Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2019
937. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he has the authority to dismiss a member of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board as stipulated in the code of governance manual for the NPHD (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14143/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe process for appointing members to the Board of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board is set out in the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (Establishment) Order (Statutory Instrument 246 of 2007). The Children's Health Act 2018 amended the Board appointment process to better reflect the Board's primary role which is to deliver on the new children's hospital and outpatient and urgent care centres capital project, rather than its previous broader remit which also included operational planning for the services, the latter now being a matter for Children's Health Ireland.
To allow for the appointment of a Board under the new provisions sooner than the expiry of the five-year term of office under which members of the Board have been appointed, the Act also includes a provision which, when commenced, provides for the cessation of membership of the Board in place at the time of commencement of the provision. The Establishment Order also provides that a member of the Board, including the Chairperson, may at any time be removed from membership of the Board by the Minister if, in the Minister's opinion, the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions, or has committed stated misbehaviour, or his or her removal appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Board of its functions, or the Minister is satisfied that the member has failed to comply with the provisions in the Order which relate to disclosure of interests.
