of the hospital shall be read and construed as if £100 were therein substituted for £25.

• (2) Such part of the provisions of the Charter as provides that any person making a donation of £100 to the funds of the hospital shall have the privilege of endowing a bed in the hospital and of nominating a suitable person for a bed in the hospital shall be read and construed as if there were therein substituted for £100 “£1,000 or such greater sum of money as the executive committee shall from time to time fix and determine.”

8 Removal of restrictions on sale of funded property and provisions for transferring stocks, etc., to corporation.

8.—(1) Those parts of the Charter which provide that the funded property of the corporation shall be vested in trustees and that no part of such funded property shall be sold out except with the sanction and by the resolution of the majority of a meeting of the corporation are hereby repealed.

• (2) All stocks, shares, securities, choses in action or other investments for the time being standing in the names of the trustees of the hospital shall be transferred by the trustees of the hospital to the corporation immediately after the passing of this Act.

9 Additional powers to corporation.

9.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Charter the corporation shall have in addition to the powers vested in them by the Charter as amended by this Act all such additional powers (if any) as are hereinafter conferred on the executive committee by the provisions of this Act.

10 Extension of term of office of present master.

10.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Charter the present master shall continue in office until the 31st day of December, 1941, unless he shall sooner die resign or be removed from office.

• (2) Nothing in this section shall prejudice or affect the power to remove or suspend the master contained in the Charter or in this Act.

11 Executive committee to manage hospital.

11.—(1) Subject to any restrictions or conditions in any regulations or directions made or given by the corporation or in this Act contained the management of the corporation its property and affairs shall be entrusted to a committee of governors, (in this Act called the executive committee), which shall govern, manage, administer and control the hospital and the property and affairs of the corporation and it shall be lawful for the executive committee to exercise all powers and authorities vested in the corporation by the Charter as amended by this Act or by this Act.

• (2) The executive committee shall consist of the following:—

• (a) The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin for the time being.

• (b) The Lord Mayor of Dublin for the time being.

• (c) The Administrator for the time being of the Catholic Parish of Saint Andrew, Westland Row, Dublin.

• (d) The master.

• (e) The honorary secretary.

• (f) The honorary treasurer.

• (g) The governors (if any) nominated pursuant to sub-section (1) of section 4 of this Act.

• (h) The governors (if any) nominated pursuant to sub-section (2) of section 4 of this Act.

• (i) Twenty-one governors (of whom six at least shall be women) elected by the corporation (in this Act called the ordinary members) who shall retire at the annual meeting and be eligible for re-election.

• (3) The executive committee may fill up any vacancy that may from time to time occur amongst the ordinary members and may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body and any person so appointed to fill a vacancy amongst the ordinary members shall retire at the next annual meeting but shall be eligible for reappointment.

12 Powers of executive committee.

12.—Without prejudice to the generality of the powers of the executive committee and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Charter contained the executive committee shall have all powers necessary for or incidental to carrying into effect the objects of the hospital and in particular the following powers:—

• (1) to direct the common seal of the corporation to be affixed to any document;

• (2) to appoint such salaried officers and servants as they may determine at such salaries and wages as they may think fit and to remove, suspend and dismiss any of such officers or servants;

• (3) to suspend the master;

• (4) to appoint, suspend or remove any assistant master;

• (5) to add to or reduce the staff of the hospital and to alter the duties of any member of the staff;

• (6) to grant, sell, lease, exchange or mortgage any lands, tenements or hereditaments at any time vested in the corporation other than the hospital building;

• (7) subject to the provisions of section 2 of this Act to purchase or take on lease real or chattel real property of any tenure;

• (8) to deal with the moneys and funds of the corporation and prescribe and determine which and what parts thereof shall be retained or realised to meet either current or capital expenditure and which and what parts shall be invested or reinvested;

• (9) to grant pensions, gratuities, bonuses, honoraria, compensation or allowances to and to establish and carry on pension, sickness, accident, welfare or other funds for the benefit of any officers, nurses or servants of the corporation or their dependents and to adopt the existing superannuation scheme or to amend the same or to substitute therefor another scheme or schemes as the executive committee may deem expedient;

• (10) to borrow money for purposes of or connected with the hospital and secure the same and any interest thereon upon any property of the corporation;

• (11) to appoint sub-committees consisting of members of the executive committee or in part only of members of the executive committee and in part of such other persons (being members of the corporation) as the executive committee may select and to delegate to such sub-committees such powers and duties as the executive committee may deem expedient;

• (12) to make, alter and revoke bye-laws and regulations for the management of the hospital and of the property and affairs of the corporation and for regulating the procedure at meetings of the corporation and of the executive committee and of any sub-committee.

13 Power to executive committee to elect governors subject to confirmation by corporation.

13.—(1) The executive committee shall have power to elect as a governor any person whose immediate election the executive committee shall resolve to be necessary or desirable in the interests of the hospital to be a governor in the place of any member of the corporation (other than an ex-officio governor or a governor nominated pursuant to section 4 of this Act) who shall die, resign, be removed or become disqualified or for any reason cease to be a member thereof:

Provided always that any such election by the executive committee shall be subject to confirmation by the corporation at the next annual meeting.

• (2) All persons elected by the executive committee to be governors shall pending the confirmation of such election at the next annual meeting be adjudged and deemed governors as if duly elected by the corporation.

14 Limitation of powers of executive committee.

14.—Nothing in this Act contained shall authorise or empower the executive committee to elect or remove from office the master, the honorary secretary or the honorary treasurer or to elect any person as a governor except as provided by section 13 of this Act.

15 Meetings of executive committee.

15.—(1) The executive committee shall meet once in every month at the hospital or other convenient place on such day as shall be determined by the executive committee and other and special meetings of the executive committee may and shall be convened and held on the requisition of the master or the honorary secretary or on the requisition of any three members thereof. At every meeting of the executive committee five members thereof shall constitute a quorum. Questions arising at any meeting of the executive committee shall be decided by a majority of votes of those present and voting and in the event of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

• (2) At every meeting of the executive committee the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin for the time being shall be the chairman thereof or in his absence the Lord Mayor of Dublin for the time being or in the absence of both such one of their members as the executive committee shall have elected at their first meeting in every year to be the deputy chairman thereof. In the absence of all the aforesaid three persons the governors present shall elect one of their number to be chairman of the meeting and in the event of two or more governors receiving an equal number of votes the question as to which of them is to be chairman shall be decided by lot.

16 General management by master between meetings of executive committee.

16.—The provisions of the Charter confiding to the master the general management of the hospital during the intervals between meetings of the corporation shall be read and constructed as referring to the intervals between the meetings of the executive committee.

17 Individual responsibility of governors and indemnity of executive committee.

17.—No governor shall be liable for the acts, receipts, neglects or defaults of any other governor or of any officer or servant of the corporation or for any loss arising from any investment of the funds of the hospital on an insufficient security or from any error of judgment on his own part or on the part of any other governor and the members of the executive committee shall be entitled to be indemnified in respect of all liabilities incurred by them on behalf of the corporation.

18 Execution of documents of informal nature.

18.—Documents of an informal or mercantile nature required in the ordinary administration of the corporation including cheques shall be sufficiently and validly executed if signed by one governor (being a member of the executive committee) and either the honorary treasurer or the honorary secretary or such other person in place of the honorary treasurer or the honorary secretary as the executive committee may appoint notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Charter.

19 Special meeting of corporation after passing of Act.

19.—So soon after the passing of this Act as conveniently may be a special meeting of the corporation shall be held to elect the ordinary members of the executive committee.

20 Costs of Act.

20.—The costs charges and expenses preliminary to and of and incidental to the preparing, obtaining and passing of this Act shall be paid by the corporation out of the funds of the corporation.

21 Short title.

21.—This Act may be cited as the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin (Charter Amendment) Act, 1936.