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Irish Association for Emergency Medicine: Constitution 2022

Table of Content:

1. Name

The name of the Association shall be “The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine” hereafter referred to as “IAEM” or the “Association”.

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2. Objectives

2.1. The objectives of the Association will be to:

2.1.1. Educate clinicians in all aspects of Emergency Medicine through organisation of an Annual Scientific Meeting, other academic fora and through support of the Basic Specialist (BSTEM) and Higher Specialist Training (HSTEM) programmes in Emergency Medicine;

2.1.2. Promote the highest standards of emergency care for patients of all ages in the diagnosis and management of acute and urgent aspects of undifferentiated illness, injury and behavioural disorders;

2.1.3. Advocate for and seek the best quality and quantum of suitably trained staff and other resources so as to meet and maintain the highest standards of emergency care;

2.1.4. Support, advance and monitor sustainable training and research in emergency care for all patients;

2.1.5. Provide expert guidance and advice on matters relating to optimum emergency care, both to the public and relevant national health-related bodies;

2.1.6. Support and advise groups interested in advancing emergency care, both at home and abroad.

2.2. The direct remit of the Association will be the Republic of Ireland although IAEM will play a role outside this jurisdiction through membership of international bodies such as the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EuSEM) and the International Federation of Emergency Medicine (IFEM).

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3. Membership

3.1. Membership is available to doctors and medical students with an interest in the specialty of Emergency Medicine. There are 5 types of membership available; Life, Full, Associate, Honorary & Affiliate.

3.2. Applicants for Full, Associate & Affiliate membership shall apply in writing with the appropriate subscription and application form to the Honorary Secretary, who shall submit the names of candidates for consideration by the Officers of the Association. The Officers of the Association may refer an application for consideration by the Executive and in exceptional circumstances; the Executive may refer the matter for the consideration of the General Membership at the next meeting of the Association.

3.3. The Association may confer Association membership as Honorary and Life Members. These members are exempt from payment of subscriptions.

3.4. Honorary membership will be open to Consultants in Emergency Medicine from overseas or Consultants in other specialties who have made a significant contribution to the development or advancement of the specialty of Emergency Medicine in Ireland or internationally. Applicants will be recommended by the Executive, proposed and seconded by Full Members and will be elected at the next Annual General Meeting of the Association.

3.5. Life membership will be open to Full Members on their retirement from substantive practice.

3.6. Membership may be terminated by:

  • Resignation – subject to fourteen (14) days’ notice in writing.
  • Expulsion for bringing the specialty or the Association into disrepute – This will be by a resolution of the Executive Committee. Such a resolution will take place after due inquiry by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall provide the member with details of the allegation and give him/her no less than twenty-eight (28) days’ notice of a meeting of the Executive Committee at which the member concerned may present his/her defence.
  • Expulsion for failure to pay subscriptions – Any member who has failed to pay their subscription by the time of the Annual General Meeting, despite being informed of the position by the Honorary Treasurer, shall automatically cease to be a member and shall not be entitled to vote. To rejoin, such lapsed members must submit a new application for membership.

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4. Subscriptions

4.1. The Annual Subscription, which differs by membership type, shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting of the Association on the recommendation of the Honorary Treasurer and will become liable for full payment on 1st January of the subscription year.

4.2. The Association may levy additional fees in response to particular contingencies. Such a levy will be recommended by the Executive Committee but will require approval of the membership at an Extraordinary or Annual General Meeting.

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5. Visitors

Visitors may be invited by the officers of the Association to attend meetings and take part in discussions but are not entitled to vote.

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6. Fee-paying Membership Groupings and Entitlements

6.1. Full membership is available to a doctor who holds a substantive post as a Consultant in either Emergency Medicine or Paediatric Emergency Medicine, in either a public or private hospital in Ireland; to a doctor who is listed on the Medical Council (Ireland) Specialist Register in the division of Emergency Medicine; or to a doctor who is listed on the Medical Council (Ireland) Specialist Register in the division of Paediatrics and is working in the field of Paediatric Emergency Medicine.

Full members are entitled to attend all meetings of the General Membership, Annual General and Extraordinary General Meetings of the Association and take part in discussions. They have full voting rights in all matters decided by vote at Annual, Extraordinary and General meetings of the Association.

They have login access to the IAEM website as Full Members.

6.2. Associate Membership is available to a Temporary or Locum Consultant in Emergency Medicine or Paediatric Emergency Medicine not eligible for Full Membership or a non-Consultant hospital doctor, such as an Associate Specialist; Associate Emergency Physician; Staff Grade; Specialist Registrar; Registrar; Senior House Officer; Intern or equivalent, working in or having an interest in Emergency Medicine.

Associate members are entitled to attend meetings of the General Membership, Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings of the Association and take part in discussions but not to vote.

They have login access to the IAEM website as Associate members.

6.3. Affiliate Membership is open to medical students with an interest in Emergency Medicine.

Affiliate members can attend the Annual General Meeting as observers but not take part in discussions or vote.

They have login access to the IAEM website as Affiliate members.

6.4. Doctors who have previously trained or worked in Ireland but are currently practicing outside of the island of Ireland remain eligible for Association membership in the appropriate category.  Such doctors will be entitled to all the benefits of membership but pay half the current annual subscription. Current members who leave practice in Ireland to practice overseas during a subscription year may also avail of this reduced fee on written application to the Honorary Secretary. The reduction in annual subscription will apply on a pro rata basis.

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7. Governance of the Association

The governing body of the Association shall be the membership at the Annual General Meeting, which will have the power to elect an Executive Committee which will oversee the day-today business running of the Association.

The Trustees of the Association will be:

  • The President;
  • The Honorary Secretary;
  • The Honorary Treasurer and
  • The Penultimate Past President

The Trustees shall hold property and general funds on behalf of the Association and shall deal with same in accordance with the directions of the Executive Committee.

The affairs of the Association, in all matters not in this Constitution reserved for the members of the Association in General Meeting, shall be managed by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may execute all or any documents which are necessary to progress and implement any motion adopted by the members at an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting without the need to seek further approval from the members.

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8. Officers

8.1. The Officers of the Association shall be the

  • President,
  • Honorary Secretary and
  • Honorary Treasurer.

The President shall chair meetings of the Executive Committee and all other meetings of the Association and shall have a casting vote. He/she may nominate another member of the Executive Committee to chair any meeting in his/her absence.

The Honorary Secretary shall maintain a register of all members of the Association. He/she shall deal with all enquiries and correspondence relating to the Association. He/she shall notify members of meetings, prepare agendas and documents for meetings. He/she shall keep a record of attendance at meetings.

The Honorary Treasurer shall receive subscriptions on behalf of the Association. He/she shall disburse the expenses of the Association, including legitimate expenses incurred by any member in connection with work for the Association where approved by the Executive Committee. The financial year shall end on 31st December each year. He/she shall present a financial statement to include a record of accounts at the Annual General Meeting.

8.2. The Officers of IAEM will normally be responsible for dealing with the media on behalf of the Association. Depending on circumstances and the issue, the President or Honorary Secretary may task other members of the Executive Committee or other IAEM members with responding to the media on behalf of the Association.

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9. The Executive Committee

9.1. The Executive Committee (the “Executive”) of IAEM shall comprise the following, all being Members of the Association:

  • The President;
  • The Honorary Secretary;
  • The Honorary Treasurer;
  • The Chair of the Irish Committee for Emergency Medicine Training;
  • The CEM Training Standards Committee Representative;
  • The President of IEMTA;
  • Two Ordinary Members;
  • The Immediate Past President/ President-Elect;
  • The Immediate Past Secretary.

9.2. Process for Election

9.2.1. Officers and members of the Executive will normally be elected at an Annual General Meeting. The Honorary Secretary will make a written call for nominations where a vacancy is due to arise, sixty (60) days before the proposed meeting date.

9.2.2. Candidates for an Officer or ordinary member vacancy on the Executive Committee shall be proposed and seconded by full members. Such proposals shall include the written assent of the nominated full member to allow his/her name to go forward for election and the name and signature of the proposer and seconder. These must be submitted to the Honorary Secretary not less than forty (40) days before the AGM.

9.2.3. The names of candidates will be distributed to full members of the Association with the papers for the AGM not less than twenty eight (28) days before the date of the meeting. In the event of there being more than one nominee for a vacancy, an election by secret ballot will be held.

9.2.4. Where an unexpected vacancy arises, the Executive may fill the post on an interim basis until the formal process can be commenced. If no applications are made for a vacancy the Executive may similarly fill the post on an interim basis until the post is filled definitively.

9.3. Terms of Office

9.3.1.  The President of IAEM shall serve for a term of two years and the Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer shall each serve terms of three years. Each may stand for re-election for a second term in their role, if suitably proposed and seconded. Thereafter he/she is disqualified from holding the same office in the Association.

9.3.2. The two Ordinary Members of the Executive Committee shall serve for a period of three years after which they rotate off the Committee for at least two years unless elected as an Officer.

9.3.3. The Immediate Past-President will serve on the Executive Committee for a period of a year after the end of his/her Presidency. Thereafter he/she will be replaced on the Executive Committee by the President-Elect. If no President-Elect is in Office by virtue of the President being re-elected for a second term, then the Immediate Past-President will demit from the Executive.

9.3.4. The Immediate Past-Secretary will serve on the Executive Committee for a period of a year after the end of his/her term as Honorary Secretary.

9.3.5. The President-Elect shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting a year before the end of the term of office of the President. If a President wishes to seek re-election for a second term and is successfully re-elected, a President-Elect will be elected a year prior to the conclusion of the second term of office. He/she will take up office at the following year’s Annual General Meeting. The incoming Honorary Secretary and the incoming Honorary Treasurer shall take up office at the end of the Annual General Meeting at which they are elected.

9.3.6. Notwithstanding Clause 9.3, every year, one third of directors for the time being or if their number is not a multiple of three then the number nearest one third shall retire from office. The Directors to retire each year shall be those who have been longest in office since the last election. A retiring Director shall be eligible for re-election subject to the provisions of clauses 9.3.1 to 9.3.5.

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10. The Annual General Meeting

10.1. An Annual General Meeting shall be held each year. A quorum shall be (i) two Officers and (ii) six non-Executive Committee Full Members or 20% of the Full Membership, whichever is the greater.

10.2. Not less than twenty eight (28) days notice of the time, date and venue of the meeting must be given.

10.3. The business of an Annual General Meeting shall be:

  • To receive minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting;
  • To receive a report from the President and/or Honorary Secretary on the activities of the Association over the previous year;
  • To receive reports from Standing Committees, Subcommittees, national and other representatives;
  • To receive the annual financial report from the Honorary Treasurer;
  • To approve the annual subscription;
  • To elect Directors to the Executive Committee, when due;
  • To consider amendments to the Constitution;
  • To consider recommendations for Honorary or Life Membership;
  • Any other business appropriate to an Annual General Meeting.

10.4. Any Full Member wishing to table a motion at the Annual General Meeting shall ensure that it is received by the Honorary Secretary not less than twenty eight (28) days prior to the meeting.

10.5. Except where the rules in this Constitution provide otherwise, all motions tabled at an Annual General Meeting shall be adopted by way of simple majority. All votes shall be taken by show of hands unless the majority of Full Members present at the Annual General Meeting request that the motion being discussed is put to vote by ballot, in which case a formal ballot will be held at that meeting.

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11. Committees & Subcommittees

11.1. IAEM may appoint Standing Committees and subcommittees to assist in achieving the objectives of the Association. Each Committee will have a Convenor (who will chair the Committee) and a number of members and may co-opt further members with the approval of the Executive Committee. Members may be from any category of membership. These committees will report to the Executive Committee, members of which should receive minutes of the Committee meetings. The Convenors should also produce annual reports for the Annual General Meeting and interval reports on new developments for IAEM meetings.

11.2. The Standing Committee, subcommittee and Association representatives may be appointed at the Annual General Meeting or by the Executive Committee. If appointed by the Executive Committee, the appointments should be notified to the membership at the next meeting of IAEM. Such representatives will report directly to the Executive and will copy minutes of relevant meetings to the Executive Committee. They will also produce a short report for the Annual General Meeting.

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12. Extraordinary General Meetings

12.1. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by two officers of the Association or on petition of five non-Executive Committee Full Members. The petition must state the reasons for the meeting and must be signed by the petitioners. Not less than fourteen (14) days notice must be given of the time, date and venue of the meeting.

12.1. A quorum for an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be (i) two Officers and (ii) six non Executive Committee Full Members or 20% of the Full Membership, whichever is the greater.

12.3. Except where the rules in this Constitution provide otherwise, all motions tabled at an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be adopted by way of simple majority. All votes shall be taken by show of hands unless the majority of Full Members present at the Extraordinary General Meeting request that the motion being discussed is put to vote by ballot, in which case a formal ballot will be held at that meeting.

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13. Meetings of the Association

13.1. The Executive Committee shall meet formally at least twice a year. The President may, at his/her discretion, invite any number of Full; Life; Honorary; Associate or Affiliate members or visitors to attend an Executive Committee meeting. The meeting will conduct the day-today running of the Association and receive reports on on-going activities from Standing Committees and subcommittees. It will make representations on behalf of the Association for the advancement of Emergency Medicine. The Executive may meet in person or by videoconference or teleconference.

13.2. In addition to the Annual General Meeting, the General Membership shall meet formally at least twice a year. More frequent meetings may be organized at the discretion of the Executive Committee. These meetings will provide the opportunity to:

  • Appraise the Membership of developments which have occurred in the intervening period to which the Executive Committee has responded on behalf of the Association;
  • Allow debate on issues of importance to the Association;
  • Allow the Executive Committee to refer issues to the General Membership for consideration and decision;
  • Discuss relevant issues of concern to the General Membership.

13.3. Meetings of the General Membership, Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings will be open to all Members. The President, on behalf of the Executive Committee, may determine that all or a portion of an IAEM meeting may only be attended by Full Members.

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14. Income and Property

The income and property of the IAEM shall be applied solely towards the promotion of its objectives as set out in this Constitution. No portion of IAEM’s income and/or property shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or otherwise howsoever by way of profit to any member of the Association. No officer appointed to any office of the Association shall be paid by salary or fees, or receive any remuneration or other benefit in money or money’s worth from the Association other than re-imbursement of legitimate expenses incurred on behalf of the Association. The IAEM may pay the legitimate expenses of speakers invited to speak at specific IAEM meetings although the payment of expenses to speakers invited to speak at the IAEM Annual Scientific Meeting will be a matter for the local meeting organising committee.

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15. Amalgamation / Restructuring

15.1. The Association may enter into any arrangements (including any arrangement or agreement to acquire an interest in, absorb, take-over, merge, amalgamate, consolidate its business or enter into partnership or any arrangement or agreement for co-operation or mutual assistance) with any company, organisation, association, firm or person that may be conducive to the attainment and/or continuance of the objectives of the Association or any of them.

15.2. Subject to approval at general meeting, the income and property of IAEM may be transferred to another institution, organisation or body corporate (whether specifically incorporated for the purpose or already existing) for the purposes of facilitating the restructuring or change in the way the Association carries on business going forward. In effecting such a transfer, the Trustees shall act in accordance with the directions of the Executive Committee.

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16. Constitution

The Constitution of the Association cannot be amended, repealed or extended other than by giving sixty (60) days’ notice of motion of such a proposal coming before an Annual General Meeting. Such a motion must be formally proposed and seconded. It will be circulated to the Full Membership with the agenda of the meeting. Any amendments to the motion must be received by the Honorary Secretary at least twenty eight (28) days before the Annual General Meeting and circulated to the Full Membership at least fourteen (14) days before the Meeting. To be adopted, the motion must be approved by at least two thirds of the Full Membership present at the Annual General Meeting.

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17. Communication

17.1. The standard method of communication with the membership will be by electronic mail (email). Minutes, agenda, calls for nominations, AGM and EGM motions, notifications about meetings will, as a matter of course, be disseminated electronically.

17.2. It is the responsibility of each individual member to ensure that the Honorary Secretary has an up-to-date and functional email address for him/her. The sending of an email message to such a valid email address will be taken as adequate notification.

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18. Dissolution

18.1. The Association may be dissolved:

18.1.1. By a motion being passed at a duly convened general meeting of the Association, such motion being approved by at least two thirds of the members present; or

18.1.2. By unanimous decision of the Executive Committee where the number of full members falls below [ten].

18.2. If and to the extent there are any assets or property remaining in the Association at the time of, or at any time subsequent to the dissolution of the Association (after the discharge of all debts and liabilities of the Association) such property shall continue to be vested in the Trustees and the Trustees shall deal with that property in accordance with the directions of the Executive Committee given at the time that the motion for dissolution was passed.

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This Constitution was approved at the Annual General Meeting of the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine held at the Slieve Russell Hotel, Co. Cavan, on 20th October 2022.

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