National Shared Services Office Act 2017

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1.. Short title and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the National Shared Services Office Act 2017.

(2) 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.

2.. Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Board” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18;

“chief executive” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15;

“Committee of Public Accounts” means the committee of Dáil Éireann established under the rules and standing orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General;

“company” means a company formed and registered under the Companies Act 2014 or an existing company within the meaning of that Act;

F1[‘Data Protection Regulation’means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016^54on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).]

“enactment” means—

(a) an Act of the Oireachtas,

(b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of the coming into operation of the Constitution and that continues in force by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution, or

(c) an instrument made under—

(i) an Act of the Oireachtas, or

(ii) a statute referred to in paragraph (b);

“establishment day” means the day appointed by order under section 5;

“Minister” means the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform;

“Office” has the meaning assigned to it by section 6;

“public service body” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3;

“service agreement” has the meaning assigned to it by subparagraph (i) of section 9(2)(a);

“shared services” means common or combined services provided to more than one public service body, the provision of which (to the public service bodies concerned) enables, assists or facilitates the carrying out of any administrative task or process necessary for or incidental to the performance of a function, specified in Schedule 2,of those public service bodies.

3.. Public service body

3. (1) In this Act, “public service body” means—

(a) a body specified in Schedule 1, or

(b) a company, body or other person appointed under subsection (2).

(2) The Government may, by order, appoint to be a public service body—

(a) any body or other person established—

(i) by or under an enactment (other than the Companies Act 2014 or a former enactment relating to companies within the meaning of section 5 of that Act) or charter,

(ii) by any scheme administered by a Minister of the Government, or

(iii) under the Companies Act 2014 (or a former enactment relating to companies within the meaning of section 5 of that Act) in pursuance of powers conferred by or under another enactment, and financed wholly or partly by means of money provided, or loans made or guaranteed, by a Minister of the Government or the issue of shares held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,

or

(b) a company a majority of the shares in which are held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,

that, in the opinion of the Government, (having had regard to the matters referred to in section 9(3) to which the Government shall have regard before making an order under section 9(1)), ought to be so appointed.

(3) An order 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 sits after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4.. Expenses

4. (1) The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) The expenses incurred by the Office in the performance of its functions shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 National Shared Services Office

5.. Establishment day

5. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

6.. Establishment of National Shared Services Office

6. (1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body, which shall be known, in the Irish language, as F2[An Oifig Náisiúnta um SheirbhísíComhroinnte] and, in the English language, as the National Shared Services Office (in this Act referred to as the “Office”), to perform the functions conferred on it by or under this Act.

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

(3) The seal of the Office shall be authenticated by—

(a) the signatures of both the chief executive and a member of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf, or

(b) the signatures of both a member of the Board and a member of the staff of the Office authorised by the chief executive to act in that behalf.

(4) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Office and any document purporting to be an instrument made by, and to be sealed with the seal of, the Office shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof.

7.. Functions of Office

7. (1) The principal functions of the Office shall be—

(a) to perform the functions transferred to it by section 8, and

(b) to perform, on behalf of a public service body, a function delegated to it under section 9.

(2) The Office shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions.

(3) Subject to this Act, the Office shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

8.. Transfer of certain functions of Minister to Office

8. (1) On the establishment day, all functions that—

(a) immediately before the establishment day, were vested in the Minister, and

(b) consisted of the entering into of contracts for the procurement of goods and services required for the provision of shared services,

are transferred to the Office.

(2) References in any enactment to the Minister shall, in so far as they relate to a function transferred by this section, be construed as references to the Office.

(3) For the purpose of performing a function transferred by this section and to the extent that the operation of paragraph (a) of section 9(2) does not otherwise result in such a power being conferred on it for that purpose, the Office shall have power to do a thing referred to in any of subparagraphs (i) to (xiii) of that paragraph.

9.. Delegation of functions to Office

9. (1) The Government, having regard to the matters referred to in subsection (3), may by order delegate to the Office a function, specified in Schedule 2,of a public service body, or any other function of a public service body connected with a function specified in Schedule 2, that the Government consider appropriate and is specified in the order.

(2) (a) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), whenever an order under subsection (1) is in force in respect of a public service body, the Office shall have the following functions:

(i) entering into an agreement with the public service body (in this Act referred to as a “service agreement”) that specifies the terms and conditions upon which shared services are to be provided to that body;

(ii) providing or arranging for the provision of shared services to the public service body in accordance with the service agreement;

(iii) making payments to and communicating with persons on behalf of the public service body for the purposes of providing shared services;

(iv) receiving and F3[processing (within the meaning of the Data Protection Regulation) personal data (also within the meaning of that Regulation)] provided to it by the public service body for the purposes of its functions;

(v) setting standards to be achieved on behalf of the public service body in relation to the delivery of shared services;

(vi) implementing such changes to the manner in which shared services are delivered as may be agreed following consultation with the public service body, having regard to the cost of such changes;

(vii) reporting to the public service body on matters relating to the provision of shared services in accordance with service agreements;

(viii) developing and implementing policies relating to the manner in which shared services are provided;

(ix) developing plans for the mitigation of risks arising in the provision of shared services to public service bodies;

(x) considering any recommendations made by the Board in relation to the provision of shared services;

(xi) undertaking, commissioning, collaborating or assisting in research into matters relating to shared services, including the compilation of statistical data required for the planning, development and provision of shared services;

(xii) providing guidance, where appropriate, within the public sector in relation to the provision of services comparable to shared services;

(xiii) providing information or advice or making proposals to the Minister on matters relating to its functions under this Act.

(b) An order under subsection (1) may contain such ancillary and incidental provisions as the Government consider necessary or expedient for the purposes of the delegation effected by the order.

(c) Whenever an order under subsection (1) is in force, the public service body to which it relates shall provide the Office with such information within its control or procurement and requested by the Office as the body considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of the delegation and the provision by the Office of shared services.

(3) Before making an order under subsection (1), the Government shall have regard to the availability of resources and the need for greater efficiency or effectiveness in the use of resources in the public service and the extent to which such efficiency or effectiveness has been or may be achieved through the provision by the Office of shared services.

(4) The following provisions shall apply in relation to a delegation under this section:

(a) the delegation shall operate, so long as it continues in force, to confer on and vest in the Office each function delegated by the delegation;

(b) a function delegated by the delegation shall be performed by the Office subject to any conditions or restrictions stated in the order concerned;

(c) any obligation or liability undertaken by the Office consequent upon the performance by the Office of a function to which the delegation relates shall be of the same force and effect as if the obligation or liability had been undertaken by the public service body;

(d) a function of a public service body delegated by the delegation shall, notwithstanding the delegation, as the case may be, continue to be vested in the public service body concerned but shall be so vested concurrently with the Office and so as to be capable of being performed by either the public service body or the Office;

(e) the delegation shall not remove or derogate from the responsibility of a Minister of the Government, who has functions in relation to the public service body, to Dáil Éireann or as a member of the Government for the performance of functions of the public service body thereby delegated.

(5) An order 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.

10.. Directions of Minister

10. (1) The Minister may give general directions in writing to the Office for any purpose in relation to the functions of the Office under this Act or for any other purpose in relation to the provisions of this Act, or any other enactment.

(2) The Minister may direct the Office to supply the Minister with information, reports or statistics, in the manner and within the period, both as the Minister may determine, in relation to the performance by the Office of its functions under this Act.

(3) The Minister may, in relation to the performance by the Office of its functions under this Act, give a direction in writing to the Office requiring it to comply with such policies of the Government as are specified in the direction.

(4) The Minister may, by direction in writing, amend or revoke a direction under this section (including a direction under this subsection).

(5) The Office shall comply with a direction under this section.

11.. Staff of Office

11. (1) The Minister may, after consultation with the Office, appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the Office as he or she may from time to time determine.

(2) The terms and conditions of service of a member of the staff of the Office shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Minister.

(3) There shall be paid to the members of the staff of the Office such remuneration and allowances as the Minister from time to time determines.

(4) The members of the staff of the Office shall perform their functions under the direction and control of the chief executive.

12.. Strategy statement of Office

12. Paragraph (b) of section 4(1) of the Public Service Management Act 1997 shall apply to the Office subject to the modification that, in relation to the first strategy statement of the Office, subparagraph (i) of that paragraph shall be construed as if it referred to a period of within 6 months after the establishment day.

13.. Advances

13. (1) A public service body shall pay to the Office such an amount as the Office determines, subject to the approval of the Minister, for the purpose of defraying expenditure incurred, in whole or in part, by the Office in the procurement of goods or services required for the provision of shared services to the public service body.

(2) Any amount received by the Office under subsection (1) shall be paid into, or disposed of for the benefit of, the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister may determine.

14.. Consultants and advisers

14. (1) The Office may engage such consultants and advisers as it considers necessary for the performance of its functions.

(2) The Office shall comply with any directions concerning the engagement of consultants and advisers that may from time to time be given to it by the Minister.

(3) Any fees payable to a consultant or adviser shall, having regard to guidelines issued from time to time by the Minister, be paid by the Office out of moneys at its disposal.

15.. Appointment of chief executive of Office

15. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister shall appoint a person recruited in accordance with the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 to be the chief executive of the Office (in this Act referred to as the “chief executive”).

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a person appointed to be the first chief executive of the office under subsection (7).

(3) The chief executive shall hold office on such terms and conditions (including those relating to term of office, allowances and superannuation) as may be determined by the Minister.

(4) The chief executive shall not hold any other office or position without the consent of the Minister.

(5) The chief executive may be removed from office by the Minister for stated reasons.

(6) The Minister may, before the establishment day, designate a person to be appointed to be the first chief executive of the Office.

(7) If, immediately before the establishment day, a person stands designated by the Minister under subsection (6), the Office shall appoint that person to be the first chief executive of the Office.

16.. Functions of chief executive

16. (1) The chief executive shall be the accounting officer, for the purposes of the Comptroller and Auditor General Acts 1866 to 1998, in relation to the appropriation accounts of the Office.

(2) The chief executive shall be the principal officer and Head of the Office for the purposes of the Public Service Management Act 1997.

(3) The Office shall act through, and its functions shall be performed in the name of the Office by, the chief executive or another officer of the Office duly authorised in that behalf by the chief executive.

(4) The chief executive shall—

(a) carry out and manage and control generally the administration and business of the Office,

(b) provide the Board with such information (including financial information) relating to the functions of the chief executive and the implementation of the policies of the Office as the Board may require, and

(c) supply the Minister with such information relating to the performance of the functions of the chief executive and the implementation of the Minister’s policies and priorities as the Minister may require.

(5) The functions of the chief executive may be performed, during his or her absence, by a member of the staff of the Office as may from time to time be designated for that purpose by the chief executive or, when the post is vacant, by the Minister.

17.. Accountability of chief executive to Oireachtas Committees

17. (1) In this section “Committee” means a Committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas (other than the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann) or a sub-Committee of such a Committee.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the chief executive shall, at the request in writing of a Committee, attend before it to give account for the general administration of the Office.