Term of office

1. (1) Members of the Council shall hold office for a term of 4 years from the date of appointment.

(2) But 6 of the members first appointed by virtue of sections 10(3)(a), (b), (c), (d), and (e), and 5 of those first appointed by virtue of section 10(3)(f) (as read with section 10(5)) and (g) after the passing of this Act shall hold office for a term of 2 years from the date of appointment.

(3) The members making up the numbers mentioned in subparagraph (2) shall be determined by lot to be drawn in the manner fixed by the Minister.

Disqualification from Office

2. (1) A person shall not be qualified for office and a member shall cease to be so qualified and shall cease to hold office if he or she—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is convicted of any indictable offence,

(d) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(e) is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990, or

(f) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

(2) A disqualification under subparagraph (1)(a), (c), (d) or (e) shall not take effect until the ordinary time for appealing against the adjudication, conviction or, as the case may be, order has expired, or if an appeal is brought, it (or any further appeal) is determined in a way which upholds the adjudication, conviction or order or is abandoned.

(3) The Minister may at any time remove a member from office if—

(a) in the Minister’s opinion, the member has become incapable, through ill-health, of performing his or her functions,

(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or

(c) the removal of the member appears to the Minister to be necessary for the Council to perform its functions effectively.

(4) Subparagraph (2) does not limit the Minister’s power under paragraph 21(2) to remove any or all of the members of the Council.

Conditions of office

3. Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a member shall hold office upon such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to expenses and allowances) as are determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

President and Vice-President

4. (1) The Council shall elect from among its members who are registered pharmacists a President and a Vice-President, to be known as the President and Vice-President respectively of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (in this Schedule referred to as “President” and “Vice-President” respectively).

(2) The President and Vice-President shall each hold office for one year.

(3) No person may hold the office of President or Vice-President for more than 2 consecutive years.

Casual Vacancies

5. (1) If a member dies, resigns, or ceases to hold office or is removed from office, (in this paragraph referred to as a “former member”), the Minister may appoint a person (in this paragraph referred to as a “new member”) to fill the casual vacancy in the same way (having regard to section 10(3)) as the former member was appointed.

(2) A new member shall hold office for the period of office of the former member that remained unexpired at the date of the new member’s appointment and shall be eligible for reappointment on the expiry of that period.

Meetings and Procedure of the Council

6. (1) The Council shall hold 4 meetings in each period of 12 months and may hold such other meetings as are necessary for the performance of its functions.

(2) At a meeting of the Council—

(a) the President, or

(b) in his or her absence, the Vice-President, or

(c) in both their absences, a member chosen by the members present,

shall chair the meeting.

(3) The reference in subsection (2) to the absence of the President or Vice-President includes reference to a vacancy in that office.

(4) Every question at a meeting shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chair shall have a casting vote.

(5) Subject to subparagraph (6), the Council may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies in its membership.

(6) The quorum for a meeting shall be, unless the Minister otherwise directs, 11 members.

(7) The Council shall arrange for the recording of the business done at its meetings and those of its committees and, subject to that and the other provisions of this Act, shall regulate its procedure and that of its committees by rules and otherwise as it sees fit.

Committees of the Council

7. (1) In addition to the disciplinary committees which the Council must set up under section 34, it may establish committees to advise it in relation to the performance of its functions (in this Schedule referred to as “advisory committees”) and may determine their terms of reference.

(2) Subparagraphs (3) to (6) shall apply to disciplinary committees and advisory committees.

(3) A committee may include persons who are not members of the Council.

(4) A member of a committee may be removed from it by the Council.

(5) The Council shall appoint a member of a committee to chair it.

(6) The Council shall fix the quorum of a committee.

(7) The Council may dissolve a committee established under subparagraph (1).

Membership of either House of the Oireachtas or European Parliament by a Member of the Council or Staff of the Society

8. (1) A member of the Council who is—

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament, or

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

shall then cease to be a member of the Council.

(2) An employee of the Society who is—

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament, or

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

shall then stand seconded from employment by the Society.

(3) An employee seconded under subparagraph (2) shall not be paid by, or entitled to receive from, the Society any remuneration or allowances in respect of the period beginning on such nomination or election or when he or she is so regarded as having been elected (as the case may be) and ending when such person ceases to be a member of either such House or a member of such Parliament.

(4) A person who is entitled under the standing orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit in it or who is a member of the European Parliament shall be, while so entitled or while such a member, disqualified from membership of the Council and from becoming employed in any capacity by the Council.

(5) A period mentioned in subparagraph (3) shall not, for the purposes of any superannuation benefit, be reckoned as service with the Society.

Disclosure of certain interests

9. (1) In this paragraph—

“connected relative” , in relation to a person, means a spouse, a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife, parent, brother, sister, child or spouse of a child of the person;

“meeting” means a meeting of the Council or of a committee of the Council;

“member” includes a member of a committee of the Council;

“specified matter” means—

(a) an arrangement to which the Council is a party or a proposed such arrangement, or

(b) a contract or other agreement with the Council or a proposed such contract or agreement.

(2) A member present at a meeting where a specified matter arises who, otherwise than in his or her capacity as a member, has an interest in that matter—

(a) shall at the meeting, disclose that fact and the extent of the interest,

(b) may not influence or seek to influence a decision to be made in relation to the matter,

(c) shall absent himself or herself from the meeting or that part of the meeting during which the matter is being discussed,

(d) may not vote on a decision relating to the matter, and

(e) may not take part in any further deliberation of the Council or any of its committees relating to the matter.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, but without prejudice to the generality of subparagraph (2), a member shall be regarded as having an interest in a matter if a connected relative F67[or civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 of that member or a nominee of any of them] has such an interest.

(4) The disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and, for as long as the specified matter is being dealt with by the meeting, the member making the disclosure may not be counted for the purposes of determining the presence of a quorum for the meeting.

(5) The question of whether a member’s course of conduct, is or would be a contravention of subparagraph (2) shall be determined by the chair, whose decision shall be final, and the particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

(6) Where the member referred to in subparagraph (4) is the chair, the meeting shall choose another member to chair it for the purposes of the determination.

(7) If satisfied that a member has contravened subparagraph (2), the Minister may remove the member from office and that person is then disqualified from office.

Disclosure by employees of certain interests

10. (1) In this paragraph—

“connected relative” has the same meaning as in paragraph 9;

“material interest” has the same meaning in relation to an employee of the Society as it has in the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 in relation to a person holding a designated position;

“specified matter” has the same meaning as in paragraph 9.

(2) An employee of the Society who, otherwise than as such, has a material interest in a specified matter—

(a) shall disclose that fact to the Council and the extent of the interest,

(b) may not influence or seek to influence any decision to be made in relation to the matter,

(c) may not make any recommendation relating to the matter, and

(d) may not take part in the negotiation of the matter or in any deliberation by the Council or the Society’s employees relating to that matter.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph but without prejudice to the generality of subparagraph (2), an employee shall be regarded as having a material interest in a matter if a connected relative F68[or civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 of the employee or any of them] has such an interest.

(4) Where an employee fails to make a disclosure in accordance with this paragraph, the Council shall decide the appropriate action (which may include termination of his or her contract of employment) to be taken.

Prohibition of unauthorised disclosure of confidential information

11. (1) A person who discloses confidential information obtained as—

(a) a member of the Council or one of its committees,

(b) an adviser or consultant to the Society or the Council or one of its committees,

(c) an employee of the Society,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) In this paragraph, “confidential information” includes—

(a) information declared by the Council to be confidential (whether particular information or information of a class or description), and

(b) proposals of a commercial nature or tenders submitted to the Council.

(3) Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the disclosure of information by means of a report made—

(a) to the Society, the Council or one of its committees, or

(b) by or on behalf of the Council to the Minister.

Application of surpluses

12. (1) Subparagraph (2) applies to any money appearing to the Council to be left over after meeting its expenses (in this paragraph referred to as the “surplus”).

(2) The Council may spend the surplus including any surplus following disposal of assets as it sees fit on—

(a) the development of education,

(b) research, or

(c) any other public purpose,

connected with pharmacy.

Registrar

13. (1) The Council shall appoint a chief officer of the Society, to be known as the Registrar of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (in this Act referred to as the “registrar”).

(2) The registrar shall be paid by the Society such remuneration and allowances as the Council, with the approval of the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determines from time to time.

(3) The registrar shall be employed on such other terms and conditions as the Council, with the approval of the Minister, determines.

(4) The registrar shall keep the registers, manage and control the administration and business of the Society and the Council and perform such other functions as may be determined by the Council.

Staff of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland

14. (1) The Council may engage such and such number of persons to be employees of the Society as the Council, with the approval of the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

(2) An employee of the Society shall be paid by the Council such remuneration and allowances as the Council, with the approval of the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance determines from time to time.

(3) An employee of the Society shall be employed on such other terms and conditions as the Council, with the approval of the Minister, determines from time to time.

(4) An employee of the Society shall perform such duties as the Council determines from time to time.

(5) An employee of the Society may not be a member of the Council.

Superannuation

15. (1) The Society shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits to or in respect of such members of the staff of the Society as it may think fit.

(2) Every such scheme shall fix the time and conditions of retirement for all persons to or in respect of whom superannuation benefits are payable under the scheme, and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(3) Every such scheme may be amended or revoked by a subsequent scheme prepared, submitted and approved under this section.

(4) A scheme submitted by a Society under this section shall, if approved by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the Society in accordance with its terms.

(5) No superannuation benefit shall be granted by the Society nor shall any other arrangements be entered into by the Society for the provision of such a benefit to or in respect of a member of the staff of the Society otherwise than in accordance with a scheme under this section or with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

(6) Each scheme made under this section shall make provision for appeals.

(7) A scheme 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 scheme is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Accounts and audit

16. (1) The Council shall keep proper accounts—

(a) of all income and expenditure of the Society, including the sources of such income, and

(b) of the property and liabilities of the Society.

(2) The accounts shall be audited at least once in every year by an auditor appointed by the Council for that purpose and the fees of the auditor and the expenses of the audit shall be paid by the Council as soon as practicable after each audit.

(3) Not later than 3 months after the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate, the Council shall submit copies of the accounts and the auditors’ certificate and report to the Minister.

(4) As soon as practicable after those copies have been so submitted, the Minister shall lay them before each House of the Oireachtas and as soon as practicable after they have been so laid, the Council shall have them printed, published and put on sale.

Annual report

17. (1) Not later than 3 months after the end of each financial year, the Council shall submit to the Minister a report on its activities in that year and the Minster shall, as soon as practicable, lay copies of the report before each House of the Oireachtas.

(2) As soon as practicable after the report has been so submitted, the Council shall have it printed, published and put on sale.

Council’s exercise of Society’s borrowing power

18. (1) The Council’s exercise of the Society’s power to borrow shall be subject to any conditions that may be imposed by, or in accordance with any directions given by, the Minster with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(2) Any money so borrowed and any interest accruing on it shall be secured on the income or property of the Society.

Acceptance of gifts by the Council

19. The Council may accept gifts of land, money or other property, but only if any trusts or conditions specified by the donor are consistent with the Society’s functions.

Power to charge and recover fees

20. (1) The Society may charge such fees as may, with the approval of the Minister, from time to time, be prescribed for any or all the following:

(a) registration;

(b) continued registration;

(c) the issue of certificates of registration or continued registration;

(d) the making of alterations in a register under section 22(2)(a);

(e) the restoration of a name to a register under section 61;

(f) any other service provided by virtue of this Act F69[or the Professional Qualifications Regulations].

(2) The Society may recover, as a simple contract debt, any amount owed in respect of a fee charged under this section.

Failure of Council to perform a function

21. (1) If the Council fails to perform any of its functions the Minister may, in writing, direct it—

(a) to perform the function within the time specified in the direction, and

(b) for that purpose, to do any other thing that is ancillary or incidental to the performance of the function.

(2) If the Council does not comply with the direction the Minister may, by order, remove from office any or all of its members and perform the function himself or herself.

Annual service plan and corporate strategy

22. The Society shall prepare an annual service plan and a corporate strategy.