14.—(1) If the Minister considers that the provision or administration of any service which under this Act he is enabled to provide or administer would be facilitated thereby, he may, with the consent of F31[the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform], and after consulting such other Minister of State (if any) as the Minister considers appropriate to consult in the circumstances, by order establish a board (which shall be known by the name specified in the order) to provide, administer, or provide and administer that service on his behalf in accordance with such directives (which shall be complied with by the board) in relation to the general policy of the Minister relating to wildlife as he may give from time to time.

(2) Such of the provisions contained in the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply to a board established by the Minister under this section as the Minister specifies by order and for the purpose of applying any such provision in relation to a particular board as regards which the provision is so specified, any reference in that Schedule to the Board shall be construed as a reference to that particular board.

(3) The Minister may by order, if he considers it appropriate, provide that a specified board established under this section may be directed by the Minister to act on his behalf in the performance of such of his functions under this Act (other than the prosecution of an offence) as are specified in the order and the board so specified shall comply with any such direction and shall have all such powers as are necessary to put into effect any direction given to it by the Minister pursuant to the order.

(4) (a) As regards each accounting year a board established by the Minister under this section shall, within the specified period beginning immediately after the board’s accounting year, make a report to the Minister of its activities during that year and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(b) The Minister shall, as regards a board established by him under this section, specify a period for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection and the period so specified is in that paragraph referred to as the specified period.

(5) The Minister shall not revoke an order under this section establishing a board without the consent of F31[the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform].

(6) Where the Minister revokes an order under this section the following provisions shall have effect:

(a) all property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which immediately before the commencement of the order was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust or subject to conditions for the board to which the revoked order relates (in this subsection subsequently referred to as the board) and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property shall on the commencement of the order without any conveyance or assignment, but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company, become and be vested in or the property of or held in trust or subject to conditions for (as the case may require) the Minister for all the interest for which the same immediately before such commencement was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust or subject to conditions for the board, but subject to all trusts, conditions and equities affecting the same and then subsisting and capable of being performed,

(b) the said property which immediately before such commencement was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation or company in the name of the relevant board shall, upon the request of the Minister made at any time on or after such commencement, be transferred in such books by such bank, corporation or company into the name of the Minister,

(c) any chose-in-action transferred by this section may on or after such commencement, be sued upon, recovered, or enforced by the Minister in his own name and it shall not be necessary for the Minister to give notice to the person bound by such chose-in-action of the transfer effected by this section,

(d) every debt and other liability (including unliquidated liabilities arising from torts or breaches of contract) which, immediately before such commencement is owing and unpaid or has been incurred and is undischarged by the board shall, on such commencement, become and be the debt or liability of the Minister and shall be paid or discharged by and may be recovered from and enforced against the Minister accordingly, and

(e) where, immediately before such commencement, any legal proceedings are pending to which the board is a party, the name of the Minister shall be substituted for that of the board, and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

(7) F32[…]