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S.I. No. 66/1988 - Veterinary Surgeons Order, 1988

Type Statutory Instrument

Publication 1988-04-12

Last updated 2005-07-12

State In force superseded text

Text As published

Source Irish Statute Book

articles 19

This is the act as published. Later amendments are not folded into the text below: each one is a separate act in this repository and an entry in this law's history.

1 amending act · 2005-07-12, Veterinary Practice Act 2005

Reform history JSON API

S.I. No. 66 of 1988.

VETERINARY SURGEONS ORDER, 1988.

The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 4 and 5 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1952 (No. 18 of 1952), and after consultation between the Minister and the Veterinary Council being satisfied that it is necessary to reconstitute the said Council hereby order as follows:

1.

This Order may be cited as the Veterinary Surgeons Order, 1988.

2.

In this Order—

"the Act of 1931" means the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1931 (No. 36 of 1931);

"the Act of 1952" means the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1952 (No. 18 of 1952);

"the appointed day" means the 31st day of May next after the coming into operation of this Order or such other date as the Minister may by order appoint;

"the Council" means the Veterinary Council;

" the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Food;

"the register" means the Register of Veterinary Surgeons for Ireland and the word "registered" shall be construed accordingly;

"the Scheduled Agreement" means the agreement set out in the first Schedule to this Order.

3.

The scheduled agreement is hereby confirmed and shall have the force of law.

4.

The provisions of Articles 5 to 12 and of the Second Schedule of this Order shall have effect in lieu of the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 of the Veterinary Surgeons Order, 1972 ( S.I. No. 15 of 1972 ) and of Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 14 and the Second Schedule of the Veterinary Surgeons Order, 1954 ( S.I. No. 68 of 1954 ).

5.

(1) On the appointed day the existing members of the Council shall vacate office and from that day the Council shall be reconstituted in accordance with the following provisions of this Article.

(2) The Council shall consist of the following members, namely,

( a ) twelve elected members, elected in the manner provided in this Order;

( b ) three members appointed by the Minister of whom at least two shall not be registered veterinary surgeons;

( c ) two members of whom at least one shall be a registered veterinary surgeon appointed by each University granting a degree in the case of which an order under subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1952 is for the time being in force.

(3) The elected members of the Council shall be registered veterinary surgeons resident in the State and shall be elected by the registered veterinary surgeons who are for the time being resident in the State.

(4) This Article shall have effect in lieu of sub-section (3) of section 3, and of section 7, of the Act of 1931.

6.

(1) Before, but not more than one month before, the appointed day, an election of elected members of the Council shall be held in accordance with this Order and at such election twelve elected members of the Council shall be elected.

(2) In every second ensuing year, within the period from the 1st to the 30th day of May or such other period in the same year as the Minister may for the purpose by order appoint, an election shall be held in accordance with this Order for the election of six elected members and of such other persons as are required by this Order to be elected at such election to fill casual vacancies.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1931, any existing elected member of the Council shall be eligible to be a candidate for election as a member of the Council at the election provided for under paragraph (1) of this Article.

(4) This Article shall have effect in lieu of section 8 of the Act of 1931.

7.

(1) Not less than three weeks before the appointed day, the Council shall appoint the registrar of the Council to be the returning officer for the election provided for under paragraph (1) of Article 6 of this Order.

(2) In every subsequent year in which an election is required to be held, the Council shall, at or before the commencement of the period within which it is to be held, appoint the President of the Council if he is willing to act or, if he is not so willing, some other member of the Council willing to act, to be the returning officer.

(3) Every election shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules in the Second Schedule to these regulations and such other rules (if any) not inconsistent therewith as the Council shall think proper to make.

(4) The returning officer shall, immediately upon the completion of the election, communicate in writing to the Council the names of the persons elected and such other information in relation to the election as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Council.

(5) The returning officer shall be entitled to the assistance of the officers and servants of the Council in the conduct of the election.

(6) This Article shall have effect in lieu of section 9 of the Act of 1931.

8.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order, the term of office of any member of the Council, whether elected or appointed, shall be four years.

(2) If the power of any university under paragraph (2) (c) of Article 5 of this Order to appoint members of the Council ceases to become exercisable, members appointed by that university shall thereupon cease to hold office.

(3) ( a ) The following provision of this paragraph shall have effect as respects the members of the Council elected at the election provided for under paragraph (1) of Article 6 of this Order.

( b ) Of the elected members, the term of office of the six who received the lowest number of votes shall be two years.

(4) A member of the Council shall cease to hold office on the 31st day of May in the year in which his term of office is due to expire or on such other date in the same year as the Minister may by order appoint and his successor shall take up office on the same day.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this Order, a person elected or appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the term for which his predecessor was elected or appointed.

(6) ( a ) An elected member of the Council shall not be eligible to be a candidate for election as a member of the Council for a term of office commencing before the expiration of his current term of office.

( b ) An appointed member of the Council retiring on the expiration of his term of office shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(7) This Article shall come into operation on the appointed day and shall have effect in lieu of section 10 of the Act of 1931.

9.

(1) A member of the Council may at any time resign his office by letter addressed and sent to the registrar of the Council, and the resignation shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Council following the receipt of the letter by the registrar.

(2) The appointing authority may remove an appointed member from office if, in the opinion of the authority, he is unable to perform, or unsuited to continue to discharge, his duties.

(3) Where an appointed member ceases to hold office otherwise than by effluxion of time or by the operation of paragraph (2) of Article 8 of this Order, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the appropriate appointing authority.

(4) Every elected member of the Council shall, upon his either ceasing to be a registered veterinary surgeon, or ceasing to be resident in the State, forthwith be disqualified for continuing to be a member of the Council.

(5) ( a ) Where an elected member ceases to hold office otherwise than by effluxion of time, the vacancy shall (save as is hereinafter other wise provided) be filled at the election held next after the occurrence of the vacancy, unless his term of office was due to expire in the year of that election.

( b ) If the vacancy occurs in an election year and within the period of thirty days immediately preceding the election, the vacancy shall be filled at the election held in the following election year, unless his term of office was due to expire in either of those years.

( c ) The Council may, if it thinks proper so to do, itself elect a qualified person to fill the vacancy temporarily until it is filled under the foregoing provisions of this paragraph or the date at which the term of office of the said member was due to expire, whichever first happens.

( d ) A person elected to fill a casual vacancy temporarily shall be eligible for election as a member of the Council at any election held while he so fills the vacancy.

(6) This Article shall come into operation on the appointed day and shall have effect in lieu of section 11 of the Act of 1931.

10.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Council to elect from time to time as occasion requires, a member of the Council to be the President of the Council.

(2) Any member of the Council, whether elected or appointed, shall be capable of being elected president of the Council.

(3) The president of the Council shall hold office from the date of his election until whichever of the following events first happens, that is to say:—

(a) the expiration of two years;

(b) the expiration of his term of office as a member of the Council;

(d) his resigning the office of president of the Council.

(4) The president of the Council on the expiration of his term of office shall be eligible for re-election so long as he remains a member of the Council.

(5) This Article shall come into operation on the appointed day and shall have effect in lieu of section 14 of the Act of 1931.

11.

(1) The quorum for a meeting of the Council shall be seven; provided that, in a case of a meeting of the Council where the matter of the erasure of the name of a registered Veterinary Surgeon from the register, or the matter of the suspension of a registered Veterinary Surgeon from the register is on the agenda the quorum shall be ten.

(2) This Article shall come into operation on the appointed day and shall have effect in lieu of subsection (4) of section 15 of the Act of 1931.

12.

(1) The minimum number of members of the Council by whose votes names may be erased from the register shall be six.

(2) This Article shall come into operation on the appointed day and shall have effect in lieu of the corresponding provisions in section 36 (as substituted by the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1960 ) of the Act of 1931.

13.

On the revocation, pursuant to Article 5(2) of the scheduled agreement, of the agreement set forth in the schedule to the Veterinary Surgeons (Confirmation of Agreement) Order, 1972 ( S.I. No. 319 of 1972 )—

(a) section 12 of the Act of 1931 shall cease to have effect;

(b) sub-section 2 of section 19 of the Act of 1931 shall cease to have effect;

(c) Article 3(1) (a) of the Veterinary Surgeons (Confirmation of Agreement) Order, 1972 ( S.I. No. 319 of 1972 ) shall cease to have effect;

(d) paragraph (a) of sub-section 1 and sub-sections 2 and 3 of section 31 of the Act of 1931 shall cease to have effect;

(e) section 32 of the Act of 1931 shall have effect as if the words "( other than the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)" in sub-section (2) were deleted;

(f) (i) sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 33 of the Act of 1931 shall cease to have effect;

(ii) sub-paragraph (d) of section 33 of the Act of 1931 shall have effect as if the words "The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons or by" were deleted;

(g) section 35 of the Act of 1931 shall have effect as if—

(i) in sub-section (1) the words "and is not registered in the general veterinary register" were deleted,

(ii) sub-section (2) were deleted,

(iii) the words "either of" in sub-section (3) were deleted and

(iv) the word "sub-section" were substituted for the word "sub-sections" in sub-section 3;

(h) section 36 (as substituted by the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1960 ) of the Act of 1931 shall have effect as if—

(i) the words "(other than a committee appointed under the Agreement)" in sub-section (1) were deleted and

(ii) sub-sections (2) and (3) were deleted;

Section 41 of the Act of 1931 shall have effect as if the following were substituted for sub-section (3):

"(3) The Council shall arrange the names contained in the Veterinary Register in two lists, of which the first shall contain the names of those persons registered under the provisions of Section 31 and the second shall contain the names of foreign practitioners (as defined in Section 32), and the Council may sub-divide the last mentioned into such and so many sub-lists as they may think fit".

FIRST SCHEDULE

AGREEMENT

BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM WITH RESPECT TO VETERINARY SURGEONS.

The Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom hereby agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1

Interpretation

In this Agreement—

"the Act" means the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 of the United Kingdom (1966 c.36);

"the 1972 Agreement" means the Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom with respect of Veterinary Surgeons of 1st December 1972 set out in the Schedule to the Veterinary Surgeons (Confirmation of Agreement) Order, 1972 ( S.I. No. 319 of 1972 );

"the College" means the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons:

"the Council" means the Council of the College;

"the Irish Council" means the Veterinary Council in Ireland constituted by the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1931 (No. 36 of 1931);

"member" means a member of the College;

"membership year" means the membership year of the College running from the 1st day of April to the 31st day of March;

"the register" means the United Kingdom register of Veterinary Surgeons; and

"the Irish register" means the register of Veterinary Surgeons for Ireland.

ARTICLE 2

Representation of Ireland on the Council

Any person who—

(a) holds office as a member of the Council on 30th May 1988, and

(b) acquired his office by virtue of article 2 (2) (a) or (c) of the 1972 Agreement,

shall cease to hold such office on 31st May 1988.

ARTICLE 3

Fees

(1) Any person—

(a) upon whom the degree of Bachelor in or of Veterinary Medicine (MVB) has been conferred by the University of Dublin or by the National University of Ireland or to whom the Diploma of membership of the College (MRCVS) has been awarded as a result of an examination following a full course of study at either of the said universities or at the Veterinary College of Ireland; and

(b) who, as a result of the conferment of that degree or diploma, was registered in the register and became a member before 31st May 1988, shall not be required to pay a fee in respect of his membership of the college in any year provided that, during that year, his sole or principal place of practice of veterinary surgery is within the area of jurisdiction of the Irish Council.

(2) Any person—

(a) upon whom a qualification in veterinary surgery has been conferred outside the area of jurisdiction of the Irish Council;

(b) who, as a result of the conferment of that qualification, was registered in the register and became a member before 31st May 1988; and

(c) who was resident in and was practising veterinary surgery within the area of jurisdiction of the Irish Council on that date, shall not be required to pay a fee in respect of his membership of the College in any year provided that, during that year, his sole or principal place of practice of veterinary surgery is within the area of jurisdiction of the Irish Council.

(3) A member who, by virtue of paragraph (1) or (2) above, is not required to pay a fee in respect of his membership of the College may not vote, propose any candidate or stand as a candidate in any election of members of the Council which takes place after 31st May 1988 unless he has paid, in respect of every membership year that has occurred between that date and the date of the election, the fee prescribed by regulation of the Council under section 11(1)(b) of the Act, on or before 31st March in every such year.

ARTICLE 4

Allegations of professional misconduct

After the coming into force of this Agreement, if a person who is registered in both the register and the Irish register is alleged to have been guilty of disgraceful conduct in any professional respect then, if such person practices as a veterinary surgeon exclusively within the area of jurisdiction of the Irish Council or such person practises as a veterinary surgeon both within and outside that area and the disgraceful conduct is alleged to have been committed within that area the Irish Council may exercise in relation to such allegation and such person all the powers which it can exercise from time to time in respect of the same type of allegation made against a person who is registered in the Irish register alone.

ARTICLE 5

Entry into Force

(1) This Agreement shall come into force on 31st May 1988.

(2) The 1972 Agreement is revoked.

ARTICLE 6

The Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom shall, as soon as possible, take such steps as may be necessary under the laws of their respective countries to enable effect to be given to the preceding provisions of this Agreement.

In Witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorised by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

Done in two originals at London this 11th day of April 1988.


For the Government of Ireland:	For the Government of the United Kingdom:
ANDREW O'ROURKE	TIMOTHY EGGAR.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Rules For The Election of Elected Members of the Council at an Election

Every candidate shall be nominated in writing and shall be proposed and seconded respectively by two registered veterinary surgeons resident in the State and entitled to vote at the election, and every such nomination shall be signed by the candidate and by his proposer and his seconder.

Every person entitled to vote at an election shall be entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled at such election and no more.

The returning officer shall send a voting paper by post to every person entitled to vote at the election but the failure to send a voting paper to any such person shall not invalidate the election.

Any person entitled to vote at the election to whom a voting paper is not sent by the returning officer shall be entitled to obtain a voting paper on application therefor to the returning officer.

Persons entitled to vote at the election shall send by post or otherwise or deliver their voting papers to the returning officer at the address given by him for the purpose.

On the day and at the time and place appointed for the purpose by the returning officer the votes cast by voting papers received by the returning officer before that day shall be counted in the presence of the returning officer by a chartered or other qualified auditor appointed by the returning officer.

Where at an election there are one or more casual vacancies to be filled, the elected person who receives the greatest number of votes shall be deemed to have been elected to fill the vacancy which is not a casual vacancy, and the other elected person or persons shall be deemed to have been elected to fill the said casual vacancy or vacancies and, if more than one, on the basis that the person receiving the greater number of votes is elected to fill the vacancy having the greater term of office unexpired.

Where at an election any two persons receive an equal number of votes, that one of them whose name was first entered on the register shall be deemed to have received the higher number.

Votes cast by voting papers received by the returning officer on or after the day appointed by him for the counting of the votes shall not be counted.

10.

The method of sending, receiving and counting voting papers shall be such as to secure the secrecy of the voting.

11.

Every candidate shall be entitled to be present at the counting of the votes and no other person shall be present without the consent of the returning officer.

12.

When the counting of the votes is completed the returning officer shall send the name or names of the person or persons elected and such other particulars relating to the election as may be required under this order in writing signed by him to the Council.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government, this 12th day of April 1988.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Taoiseach.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order confirms a new Agreement on Veterinary Surgeons between this country and the United Kingdom. The new Agreement terminates as from 31 May, 1988 the existing arrangements under the previous (1972) Agreement for holders of Irish veterinary degrees to obtain, in addition to registration in the Irish Veterinary Register, registration in the United Kingdom Register; for Irish representation on the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; for representation of the latter on committees of inquiry set up by the Irish Veterinary Council in disciplinary cases and for other incidental matters. However, the new Agreement provides for the retention of membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons by those veterinary surgeons on the Irish Register who had obtained it before 31 May, 1988. Mutual recognition of veterinary qualifications as between Ireland and the U.K. is now provided for under Directives of the European Communities.

The Order also provides for the reconstitution of the Irish Veterinary Council, which will consist of twelve elected members and five appointed members. Of the latter, three shall be appointed by the Minister for Agriculture and Food, of whom two shall not be registered veterinary surgeons and two by University College Dublin as the degree-awarding institution, of whom at least one shall be a registered veterinary surgeon.

The Order also provides for certain consequential changes relating to the quorum for Council meetings and the election of members of the Council.

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