Radiological Protection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014

PART 1 General

1. Short title, collective citation and commencement

1.(1) This Act may be cited as the Radiological Protection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.

(2) The Radiological Protection Acts 1991 to 2002 and this Act may be cited together as the Radiological Protection Acts 1991 to 2014.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions and for the repeal of different provisions of the Act of 1991 effected by section 3.

2. Interpretation

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1991” means the Radiological Protection Act 1991;

“Act of 1992” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992;

“Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency;

“dissolution day” means the day appointed under section 4 ;

“dissolved body” has the meaning assigned to it by section 5;

“enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

3. Repeals

3. The following provisions of the Act of 1991 are repealed:

(a) Part II, other than sections 7, 8 and 9, and

(b) the First Schedule.

PART 2 Dissolution of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland

4. Dissolution day

4. The Minister may, by order, appoint a day to be the dissolution day for the purposes of this Act.

5. Dissolution of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland

5. On the dissolution day, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (in this Act referred to as the “dissolved body”) shall stand dissolved.

6. Transfer of functions to Environmental Protection Agency

6.(1) All functions that, immediately before the dissolution day, were vested in the dissolved body by or under any enactment shall on that day stand transferred to the Agency.

(2) References in any enactment (other than this Act) passed before the dissolution day, or in any instrument made before the dissolution day under an enactment, to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland shall, on and after the dissolution day, be construed as references to the Agency.

(3) References in any enactment or in any instrument under an enactment that, immediately before the dissolution day, were to be construed as references to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland shall, on and after the dissolution day, be construed as references to the Agency.

7. Transfer of land and other property

7. (1) On the dissolution day, all lands that, immediately before that day, were vested in the dissolved body and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with such lands shall, without any conveyance or assignment, stand vested in the Agency for all the estate or interest therein that, immediately before the dissolution day, was vested in the dissolved body, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the lands continuing to subsist and being capable of being performed.

(2) On the dissolution day, all property (other than land), including choses-in-action, that immediately before that day, was vested in the dissolved body shall stand vested in the Agency without any assignment.

(3) Every chose-in-action vested in the Agency by virtue of subsection (2) may, on and after the dissolution day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by the Agency in its name, and it shall not be necessary for the Agency, or the dissolved body, to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that subsection.

8. Transfer of rights and liabilities, and continuation of leases, licences and permissions granted by dissolved body

8. (1) All rights and liabilities of the dissolved body arising by virtue of any contract or commitment (expressed or implied) entered into by it before the dissolution day shall on that day stand transferred to the Agency.

(2) Every right and liability transferred by subsection (1) to the Agency may, on and after the dissolution day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the Agency in its name, and it shall not be necessary for the Agency or the dissolved body to give notice to any person of the transfer of any such right or liability.

(3) Every lease, licence, wayleave or permission granted by the dissolved body in relation to land or other property vested in the Agency by or under this Act, and in force immediately before the dissolution day, shall continue in force on and after that day as if granted by the Agency.

9. Liability for loss occurring before dissolution day

9. (1) A claim in respect of any loss or injury alleged to have been suffered by any person arising out of the performance, before the dissolution day, of the functions transferred to the Agency by this Act shall, on and after that day, lie against the Agency and not against the dissolved body.

(2) Any legal proceedings pending immediately before the dissolution day, to which the dissolved body is a party, that relate to a function of the dissolved body transferred by this Act, shall be continued on and after that day, with the substitution in the proceedings of the Agency, in so far as they so relate, for the dissolved body.

(3) Where, before the dissolution day, agreement has been reached between the parties concerned in settlement of a claim to which subsection (1) relates, the terms of which have not been implemented, or judgment in such a claim has been given in favour of a person but has not been enforced, the terms of the agreement or judgment, as the case may be, shall, on and after the dissolution day, in so far as they are enforceable against the dissolved body, be enforceable against the Agency and not the dissolved body.

(4) Any claim made or proper to be made by the dissolved body in respect of any loss or injury arising from the act or default of any person before the dissolution day shall, on and after that day, where the claim relates to functions transferred to the Agency by this Act, be regarded as having been made by or proper to be made by the Agency and may be pursued and sued for by the Agency as if the loss or injury had been suffered by the Agency.

10. Provisions consequent upon transfer of functions, assets and liabilities to Agency

10.(1) Anything commenced and not completed before the dissolution day by or under the authority of the dissolved body may, in so far as it relates to a function transferred to the Agency by section 6, be carried on or completed on or after the dissolution day by the Agency.

(2) Every instrument made under an enactment and every document (including any certificate) granted or made by the dissolved body shall, if and in so far as it was operative immediately before the dissolution day, have effect on and after that day as if it had been granted or made by the Agency.

(3) References to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland in the memorandum or articles of association of any company and relating to a function transferred by section 6 shall, on and after the dissolution day, be construed as references to the Agency.

(4) Any money, stocks, shares or securities transferred by section 7 that, immediately before the dissolution day, were standing in the name of the dissolved body shall, on and after that day, on the request of the Agency, be transferred into its name.

(5) A certificate signed by the Minister that any property, right or liability has or, as the case may be, has not vested in the Agency under section 7 or 8 shall be sufficient evidence, unless the contrary is shown, of the fact so certified for all purposes.

11. Final accounts and final report of dissolved body

11.(1) The Agency shall, in respect of the period specified under subsection (3) , prepare final accounts of the dissolved body.

(2) The Agency shall, not later than 6 months after the dissolution day, submit the final accounts of the dissolved body to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and shall, immediately after the audit, present a copy of the accounts and a copy of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the accounts to the Minister who shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, cause copies of those accounts and that report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) , the Minister may specify a period that is longer or shorter than a financial year of the dissolved body.

(4) The Agency shall, not later than 12 months after the dissolution day, prepare and submit to the Minister the final report of the activities of the dissolved body and the Minister shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, cause a copy of the final report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

12. Transfer of members of staff of dissolved body

12.(1) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or staff association, the Agency shall on the dissolution day accept into its employment each person who, immediately before that day, was a member of the staff of the dissolved body, on such terms and conditions of service relating to remuneration as are not less favourable to him or her than the terms and conditions of service relating to remuneration to which the person was subject immediately before that day.

(2) The terms and conditions to which a person is subject upon his or her becoming a member of the staff of the Agency in accordance with subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been determined by the Agency in accordance with section 29(2)(b) of the Act of 1992.

(3) In relation to persons transferred to the staff of the Agency under subsection (1) , previous service with the dissolved body shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any exclusions in, the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2012, the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005, the Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006 and the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007.

13. Superannuation

13. (1) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or staff association and approved by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the entitlement to any superannuation benefit of, or in respect of, a person who was accepted into the employment of the Agency in accordance with section 12 shall be determined, and the benefit shall be calculated and paid, by the Agency in accordance with such scheme, arrangements or enactments in relation to superannuation as applied to the person immediately before the dissolution day and, for that purpose, his or her pensionable service with the Agency shall be aggregated with his or her previous pensionable service.

(2) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or staff association and approved by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the entitlement to any superannuation benefit of, or in respect of, a person who is a former member of the staff of the dissolved body or An Bord Fuinnimh Núicléigh (including those former members of staff of the dissolved body or An Bord Fuinnimh Núicléigh who are deceased) shall be determined, and the benefit shall be calculated and paid, by the Agency in accordance with such scheme, arrangements or enactments in relation to superannuation as applied in respect of the person immediately before the dissolution day.

14. Transitional arrangements regarding chief executive officer of dissolved body

14. (1) Notwithstanding section 24 of the Act of 1992, the person standing appointed as the chief executive officer of the dissolved body immediately before the dissolution day shall, on that day, become a director of the Agency for a term ending not later than 30 April 2016, subject to the same terms and conditions (including terms and conditions in relation to remuneration and superannuation) as applied to that person immediately before the dissolution day.

(2) A person who becomes a director of the Agency under subsection (1) shall be paid out of moneys at the disposal of the Agency.

(3) Subsections (8), (10) and (12) of section 24 of the Act of 1992 shall apply to a person who becomes a director of the Agency under subsection (1) .

15. Savers for certain matters

15.(1) A licence, authorisation, consent, approval or certificate granted, given or issued by or on behalf of the dissolved body under—

(a) section 30 of the Act of 1991,

(b) section 52 of the Harbours Act 1996,

(c) the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Act 1998,

(d) the Containment of Nuclear Weapons Act 2003,

(e) the Nuclear Test Ban Act 2008, or

(f) regulations made under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972,

and in force immediately before the dissolution day shall continue in force on and after that day as if granted, given or issued by the Agency for the period (if any) specified therein or, if earlier, until duly revoked, withdrawn or suspended by the Agency.

(2) An application made to the dissolved body before the dissolution day for a licence, an amendment of a licence or the renewal of a licence under an order or regulations made under section 30 of the Act of 1991 or under regulations made under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 shall, where the application was not determined by the dissolved body before the dissolution day, on and after that day be treated as an application to the Agency for a licence, an amendment of a licence or the renewal of a licence under that order or those regulations, as the case may be.

(3) An application for an authorisation or a request for consent made to the dissolved body before the dissolution day under the European Communities (Supervision and Control of Certain Shipments of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel) Order 2009 (S.I. No. 86 of 2009) shall, where the application or request was not determined by the dissolved body before the dissolution day, on and after that day be treated as an application or request to the Agency for an authorisation or consent under those regulations.

(4) An application made to the dissolved body before the dissolution day for an approval or a certificate under the European Communities (Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 651 of 2010), shall, where the application was not determined by the dissolved body before the dissolution day, on and after that day, be treated as an application to the Agency for an approval or a certificate under those regulations.

(5) An application made to the dissolved body before the dissolution day for approval under the Radiological Protection Act 1991 (Ionising Radiation) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 125 of 2000) shall, where the application was not determined by the dissolved body before the dissolution day, on and after that day be treated as an application to the Agency for an approval under that order.

(6) A code of practice prepared and issued by the dissolved body before the dissolution day under section 8(f) of the Act of 1991 shall, where it was in effect immediately before the dissolution day, remain in effect on and after that day as if prepared and published by the Agency under that section of that Act as amended by section 16.

(7) The register of services maintained by the dissolved body under Article 24 of the Radiological Protection Act 1991 (Ionising Radiation) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 125 of 2000) shall, on and after the dissolution day, continue to be maintained by the Agency and a dosimetry service that, immediately before the dissolution day, stands entered on that register shall, on and after the dissolution day, remain on that register in accordance with that Order.

(8) Every charge determined before the dissolution day by the dissolved body under section 10 of the Act of 1991 shall, where it was in operation immediately before the dissolution day, have effect on and after that day as if it had been determined by the Agency under section 49 of the Act of 1992.

(9) A person standing appointed immediately before the dissolution day—

(a) as an inspector under—

(i) section 28 of the Act of 1991,

(ii) section 6 of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Act 1998,

(iii) section 5 of the Radiological Protection (Amendment) Act 2002,

(iv) regulation 22 of the European Communities (Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 651 of 2010), or

(v) regulation 11 of the European Communities (Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 349 of 2011),

(b) as an authorised officer under section 6 of the Containment of Nuclear Weapons Act 2003 or section 8 of the Nuclear Test Ban Act 2008,

(c) under regulation 4(5) of the European Communities (Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 651 of 2010),

(d) as an inspection body under regulation 9(4) of the European Communities (Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 651 of 2010),

(e) as an examination body under regulation 15(12) of the European Communities (Transport of Dangerous Goods by Rail) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 651 of 2010),

(f) under regulation 10(3) of the European Communities (Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 349 of 2011), or

(g) under regulation 10(10)(a) of the European Communities (Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 349 of 2011),

shall, on and after the dissolution day, continue to stand so appointed for the unexpired period (if any) to which the appointment relates or, if earlier, until the appointment is duly revoked.

PART 3 Amendments Consequent upon Dissolution of Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland

Chapter 1

16. Amendment of section 8 of Act of 1991

16. Section 8 of the Act of 1991 is amended in paragraph (f) by the substitution of “to prepare and publish, in accordance with section 76 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992, codes of practice” for “to prepare and issue codes of practice”.

17. Amendment of section 9 of Act of 1991

17. Section 9 of the Act of 1991 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(a) by the insertion of “relating to radiological protection and” after “such additional functions”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):