LOCAL AUTHORITIES (EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS) ACT, 1944

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE GRANT BY CORPORATIONS OF COUNTY BOROUGHS AND COUNCILS OF COUNTIES OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER LIKE PAYMENTS TO YOUNG PERSONS TO ASSIST THEM TO ATTEND OR CONTINUE TO ATTEND APPROVED SCHOOLS AND TO VALIDATE EXPENDITURE BY SUCH CORPORATIONS AND COUNCILS UNDER CERTAIN SCHEMES MADE BEFORE THE PASSING OF THIS ACT FOR THE GRANT OF SUCH SCHOLARSHIPS AND PAYMENTS. [26th April, 1944.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Education;

the word “scholarship” means a sum, or a series of sums, of money (whether described as a scholarship, exhibition, bursary, or otherwise) awarded to a person for the purpose of assisting him to attend, or continue to attend, an approved school;

the expression “continuing scholarship” means a scholarship consisting of a series of annual payments (payable either in one sum or in two or more instalments) during a specified period;

the expression “approved school” means any of the following which is for the time being approved of by the Minister for the purposes of this Act either generally or in relation to any particular scheme or class of schemes under this Act or any particular scholarship or class of scholarships under any such scheme, that is to say:—

• (a) a school or college which provides secondary education, continuation education, or technical education, or

• (b) a school, college, or other institution which provides instruction or training in agriculture, forestry, teaching, or other vocational subject, or

• (c) a particular course or courses in any such school or college as is mentioned in the foregoing paragraph (a) or in any such school, college, or other institution as is mentioned in the foregoing paragraph (b).

2 Power of county borough corporations and county councils to prepare schemes.

2.—(1) The corporation of a county borough or the council of a county may, whenever they so think proper, prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme for the provision of scholarships in accordance with this Act.

• (2) Notwithstanding sub-section (1) of this section, the Minister may by order specify a date as the latest date on which the corporation of a county borough or the council of a county may submit to him under this section a scheme relating to a particular local financial year, and thereupon it shall not be lawful for such corporation or council to submit such scheme after that date.

• (3) The Minister shall, in respect of every scheme submitted to him under this section, do whichever of the following things he thinks proper, that is to say:—

• (a) approve of such scheme, or

• (b) modify or alter such scheme in such manner as he thinks proper and approve of such scheme as so modified or altered, or

• (c) refuse to approve of such scheme.

• (4) When a scheme prepared under this section has been approved of (with or without modification or alteration) by the Minister, the corporation or council by which the scheme was prepared may, if they so think proper, determine to carry into execution the scheme as so approved of.

• (5) Where the corporation of a county borough or the council of a county has determined to carry into execution a scheme under this section, such corporation or council shall carry into execution such scheme accordingly, and for that purpose they shall publish such scheme in such manner as appears to them to be best calculated to bring the provisions thereof to the notice of the persons intended to be benefited thereby.

• (6) The refusal of the Minister to approve of a scheme submitted to him under this section shall not prevent the preparation and submission under this section of another such scheme by the same corporation or council.

• (7) The preparation and submission under sub-section (1) of this section of a scheme and the making under sub-section (4) of this section of a determination shall be reserved functions both in the case of the corporation of a county borough and in the case of the council of a county.

3 Amendment of schemes.

3.—(1) Whenever the corporation of a county borough or the council of a county has determined to carry into execution a scheme approved of by the Minister under this Act, it shall be lawful for such corporation or council, either before or after the execution of such scheme has been begun, to alter (by addition, omission, or variation) any provision of such scheme subject to the following restrictions, that is to say:—

• (a) no such alteration shall be made without the previous approval of the Minister, and

• (b) such scheme shall not be so altered that it contravenes the provisions of this Act.

• (2) The Minister may attach to his approval under this section of an alteration of a scheme such (if any) conditions as he shall think proper, and if he does so attach any such condition, the corporation or council carrying such scheme into operation shall observe and comply with such condition.

4 Contents of schemes.

4.—The following provisions shall apply and have effect in relation to every scheme submitted to and approved of by the Minister under this Act, that is to say:—

• (a) the scheme shall provide for the award by the corporation or council by which the scheme was prepared of scholarships for the purpose of assisting the recipients thereof to attend or continue to attend an approved school;

• (b) the scholarships shall be awarded only to persons whose parents or guardians are, on the date specified in that behalf in the scheme, bona fide resident in the functional area of the said corporation or council;

• (c) for the purpose of limiting the receipt of scholarships persons who need them, the scheme shall prescribe, in respect of the parents or guardians of the persons to whom scholarships may be awarded, maximum limits of such matters (including, where thought fit, income or valuation of house, farm, or other place of residence or both such income and such valuation) as may be appropriate for the said purpose, and different such provisions may be prescribed in respect of different scholarships;

• (d) for the purpose mentioned in the foregoing paragraph of this section, the scheme, when prescribing maximum limits under that paragraph in respect of a scholarship, may provide for the award of such scholarship with a reduction of the amount thereof where those limits are exceeded by not more than a specified amount;

• (e) the scheme shall reserve to the said corporation or council power, with the approval of the Minister, to award in special circumstances the whole or part of a scholarship to a person who does not comply with the provisions prescribed under paragraph (c) of this section in respect of such scholarship;

• (f) no scholarship shall be awarded to any person who is not within the age limits prescribed by the Minister and applicable to that scholarship;

• (g) the scholarships shall be awarded only to persons who pass the examination tests prescribed by the Minister in respect thereof and (subject to such (if any) provisions as may be contained in the scheme) shall be awarded amongst those persons in accordance with the order of merit shown by the answering at such examination tests;

• (h) the scheme may provide, in respect of any scholarship thereunder, that such scholarship, in lieu of being paid to the parent or guardian of the person to whom it is awarded, shall be applied (in whole or in part) by the said corporation or council in or towards the payment of the fees and the personal expenses of such person at an approved school or the payment of such fees only or of such personal expenses only;

• (i) the scheme shall prescribe the amounts of the several scholarships provided for by the scheme and the number or total amounts of such scholarships, the conditions to be observed for receiving the several scholarships and, in the case of continuing scholarships, the amounts and times of payment of the several sums comprised in the scholarship and the conditions to be observed for receiving each of such sums;

• (j) the scheme may contain such other provisions (not inconsistent with this Act) in relation to the scholarships provided for by it as may be necessary or expedient.

5 Examinations, tests and age limits for scholarships.

5.—(1) The Minister shall prescribe, either generally or in regard to any particular scheme or class of schemes under this Act,—

• (a) the examination tests to be passed by candidates for scholarships under this Act, and

• (b) the age limits, that is to say, the maximum age or the minimum age or both the maximum and the minimum age, of the persons to whom scholarships under this Act may be awarded.

• (2) The Minister may, in respect of any examination test prescribed by him under this section, prescribe the subjects of such test, the time and place at which and the persons by whom such test is to be held, and the percentage of marks at such test which will be necessary to qualify for a scholarship.

• (3) Different examination tests (including different qualifying percentages of marks) and different age limits may be prescribed under this section in respect of different scholarships, whether comprised in the same or different schemes.

6 Approval of the Minister to the award of a scholarship.

6.—No corporation of a county borough or council of a county shall—

• (a) award a scholarship under this Act to any person without the previous approval of the Minister, or

• (b) make, during any year (other than the first year), any payment on foot of a continuing scholarship under this Act, unless the Minister has previously approved of the making, during that year, of payments on foot of that continuing scholarship.

7 Expenses of corporations and councils.

7.—(1) All expenses incurred by the council of a county under this Act (including the expenses of carrying into execution a scheme under this Act) shall be raised by means of the poor rate as a county-at-large charge.

• (2) The determination of the total amount to be expended in any local financial year in the payment of scholarships under schemes under this Act shall be a reserved function both in the case of the corporation of a county borough and in the case of the council of a county.

8 Validation of expenditure under certain schemes heretofore made.

8.—All moneys raised or expended (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by the corporation of a county borough or the council of a county after the repeal of the Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923 (No. 9 of 1923), in the execution of a scheme approved of by the Minister under section 17 of that Act or in the execution of a scheme approved of by the Minister after the repeal of the said Act and before the passing of this Act which would have been a valid scheme under the said section 17 if the said Act had not been repealed, shall be deemed to have been law fully so raised and expended.

9 Determination of disputes.

9.—Every question or dispute which shall arise in relation to the interpretation or construction of a scheme under this Act shall be determined by the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final and conclusive.

10 Expenses of the Minister.

10.—Expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

11 Saving for powers under the Irish Universities Act, 1908.

11.—The powers conferred on corporations of county boroughs and councils of counties by this Act are in addition to and not in substitution for the powers vested in such corporations and councils by virtue of sub-section (2) of section 10 of the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and accordingly nothing contained in this Act shall prejudice or affect the provisions of that sub-section.

12 Short title.

12.—This Act may be cited as the Local Authorities (Education Scholarships) Act, 1944.