Chapter III

Director and Staff of Authority

25. —(1) There shall be a chief executive of the Authority who shall be known, and is referred to in this Act, as the “Director”.

(2) The first Director shall be appointed by the Minister and each subsequent Director (including any person re-appointed as Director) shall be appointed by the Authority.

(3) A person appointed as Director shall hold office under a contract of service in writing with the Authority upon such terms and conditions, including those relating to remuneration and allowances for expenses, as may be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance and specified in the contract.

(4) The Director shall not be a member of the Authority or of an advisory committee established under section 11 , but he or she may, in accordance with procedures established by the Authority, attend meetings of the Authority or of any such advisory committee and shall be entitled to speak and advise at any such meeting.

(5) (a) The Director shall, unless he or she earlier dies, resigns or retires at any stage after attaining the earliest age to retire in accordance with a scheme under section 28 or is earlier removed from office, hold office for a period not exceeding 7 years or for the period from the date of the appointment to the date on which he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is the shorter.

(b) Nothing in paragraph (a) shall be construed as preventing the appointment of—

(i) a Director whose term as such is about to expire, or

(ii) a former Director,

for a further period as Director in accordance with paragraph (a).

(6) The Director may be removed from office at any time for stated reasons by—

(a) in the case of the first person appointed as Director, the Minister, and

(b) in the case of subsequent appointments (including the re-appointment at any time of the person who was first appointed as Director), the Authority with the consent of the Minister,

and in accordance with the terms and conditions of his or her contract of service.

26. —(1) The Director shall carry on and manage and control generally the administration and business of the Authority in accordance with this Act and perform such other functions as may be determined by the Authority.

(2) (a) Subject to the consent of the Authority, the Director may authorise a member of the staff of the Authority to perform such functions on his or her behalf, and, in the absence of the Director or where that post is vacant, the Authority may designate a member of its staff to perform such functions.

(b) Before giving its consent or designating under paragraph (a), the Authority shall consider the extent, if any, to which sections 30 and 31 shall apply to the person concerned as if he or she were the Director and where the Authority after such consideration decides on any such application it shall be noted in the minutes of the meeting of the Authority so deciding and be communicated to the person concerned.

(c) A person to whom paragraph (b) applies shall comply with the obligations imposed by section 30 or 31 or both (as the case may be) and, accordingly, references in those sections to the Director shall be construed as including a person to whom paragraph (b) applies.

(3) The Director shall furnish the Authority with such information (including financial information) in relation to the performance of his or her executive functions as the Authority may from time to time require.

27. —(1) Subject to any transfer of officers or servants from the Board to the Authority by virtue of Part III of this Act, the Authority may, subject to the approval of the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, appoint such and so many persons to be staff of the Authority as it may from time to time think necessary to assist the Authority in the performance of its functions.

(2) Subject to section 36 , members of staff of the Authority shall hold their employment on such terms and conditions, including those relating to remuneration and allowances for expenses, as the Authority, with the approval of the Minister given, in so far as it relates to remuneration and allowances for expenses, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine from time to time.

(3) The Director may from time to time assign such duties as he or she considers appropriate to each member of staff and each member of staff shall carry out the duties so assigned.

(4) In making a determination under subsection (2), the Authority shall act in accordance with the directions of the Minister and shall have regard to any arrangements in operation for conciliation and arbitration for persons affected by the determination.

28. —(1) The Authority, with the approval of the Minister and the consent of the Minister for Finance, shall make a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits to or in respect of the members of staff, including the Director, of the Authority.

(2) A scheme under this section shall fix the time and conditions of retirement of all persons to or in respect of whom superannuation benefits are payable under the scheme or schemes and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(3) The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister and the consent of the Minister for Finance, make a scheme amending or revoking a scheme under this section including a scheme under this subsection.

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

(5) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any superannuation benefit payable in pursuance of a scheme or schemes under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for Finance, whose decision shall be final.

(6) No superannuation benefits shall be granted by the Authority to a person on ceasing to be the Director or a member of the staff of the Authority otherwise than in accordance with a scheme or schemes under this section or with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

(7) Any scheme under this section, including an amendment of a scheme, 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.

(8) A scheme or schemes under subsection (1) shall, in so far as it concerns a person who immediately before his or her appointment as Director or to a position on the staff of the Authority was an officer or servant of the Board, grant superannuation benefits upon and subject to terms and conditions that are not less favourable than the terms and conditions that applied to that person immediately before their appointment to the Authority in relation to the grant of such benefits.

(9) In applying subsection (8), superannuation benefits that would have been granted to or in respect of a person during the period between his or her appointment as Director or to a position on the staff of the Authority and the coming into operation of a scheme under this section had he or she continued to be employed by the Board, shall be granted and paid to or in respect of that person by the Authority in accordance with the scheme or such enactments in relation to superannuation as applied to the person immediately before his or her appointment to the Authority and, for that purpose, his or her pensionable service with the Authority shall be aggregated with his or her previous pensionable service.

(10) In this section “superannuation benefits” means pensions, gratuities and other allowances payable on ceasing to be a Director or a member of the staff of the Authority.