County Management Act , 1940

1 Definitions.

1.—(1) In this Act—

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

the word “borough” does not include a county borough;

the word “rate” does not include a rate payable by consumers for a supply of water or a private improvement rate levied by a sanitary authority under section 229 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, or under section 4 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1896;

the word “superannuation” includes compensation for loss of office or employment;

the expression “the Corporation of Dublin” means the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Dublin.

(2) Each of the following bodies shall be a joint body within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act, and the expression “joint body” shall in this Act be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say:—

(a) a board of public assistance,

(b) a joint committee of management of a district mental hospital,

(c) the Dublin Board of Assistance,

(d) a port sanitary authority,

(e) any joint board or committee established by or under a statute to execute functions belonging to two or more of the following bodies, that is to say, councils of counties, corporations of county boroughs, corporations of boroughs, and urban district councils.

(3) Each of the following bodies shall be an elective body within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act, and the expression “elective body” shall in this Act be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say, the corporation of a borough, an urban district council, the commissioners of a town, the Rathdown Board of Assistance, the Balrothery Board of Assistance, and a board, committee, or other body which is a joint body within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act.

2 Commencement.

2.—This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister shall by order fix for that purpose.

3 The office of county manager.

3.—(1) There shall be in every county a county manager for such county who shall be called and known as the_______County Manager (with the name of the county prefixed).

(2) The several counties (in this Act referred to as grouped counties) mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act shall, for the purposes of this Act, be grouped in the manner set forth in that Schedule and, in the case of each such group, one and the same person shall be the county manager for each of the counties included in such group.

(3) The office of the Dublin City Manager and the office of Dublin County Manager shall always be held by one and the same person.

(4) The county manager for a county shall be an officer of the council of that county.

4 Appointment of county managers.

4.—(1) The office of county manager shall be an office to which the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926), applies, save that section 5 of the said Act shall not apply to the said office and that sections 6, 8, and 9 of the said Act shall apply to the said office subject to the subsequent provisions of this section.

(2) Whenever an appointment is required to be made to the office of county manager for a county or to the offices of county manager for each of two grouped counties, the Minister shall request the Local Appointments Commissioners to recommend to him a person for appointment to such office or offices and those Commissioners shall select (otherwise than by competitive examination) and recommend to the Minister under the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926), one and only one person for such appointment, and thereupon the person so selected and recommended shall become and be appointed by virtue of such recommendation to such office or each of such offices as on and from such day as the Minister shall by order appoint in that behalf.

(3) In relation to the appointment of the first county manager for a county or for each of two grouped counties, the following provisions shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply and have effect in regard to the selection by the Local Appointments Commissioners of a person to be recommended by them for such appointment, that is to say:—

(a) in the case of the first county manager for a single county, if the county secretary of such county is a candidate and suitable, the said Commissioners shall recommend such county secretary, and, in the case of the first county manager for each of two grouped counties, if the county secretaries for each of those counties are both of them candidates and suitable, the said Commissioners shall recommend whichever of those county secretaries they consider to be the more suitable, but if one and only one of such county secretaries is a candidate and suitable, the said Commissioners shall recommend that one county secretary;

(b) if no person is recommended in pursuance of the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section and the secretary of a board of health for a county health district in the county or either of the grouped counties (as the case may be) is a candidate and suitable, the said Commissioners shall, if only one such secretary is a candidate and suitable, recommend that one such secretary or, if two or more such secretaries are candidates and suitable, recommend whichever of those secretaries they consider to be the most suitable;

(c) if no person is recommended in pursuance of either of the foregoing paragraphs of this sub-section and a county secretary (other than the county secretary for the county, or either of the grouped counties, in respect of which the recommendation is being made) is a candidate and suitable, the said Commissioners shall, if only one such county secretary is a candidate and suitable, recommend that one such county secretary or, if two or more such county secretaries are candidates and suitable, recommend whichever of those county secretaries they consider to be the most suitable;

(d) if no person is recommended in pursuance of any of the foregoing paragraphs of this sub-section and the secretary of a board of health (other than the secretary of a board of health for a county health district in the county or either of the counties in respect of which the recommendation is being made) is a candidate and suitable, the said Commissioners shall, if only one such secretary is a candidate and suitable, recommend that one such secretary or, if two or more such secretaries are candidates and suitable, recommend whichever of those secretaries they consider to be the most suitable.

In this sub-section, the word “suitable” means possessing the requisite qualifications for appointment to the relevant office and being, in the opinion of the Local Appointments Commissioners, suitable in all other respects for such appointment;

the expression “county secretary” does not include a temporary county secretary;

the expression “secretary of a board of health” does not include a temporary secretary of a board of health.

(4) Where a person has presented himself to the Local Appointments Commissioners as a candidate for selection for recommendation for appointment to be the first county manager for a county or each of two grouped counties and has been charged under section 10 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926), and has paid a fee on so presenting himself, such person shall not be charged any fee under the said section on presenting himself to the said Commissioners as a can didate for selection for recommendation for appointment to be the first county manager for any other county or two grouped counties.

(5) Before or as soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the Minister shall, in respect of every county appoint a person to be the county manager for such county or, in the case of grouped counties, for each of such grouped counties from such commencement until a person has been appointed under the foregoing provisions of this section to be the first county manager for such county or each of such grouped counties, as the case may be.

(6) Whenever the office of a county manager for a county (including the county of Dublin) or for each of two grouped counties is vacant after the first appointment to such office under this section, the Minister shall appoint a person to be county manager for such county or each of such grouped counties (as the case may be) until an appointment to such office is made under the foregoing pro visions of this section or, in the case of the county of Dublin, under the next following sub-section of this section.

(7) Save as is otherwise expressly hereinbefore stated, the foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply or have effect in relation to the county of Dublin and, in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that—

(a) unless at the commencement of this Act the office of Dublin City Manager is vacant or is held only by a temporary appointee, the person who at such commencement holds that office shall by virtue of this sub-section be and is hereby appointed to the office of Dublin County Manager, and

(b) every person who is duly appointed (whether permanently or temporarily) to the office of Dublin City Manager after the commencement of this Act shall forthwith be appointed (permanently or temporarily, as the case may require) by the Minister to the office of Dublin County Manager.

5 Tenure of office of county manager.

5.—(1) Every person appointed to be the county manager for a county shall hold office until he dies, resigns, or is removed from office.

(2) Every county manager for a county (other than the county of Dublin) shall be paid by the council of that county such remuneration as the Minister shall from time to time direct, and the moneys required for the payment of such remuneration shall be raised by such council as a county-at-large charge.

(3) Where the county manager for a county (other than the county of Dublin) or the city manager of a county borough (other than the county borough of Dublin) is also the manager for a joint body, such joint body shall pay annually to the council of such county or the corporation of such county borough (as the case may be) such sum in respect of expenses incurred by such council in respect of such county manager or by such corporation in respect of such city manager as the Minister shall direct.

(4) The payments to be made by a joint body to the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough in pursuance of the next preceding sub-section of this section shall be raised and defrayed by such joint body in the like manner as the salaries of the officers of such joint body are raised and defrayed.

6 Suspension and removal of county manager.

6.—(1) The county manager for a county shall not be removed by the council of that county without the sanction of the Minister.

(2) The county manager for a county shall not be suspended or removed by the council of that county save by a resolution passed by such council for the purpose of such suspension or such removal and for the passing of which not less than two-thirds of the members of such council voted and of the intention to propose which not less than seven days' notice was given to every person who was a member of such council when such notice was given.

7 Managers for elective bodies.

7.—The county manager for a county shall, by virtue of his office, be the manager for every elective body of which the functional area is wholly within such county.

8 Managers for joint bodies,

8.—(1) Where the functional area of a joint body extends into two or more counties, the county manager for that one of those counties which the Minister shall by order appoint shall be also the manager for such joint body.

(2) The next preceding sub-section of this section shall apply and have effect where the functional area of a joint body extends into a county borough and a county or into a county borough and two or more counties, and for the purposes of such application such county borough shall be deemed to be a county and the city manager of such county borough shall be deemed to be a county manager.

(3) The Minister may, whenever he so thinks proper, revoke an appointment made by him under this section (including an appointment made under this sub-section) and make a new appointment in lieu of the appointment so revoked.

9 Power of Minister to provide for assistant county managers.

9.—(1) There shall be two assistant county managers for the county of Dublin.

(2) There shall be two assistant county managers for the county of Cork.

(3) There shall be an assistant county manager for the county of Tipperary, North Riding, and an assistant county manager for the county of Tipperary, South Riding, but one and the same person shall be the assistant county manager for each of those counties.

(4) The Minister may by order, whenever he so thinks proper, do all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) direct in respect of a particular county (other than a county mentioned in any of the preceding sub-sections of this section) that there shall be, for such county, an assistant county manager, or a specified number of assistant county managers, in addition to the county manager;

(b) in the case of grouped counties (other than the counties of Tipperary, North Riding, and Tipperary, South Riding), give such direction as is mentioned in the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section either, as he shall think proper, in respect of one only of such counties or in respect of both such counties and in the latter case, if he so thinks proper, direct that the same person or persons shall be the assistant county manager or assistant county managers for each of such counties;

(c) increase the number of assistant county managers for a county mentioned in any of the preceding sub-sections of this section and, in the case of the counties of Tipperary, North Riding, and Tipperary, South Riding, make such increase either, as he thinks proper, in respect of one only of those counties or in respect of both of those counties and, in the latter case, either with or without the requirement that the same person or persons shall be the additional assistant county manager or assistant county managers for each of those counties.

(5) The Minister may by order, whenever he so thinks proper, amend any order made by him under the next preceding sub-section of this section or any order (made by him under this sub-section) amending any such order, and, in particular, may by any such amending order increase or reduce the number of assistant county managers in any particular county, but not so as to reduce the number of assistant county managers for any of the counties of Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, North Riding, or Tipperary, South Riding, below the number fixed by this section.

(6) The Minister may by order, whenever he so thinks proper, revoke any order made by him under this section.

(7) Whenever and so long as there is in force an order made by the Minister under this section directing that there shall be an assistant county manager or a number of assistant county managers for a particular county, there shall be, for such county, an assistant county manager or a number of assistant county managers, as may be directed by such order or an order amending such order.

(8) Whenever and so long as there is in force an order made by the Minister under this section increasing the number of assistant county managers for any of the counties of Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, North Riding, or Tipperary, South Riding, the number of assistant county managers for such county shall be increased in accordance with such order or an order amending such order.

(9) The assistant county manager or each of the assistant county managers (as the case may be) for a county shall be called and known as Assistant County Manager (with the name of the said county prefixed).

(10) Before making an order under this section in respect of a county, the Minister shall consult with the council of such county.

10 Dublin Assistant City Managers.

10.—(1) There shall be two assistant city managers for the county borough of Dublin each of whom shall be called and known as Dublin Assistant City Manager.

(2) Every office of Dublin Assistant County Manager shall always be held by the same person as holds the corresponding office of Dublin Assistant City Manager.

(3) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the number of Dublin Assistant City Managers, that is to say:—

(a) the Minister may by order, whenever he so thinks fit, increase the number of Dublin Assistant City Managers;

(b) the Minister may by order, whenever he so thinks proper, amend any order made by him under the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section or under this paragraph;

(c) the Minister may by order, whenever he so thinks proper, revoke any order made by him under this section;

(d) whenever and so long as there is in force an order made by the Minister under this section increasing the number of Dublin Assistant City Managers, the number of Dublin Assistant City Managers shall be increased in accordance with such order or an order amending such order;

(e) it shall be obligatory on the Minister so to exercise the powers conferred on him by this section and the powers conferred on him by this Act in relation to the number of assistant county managers for the county of Dublin as to secure that the number of Dublin Assistant City Managers shall always be the same as the number of Dublin Assistant County Managers.

(4) If, immediately before the commencement of this Act, Timothy O'Mahony holds the office of Dun Laoghaire Borough Manager and Town Clerk, he shall, by virtue of this sub-section, be and he is hereby appointed to be a Dublin Assistant City Manager.

(5) In relation to the first appointment to one, but only one, of the offices of Dublin Assistant City Manager (not being the office mentioned in the next preceding sub-section of this section, if the appointment mentioned in that sub-section takes effect) the following provisions, in so far as they are applicable, shall apply and have effect in regard to the selection by the Local Appointments Commissioners of a person to be recommended by them for such appointment, that is to say:—

(a) if the county secretary of the county of Dublin is a candidate and suitable, the said Commissioners shall recommend such county secretary;

(b) in this sub-section the word “suitable” means possessing the requisite qualifications for the office of Dublin Assistant City Manager and being, in the opinion of the Local Appointments Commissioners, suitable in all other respects for such appointment, and the expression “county secretary” does not include a temporary county secretary.

(6) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, the office of Dublin Assistant City Manager shall be an office to which the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926), applies.

11 The offices of assistant county manager and of Dublin Assistant City Manager.