Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency (Establishment) Order 2012

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 264/2012

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 27th July, 2012.

I, PHIL HOGAN, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, having regard to the matters referred to in subsection (1A) of section 3 of the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971 (No. 6 of 1971), as amended by the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) (Confirmation of Orders) Act 2008 (No. 9 of 2008) and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2012 (No. 17 of 2012), and as adapted by the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 ( S.I. No. 193 of 2011 ), and in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the said section 3, and with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform pursuant to the Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 ( S.I. No. 418 of 2011 ), hereby order as follows:

Citation

1. This Order may be cited as the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency (Establishment) Order 2012.

Commencement

2. This Order shall come into effect on 1 August 2012 and that day shall be the establishment day.

Definitions

3. In this Order_

“Act” means the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971 (No. 6 of 1971);

“Board” means the Board established under Article 6;

“Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board appointed by the Minister under Article 6(3)(a);

“designated body” means a body designated for the time being under section 3(2) of the Act; and

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

Establishment of the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency

4. A body to be called and known as An Gníomhaireacht Tithíocht agus Comhphobail Inbhuanaithe or, in the English language, the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, hereinafter referred to as the Housing Agency, is established to provide the services specified in Article 5—

(a) for, and on behalf of, the Minister and each authority to which the Act applies, in the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts, and

(b) for a designated body.

5. The services to be provided by the Housing Agency shall be:

(a) shared and central services;

(b) research, advisory, information and training services;

(c) consultancy, technical and strategic planning services;

(d) procurement services;

(e) agency services;

(f) at the request of the Minister, the preparation, holding, management and publication of indices of residential property, including indices in relation to residential housing sales and residential property rents;

(g) the arrangement, co-ordination and provision of social and economic regeneration, including the development and improvement of land and infrastructure; and

(h) the coordination of, and contribution to, the resolution of issues relating to unfinished housing developments.

Membership of the Housing Agency and constitution of the Board

6. (1) The members of the Housing Agency shall be appointed by the Minister and the number of members so appointed at any time shall be not less than seven and not more than nine.

(2) The members of the Housing Agency shall constitute a Board which shall conduct the Agency’s business and a reference in this Order to a Board member shall be construed as a reference to a member of the Agency.

(3) The membership of the Board shall comprise the following:

(a) a Chairperson appointed by the Minister;

(b) one serving officer from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, as nominated by the Minister;

(c) one serving officer from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as nominated by the Minister of that Department;

(d) two members nominated by the County and City Managers Association, one of whom shall be a serving County or City Manager, and one of whom shall be a serving Finance Officer;

(e) a person nominated by the Irish Council for Social Housing;

(f) the Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Agency; and

(g) such other persons, not being more than two, as the Minister may from time to time consider appropriate.

(4) The term of office of a Board member shall be such period not exceeding five years as may be specified by the Minister upon such appointment and such member shall hold office for that period unless sooner dying, resigning or otherwise ceasing to be a qualified person.

(5) A Board member, including the Chairperson, whose term of office expires by effluxion of time shall be eligible for re-appointment to serve a second term, subject to a limit of serving no more than ten years on the Board.

(6) The Board may act notwithstanding a vacancy among its members.

(7) The quorum for meetings of the Board shall be three members.

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

(9) A Board member shall cease to be a member of the Board on his or her being requested by the Minister to resign.

(10) A person shall cease to be, and shall be disqualified from being, a Board member where he or she—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment, or

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

(11) Where a Board member or an employee of the Housing Agency—

(a) accepts a nomination as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) is elected to either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament,

(c) is regarded, pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 , as having been elected to that Parliament, or

(d) becomes a member of a local authority,

he or she shall thereupon-

(i) in the case of a Board member, cease to be a Board member, or

(ii) in the...