Reform history

**1**.— In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

**2**.— The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

**3**.— (1) There stands established on the establishment day a body to be known, in the Irish language, as an tÚdarás um Shábháilteacht ar Bhóithre or, in the English language, as the Road Safety Authority, and in this Act referred to as the Authority.

(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and, with the consent of the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

**4**.— (1) The Authority has such functions in respect of certificates of competency, test certificates and registration of driving instructors as conferred on it in accordance with the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2004.

(2) The Minister may by order confer on the Authority such functions of the Minister under section 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 9 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 or section 36(6), (7) or (8) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 as specified in the order and, accordingly, a reference to the Minister in a provision so specified or connected with it includes a reference to the Authority.

(3) Every function of the Minister conferred on the Authority continues to be vested in the Minister, but is so vested concurrently with the Authority and the Minister so as to be capable of being exercised or performed by either of them.

(*b*) the promotion of public awareness of road safety and of measures, including the advancement of education, relating to the promotion of the safe use of roads, including co-operation with local authorities and other persons in this regard.

(6) Every order made by the Minister under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it.

**5**.— (1) The Authority may, with the consent of the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, by an agreement in writing entered into with any person, upon such terms and conditions as may be specified in the agreement, provide for the performance by that person, subject to such terms and conditions (if any) as may be so specified, of such functions assigned to the Authority as may be so specified.

(*a*) the fees (if any) to be charged by the person performing a function in pursuance of the agreement on those in relation to whom the function is performed or on the person on whom the function was originally conferred;

(4) A function conferred on a person by an agreement under this section shall be performable by the person in his or her own name but subject to the general superintendence and control of the Authority.

(6) The conferral on a person by an agreement under this section of a function of the Authority shall not remove or derogate from the Authority's responsibility to the Minister for the performance of the function.

**6**.— (1) The Authority shall—

(2) The Authority shall have all such powers as are necessary for or incidental to the performance of its functions under this Act.

**7**.— (1) The Authority shall prepare and submit to the Minister, at such intervals as the Minister determines, a comprehensive programme (in this section referred to as a “programme”) of measures for the enhancement of road safety and in particular for the reduction of fatalities and serious injuries due to road traffic collisions.

(6) In this section “State agency” means the Garda Síochána, a local authority, the National Roads Authority or such other person as the Minister considers appropriate.

**8**.— (1) The Minister may direct the Authority to collect, compile, prepare, publish or distribute to such persons (including the Minister) such information and statistics relating to road safety and the functions of the Authority, as the Minister considers appropriate, for national or international planning, policy research and development, monitoring and reporting purposes and may specify any matter concerning the collection, compilation, preparation, publication and distribution of such data and statistics, as the Minister considers appropriate.

**9**.— (1) The Minister may give in writing to the Authority general policy directions in respect of the performance of its functions under this Act.

(*a*) a notice of the giving of the direction and details of it shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, as soon as may be, after it is given, and

(*b*) a notice of the giving of the direction shall be published in the *Iris Oifigiúil* within 28 days of giving it.

**10**.— (1) The Minister may, after consultation with the Authority, the Minister for Finance and any other Minister of the Government who in the opinion of the Minister is concerned, by order—

(2) Every order made by the Minister under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

**11**.— (1) The Authority may, either by itself or with another person, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, and subject to any conditions of the Minister, promote and take part in the formation or establishment of a subsidiary to perform any of the functions conferred upon it by this Act.

(9) In this section “subsidiary” means a subsidiary (within the meaning of section 155 of the Companies Act 1963) of the Authority.

**12**.— The Authority may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, acquire, hold and dispose of shares or other interests in a company and become a member of a company.

**13**.— (1) Subject to the consent of the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, the Authority or any subsidiary may, whether by means of the issue of debentures or otherwise, borrow money (including money in a currency other than the currency of the State) for capital purposes, including working capital, from persons other than the Minister.

(3) For the purposes of this section moneys borrowed in a currency other than the currency of the State shall be deemed to be the equivalent in the currency of the State of the actual moneys borrowed, such equivalent being calculated according to the rate of exchange at the time of the borrowing for that currency and the currency of the State.

**14**.— (1) There shall be a Board of the Authority.

(6) The Minister, when appointing an ordinary member of the Board, shall fix such member's period of membership which shall not exceed 5 years and, subject to this section, membership shall be on such terms as the Minister determines.

(8) A member of the Board may at any time resign his or her membership by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect from the date of receipt of the letter by the Minister.

(11) (*a*) If a member of the Board dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned and the person so appointed shall be appointed in the same manner as the member of the Board who occasioned the casual vacancy.

(*c*) The Authority may act notwithstanding a vacancy amongst its members.

(*d*) is disqualified or restricted from being a director of any company.

**15**.— (1) The Minister shall designate one member of the Board as chairperson.

(4) The chairperson of the Board may at any time resign his or her office as chairperson by letter sent to the Minister, and the resignation shall, unless it is previously withdrawn in writing, take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the Board has been informed by the Minister of the resignation.

**16**.— (1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

(*b*) until it is so fixed, it shall be 5.

**17**.— (1) There shall be a chief executive officer of the Authority who shall be known and is referred to in this Act as the “chief executive”.

(3) Where a competition to appoint a chief executive officer of the Authority is held prior to the establishment day the successful candidate may be appointed by the Minister as the chief executive designate of the Authority.

(10) The chief executive shall hold office on and subject to such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and superannuation) as may be determined by the Board with the consent of the Minister and with the agreement of the Minister for Finance. The chief executive may be removed from his or her position at any time, for stated reasons, by the Board, with the consent of the Minister.

(12) The chief executive shall not be a member of the Board. However, he or she will have the right to attend meetings of the Board and to address the Board on matters relating to the performance of the functions of the Authority.

(*c*) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Authority for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations, and

(16) From time to time, and whenever so requested, the chief executive shall account for the performance of the Authority's functions to a Committee of one or both Houses of the Oireachtas and shall have regard to any recommendations of such Committee relevant to these functions.

**18**.— (1) Any person who immediately before the establishment day was a member of the staff of the Department of Transport and who is designated by the Minister for employment in the Authority shall on the appointed day be transferred to and become a member of the staff of the Authority.

(3) The Authority may appoint such number of persons to be members of the staff of the Authority as it may determine from time to time with the consent of the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance.

(*a*) (other than the chief executive) shall be paid out of the moneys at the disposal of the Authority such remuneration and allowances for expenses incurred by him or her as the Board may, with the consent of the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, determine,

(5) The grades of the staff of the Authority and the numbers of staff in each grade shall be determined by the Board with the consent of the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance.

(6) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association concerned, the terms and conditions relating to tenure of office which are granted by the Board in relation to a member of the staff of the Authority who immediately before the establishment day was a member of the staff of the Department of Transport shall not, while he or she is in the service of the Authority, be less favourable to him or her than those prevailing immediately before the establishment day.

(*a*) the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003,

(9) The Authority may perform any of its functions through or by the chief executive or any other member of the staff of the Authority duly authorised by the Board in that behalf.

**20**.— (1) The Authority shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits to or in respect of members of staff as it may think fit.

(4) A scheme submitted to the Minister under this section shall, if approved of by the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the Authority in accordance with its terms.

(6) No superannuation benefits shall be granted by the Authority nor shall any arrangements be entered into by the Authority for the provision of such benefit to a member of the staff of the Authority, otherwise than in accordance with a scheme under this section, or otherwise as may be approved of by the Minister with the agreement of the Minister for Finance.

(9) A scheme under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas by the Minister, as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the scheme is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

**21**.— The Authority may from time to time engage such consultants or advisers as it may consider necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions, and any remuneration due to a consultant or adviser engaged under this section shall be paid by the Authority out of moneys at its disposal having regard to guidelines issued from time to time by the Minister and, in addition to the foregoing, the Authority shall comply with any directions with regard to such consultants or advisers which the Minister may give to the Authority.

**22**.— (1) Where a member of the Board—

(5) The Authority shall not employ or otherwise retain in any capacity a person who would otherwise be disqualified under this section from becoming a member of the Board, or a member of the staff, of the Authority, save with the approval of the Minister.

**23**.— (1) A member of the Board who has—

(3) Where an interest is disclosed pursuant to this section, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting concerned and, for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being dealt with by the meeting, the member by whom the disclosure is made shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting.

**24**.— (1) A director of a subsidiary who has—

(3) Where an interest is disclosed under this section, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting concerned and, for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being dealt with by the meeting, the member by whom the disclosure is made shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting.

(6) Section 194 of the Companies Act 1963, does not apply to the director of a subsidiary.

**25**.— (1) Where a member of the staff of the Authority or a subsidiary or a consultant or adviser to the Authority or to a subsidiary has an interest, otherwise than in his or her capacity as such a member, in any contract, agreement or arrangement, or proposed contract, agreement or arrangement, to which the Authority or the subsidiary is a party, he or she shall—

(*c*) make no recommendation in relation to the contract, agreement or arrangement.

(*a*) the Board, where the person is a member of the staff of the Authority or a consultant or adviser to the Authority, or

shall decide the appropriate action (including removal from office or termination of contract) to be taken.

**26**.— (1) Save as otherwise provided by law, a person shall not disclose confidential information obtained by him or her while performing duties as—

unless he or she is duly authorised by the Authority or the subsidiary, as the case may be, or by a member of the staff of the Authority or the subsidiary, as the case may be, duly authorised in that behalf, to do so.

(3) In this section, “confidential” means that which is expressed to be confidential either as regards particular information or as regards information of a particular class or description.

(5) The Third Schedule to the Freedom of Information Act 1997 is amended by inserting at the end of Part 1:

(*a*) in column (2), “*Road Safety Authority Act 2006*”, and

**27**.— (1) The Minister may, from time to time, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, advance to the Authority, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, such sums as the Minister may determine for the purposes of expenditure by the Authority in the performance of its functions.

(4) Where the Minister has sought to make a service agreement with the Authority, but it has not been possible to reach such an agreement, the Minister may direct the Authority to accept a service agreement on such terms as he or she may decide.

(6) The Authority shall not, as a matter of course, be compelled to surrender to the Exchequer any moneys it has on hands at the end of a financial year and may retain such moneys to finance its operations but the Minister may require the Authority to pay a dividend to the Exchequer of an amount determined by him or her.

**29**.— (1) The chief executive shall cause to be kept, on a continuous basis, all proper and usual books or other records of account of—

(2) The accounts of the Authority for each financial year shall be prepared by the chief executive and approved by the Board as soon as practicable but not later than three months after the end of the financial year to which they relate for submission to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit.

(4) The Authority shall, if so required by the Minister, furnish to him or her, such information as he or she may require in respect of any balance sheet, account or report of the Authority or in relation to the policy and operations of the Authority other than day-to-day operations.

(7) The Authority, the chief executive and the other officers of the Authority shall, whenever so requested by the Minister, permit any person appointed by the Minister to examine the books or other records of account of the Authority in respect of any financial year or other period and shall facilitate any such examination, and the Authority shall pay such fee as may be fixed by the Minister.

**30**.— (1) As soon as may be after the end of each financial year of the Authority, but not later than 6 months thereafter, the Authority shall make a report to the Minister of its activities during that year and the Minister shall cause copies of such report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

**31**.— (1) The Authority may for the purposes of providing premises necessary for the due performance of its functions—

(2) The Authority may, with the consent of the Minister, sell or lease any land, offices or premises held by it which are no longer required for the due performance of its functions.

**32**.— (1) The Authority may with the consent of the Minister, make such charges as it considers necessary and appropriate in consideration of—

(2) Under the terms of a service agreement with the Authority, the Minister may agree to the Authority varying its charges in line with a financial model specified in the service agreement.

**33**.— (1) The Authority shall, as soon as may be after its establishment, provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Authority shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairperson of the Board or some other member thereof or an officer of the Authority authorised by the Board to act in such manner.

**34**.— (1) The following shall be and are transferred to the Authority on the establishment day—

(3) Where any function of the Minister, which is operated under contract by another person, is transferred to the Authority the contract operates as if the Authority were the Minister.

**35**.— Every bond, guarantee or other security of a continuing nature made or given by or on behalf of the Minister in respect of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority to any person or given by any person to and accepted by or on behalf of the Minister in respect of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority and every contract or agreement made between the Minister in respect of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority, or any trustee or agent thereof acting on its behalf, and any other person, and in force but not fully executed and completed immediately before the establishment day shall continue in force on or after that day and shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Authority were substituted therein for that of the Minister in respect of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority or, as appropriate, its said trustee or agent and shall be enforceable by or against the Authority.

**36**.— Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any act that was done before the establishment day by or on behalf of the Minister in respect of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority and every such act shall, if and in so far as it was operative immediately before that day, have effect on and after that day as if it had been done by or on behalf of the Authority.

**37**.— Where, immediately before the establishment day, any legal proceedings are pending in any court or tribunal and the Minister acting on behalf of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority is a party to the proceedings, the name of the Authority shall be substituted therein for that of the Minister acting on behalf of the driver testing service or any other function transferred to the Authority and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

**38**.— Section 9(1) of the Road Traffic Act 2002 is amended by substituting for paragraph (*a*) the following:

of a specified offence in another Member State (‘State of the offence’) by a person who is normally resident in the State, a driving disqualification is imposed on the person for any period in the State of the offence, and”.

**39**.— The 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.

**40**.— This Act may be cited as the Road Safety Authority Act 2006.