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31 2005

Railway Safety Act 2005

PART 8

Railway Safety Advisory Council

Appointed day.

81. —The Minister shall by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Part.

Railway Safety Advisory Council.

82. —(1) There shall be established, on the appointed day, a body to be known as, in the Irish language, An Chomhairle Sábháilteachta Iarnróid, or in the English language, the Railway Safety Advisory Council, and in this Act referred to as the “Council”, to perform the functions assigned to it under this Part.

(2) The Council shall consist of 14 members.

(3) Members of the Council shall comprise—

(a) a chairperson who, in the opinion of the Minister, has appropriate experience and expertise, and is sufficiently independent from railway undertakings and from persons representing the staff of undertakings and from the Commission,

(b) at least 4 persons representing railway undertakings, of which one will represent railway undertakings which in the opinion of the Minister are heritage railways,

(c) at least 3 persons from organisations which represent staff of railway undertakings,

(d) at least one person who in the opinion of the Minister represents the public interest,

(e) at least one person representing a body established by or under statute involved in the regulation of worker safety or public safety,

(f) at least one person from an organisation representing the interests of mobility-impaired persons, and

(g) at least one person with particular expertise relevant to railway safety but not being a person from an organisation in paragraph (b) or (c) or from the Commission.

(4) An organisation or person may, at its own initiative or at the request of the Minister, nominate a person to be a member of the Council, and the Minister in making an appointment under subsection (5), shall have regard, in so far as is practicable, to any nominations received by him or her under this subsection.

(5) The Minister shall appoint persons to be members of the Council, including a person to be chairperson of the Council, and an appointment under this section shall be for such period not exceeding 3 years as may be specified by the Minister when appointing such persons, and shall be on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(6) A member of the Council shall be paid, out of monies at the disposal of the Commission, such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

(7) A member of the Council whose term of office expires by the effluxion of time shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(8) The Minister, in appointing members of the Council shall ensure, in as far as is practicable, an equitable balance between men and women in any appointments.

(9) The Commission shall provide all reasonable facilities and services as may be required by the Council for the carrying out of its functions.

(10) The Council may act notwithstanding a vacancy or vacancies in its membership.

(11) The Council may regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, its procedure and business.

(12) The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Council and the members of the Council shall decide on the frequency of all further meetings, subject to the Council meeting at least once each year.

(13) A member of the Council may resign from office by letter addressed to the Minister.

(14) The Minister may remove from office a member of the Council in the following circumstances—

(a) where, in the opinion of the Minister, he or she has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her duties,

(b) for stated misbehaviour,

(c) in the case of a person appointed to represent an organisation, a body or a class of persons under subsection (3), where the person is no longer such a representative, or

(d) where his or her removal appears to the Minister to be necessary or desirable for the effective performance by the Council of its functions.

(15) The Minister may, after consultation with the Council, make regulations on any matter which the Minister considers expedient for the purposes of this section.

(16) A commissioner (or if membership is vacant, the deputy commissioner) may attend and be heard at meetings of the Council but may not vote on any matter being considered by the Council.

Functions of Council.

83. —(1) It shall be the general function of the Council to consider issues relevant to railway safety and to make recommendations, as appropriate, to the Commission or to the Minister.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Council may make recommendations—

(a) to the Commission in relation to—

(i) regulations, standards, guidelines and codes of practice that are in force in relation to railway safety,

(ii) proposals for regulations, standards, guidelines or codes of practice in relation to railway safety submitted by the Commission to the Council for consideration,

(iii) other matters relating to railway safety other than matters relating to industrial relations, and

(iv) any other matters related to the functions of the Commission or which the Commission submits to the Council for consideration,

(b) to the Minister in relation to—

(i) railway safety policy,

(ii) the adequacy of railway safety legislation which is in force,

(iii) proposals for legislation or regulations in relation to railway safety submitted by the Minister to the Council for consideration,

(iv) the assignment of specific functions relating to railway safety to the Commission,

(v) the nature and mix of expertise, skills and experience that is desirable in a candidate for appointment as a commissioner, and

(vi) any other matter which, in the opinion of the Council, is relevant to the effective performance by the Council or by the Commission of its functions or which the Minister submits to the Council for consideration.

(3) The Commission or the Minister, as appropriate, shall consider the recommendations of the Council given under this section.

(4) The Council may publish recommendations given under this section.

(5) The Commission may consult the Council on any matter relating to railway safety or to the effective performance by the Commission of its functions.

(6) The Minister may consult the Council on any matter arising in relation to his or her functions with respect to railway safety.

(7) The Council shall be entitled to be informed at its meetings, by the commissioner or deputy member of the Commission who stands appointed to the Council or a person appointed by him or her for the purpose, about the work of the Commission but not in relation to the detail of particular safety cases, assessments, audits or investigations where a report has not been published.