NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY, EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AUTHORITY ACT, 1977

• (e) Contributions returned to a member of the transferred staff under paragraphs (c) and (d) may be repaid to the Authority in accordance with such directions and subject to such conditions as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for the Public Service, may specify.

• (3) Where an allowance to which subsection (1) relates falls due for payment to or in respect of a member of the transferred staff in the period between the commencement of section 65 and the coming into operation of a scheme approved by the Minister under section 35, the allowance shall be calculated and paid by the Authority in accordance with such superannuation scheme, or such enactments in relation to superannuation, as applied to such member immediately before his transfer to the service of the Authority and, for that purpose, his pensionable service with the Authority shall be aggregated with his previous pensionable service.

67 Refund of superannuation, etc., allowances.

67.—(1) Where an allowance to which section 66 relates is paid under this Act to or in respect of any person and in determining the amount thereof any period of service which was not service with the Authority was reckoned, then, subject to section 68, a refund shall be made to the Authority in respect of such service—

• (a) in case it was service in the civil service (as defined in the Act of 1956), by the Minister for the Public Service, of such amount as he may determine, and

• (b) in case it was service under a committee of agriculture, by the council of the county which appointed that committee, of such amount as the Minister for the Public Service may determine, after consultation with the Authority and such council.

• (2) Payments made by the Minister for the Public Service under this section shall be made out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

68 Addition to pensionable service of transferred officers.

68.—(1) Where, within the period between the commencement of section 65 and the coming into operation of a scheme approved by the Minister under section 35 which is applicable to the officer concerned, an allowance to which section 66 relates falls for payment to a transferred officer who before his transfer was a pensionable officer of a committee of agriculture and to whom section 13 of the Act of 1956 is applicable, the Board may decide to add a period of years to the officer's pensionable service as if the Authority were a local authority and, in that event, the allowance shall be calculated and paid by the Authority in relation to the officer's total pensionable service, including any addition thereto that may have been decided on under this subsection.

• (2) Where, under subsection (1), a period of years has been added to the pensionable service of a transferred officer and an allowance to which section 66 relates is paid by the Authority to the officer, the council of the county which appointed the committee shall, notwithstanding section 67, refund to the Authority such proportion of the allowance attributable to the period of years so added as the officer's pensionable local service bears to his total pensionable service (excluding any period added under this section).

69 Complaints regarding conditions of service, etc.

69.—Where, in the case of a member of the transferred staff to whom a scheme approved by the Minister under sections 34 or 35 has not been applied, a complaint is made to the Minister either by the member, his legal personal representative or a recognised staff association or trade union acting on his behalf, that either his conditions of service are less beneficial, or the conditions in relation to the grant to him of superannuation allowances (whether by way of pension, lump sum, gratuity or compensation for loss of office), are less favourable than those which applied to him immediately before his transfer to the service of the Authority, the Minister shall arrange to have such complaint heard by a person appointed by him for that purpose and agreed by the member, the legal personal representative, the staff association or trade union, as the case may be, who made the complaint. The person so appointed, having heard such representations as may be put forward by or on behalf of the complainant and any representations that may be made on behalf of the Board, shall report on the matter to the Minister who having considered the report, shall give his decision on the complaint.

PART VII Miscellaneous

70 Provision of staff to committees of agriculture.

70.—(1) The Authority shall make available to every committee of agriculture the services of—

• (a) a Chief Agricultural Officer (as defined in section 36 (3) for the purposes of this Act) to act as secretary and accountant to such committee and to perform such other duties as were duties of the officer who held the post of Chief Agricultural Officer to such committee immediately before the commencement of sections 12 and 15, and

• (b) such clerical staff as may be suitable and necessary to perform the clerical work arising in the carrying out by such committee of its functions under this Act.

• (2) Every committee of agriculture shall, in each financial year, pay to the Authority in respect of the services referred to in subsection (1) such sum as may be agreed between the committee and the Authority or, in default of agreement, as may be determined by the Minister.

71 Audit of accounts of committees of agriculture.

71.—For the purpose of the requirements of the Local Government Acts in relation to the auditing of accounts of local authorities, the Chief Agricultural Officer shall be regarded as and shall be an officer of the committee of agriculture concerned.

72 Duties, etc. under Johnstown Castle Agricultural College Acts, 1945 and 1959.

72.—Every duty, obligation and restriction imposed on the Institute by the Johnstown Castle Agricultural College Act, 1945, and the Johnstown Castle Agricultural College (Amendment) Act, 1959, shall, on the establishment of the Authority, become and be a duty, obligation or restriction, as the case may be, on the Authority.

FIRST SCHEDULE Provisions Relating to the Authority

Seal of the Authority.

Attestation of seal.

• (2) All courts of justice shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Authority and every document purporting to be an instrument made by the Authority and to be sealed with the common seal and to be attested in accordance with this paragraph shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof.

Contracts or instruments not under seal.

SECOND SCHEDULE Provisions Relating to the Board

Section 25.

Term of office of members.

• (2) The members to be appointed for the several periods of three years, four years and five years shall be determined by lot.

• (3) Except as provided in subparagraph (1) the term of office of a member of the Board shall, subject to paragraphs 5 and 6, be five years.

Eligibility of outgoing members.

Resignation.

Removal.

Disqualification.

• (2) Any person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall, while so entitled, be disqualified from becoming a member of the Board.

• (3) A member of the Board shall be disqualified from holding and shall cease to hold office if he is adjudged bankrupt or makes a composition or arrangement with creditors or is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer imprisonment or penal servitude or ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State.

Casual vacancies.

• (2) A person appointed under this paragraph shall hold office for the remainder of the term for which his predecessor was appointed.

Meetings.

• (2) The Board shall hold special meetings at any time at the request of the chairman or eight other members of the Board.

Procedure.

• (2) At a meeting of the Board—

• (a) the chairman shall, if present, be chairman of the meeting,

• (b) if and so long as the chairman is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

• (3) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

• (4) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members.

• (5) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, the procedure and business of the Board and of the committees appointed under section 29.

THIRD SCHEDULE PROPERTIES TRANSFERRED TO THE AUTHORITY

FOURTH SCHEDULE ENACTMENTS REPEALED