Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003
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Membership and term of office. |
8.—(1) The Commission consists of the following members: | |
(a) the Chairman of Dáil Éireann; | ||
(b) the Chairman of Seanad Éireann; | ||
(c) the Secretary General; | ||
(d) a member appointed by the Minister (and in this Act referred to as the “Minister's representative”), and | ||
(e) not more than 7 ordinary members. | ||
(2) The Minister's representative shall be a member of one of the Houses of the Oireachtas. | ||
(3) (a) 4 of the ordinary members of the Commission shall be appointed by Dáil Éireann or a Committee of that House authorised by it to do so and shall be members of that House. | ||
(b) 3 of the ordinary members of the Commission shall be appointed by Seanad Éireann or a Committee of that House authorised by it to do so and shall be members of that House. | ||
(4) In relation to the ordinary members of the Commission referred to in subsection (3) and the Minister's representative— | ||
(a) subject to paragraph (b), the first such appointments shall be made after the passing of this Act, | ||
(b) no appointment referred to at paragraph (a) shall take effect until the establishment day, | ||
(c) subsequent appointments shall be made as soon as may be after the first meeting of the House, or Committee concerned, after a general election for members of that House. | ||
(5) Section 3 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998 (as amended by section 39 of the Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices and Oireachtas Members (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2001 ) is amended— | ||
(a) in subsection (1)(a)(ix), by deleting “or”, and | ||
(b) by inserting the following words and subparagraphs after subsection (1)(a)(ix): | ||
“or | ||
(x) the Minister's representative on the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, or | ||
(xi) ordinary members of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.”, | ||
and | ||
(c) by inserting in subsection (3), the following definition after the definition of “Assistant Party Whip in Dáil Éireann”: | ||
“ ‘Minister's representative’ has the same meaning as it has in section 8 (1)(d) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003 and does not mean a person appointed to that Commission under section 9(2) of that Act;”, | ||
and | ||
(d) by inserting in subsection (3), the following definition after the definition of “Opposition Whip in Dáil Éireann”: | ||
“ ‘ordinary members of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission’ means persons duly appointed to that Commission under section 8 (3) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003;”. | ||
(6) Subject to this section, an ordinary member of the Commission (other than an ordinary member of the Commission who is deputy chairperson and who is performing the functions of chairperson at the time of the dissolution of Dáil Éireann because the chairperson is unable to perform his or her functions) who is a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann holds office, as may be appropriate, until— | ||
(a) the dissolution of Dáil Éireann occurring next after his or her appointment as such member, or he or she ceases to be a member, | ||
(b) the day before the polling day of the general election for Seanad Éireann next held after his or her appointment as such member, or he or she ceases to be a member. | ||
(7) A member of the Commission referred to in subsection (6)(b) ceases to hold office as such member if he or she becomes a member of Dáil Éireann. | ||
(8) An ordinary member of the Commission may resign his or her office at any time by letter addressed to the body that appointed him or her. | ||
(9) The body that receives a letter under subsection (8), shall cause a copy of it be sent to the Secretary General, as soon as may be after receipt of it. | ||
(10) A person who is an ordinary member of the Commission or the Minister's representative ceases to be a member of the Commission if he or she ceases to be a member of a House of the Oireachtas. | ||
(11) Subject to subsection (12), the Committee established under the standing orders of Dáil Éireann to perform such functions in relation to the procedure and privileges of Dáil Éireann as may be conferred on it by that House, may remove from office an ordinary member of the Commission who is a member of that House, and, the Committee established under the standing orders of Seanad Éireann to perform such functions in relation to the procedure and privileges of Seanad Éireann as may be conferred on it by that House, may remove from office an ordinary member of the Commission who is a member of that House, if the Committee is of the opinion that— | ||
(a) the member has become incapable through ill health of effectively performing the duties of such a member, | ||
(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or | ||
(c) the removal appears to the Committee to be necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the Commission. | ||
(12) A member of the Commission may not be removed from office under subsection (11) unless a resolution providing for the removal and stating the grounds for it is passed by Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann, as may be appropriate. | ||
(13) The Minister's representative may resign from office as a member of the Commission, at any time, by letter addressed to the Minister. | ||
(14) The Minister may remove the Minister's representative from membership of the Commission at any time. | ||
(15) Where an ordinary member of the Commission ceases to be a member under subsection (7), (8) or (10) or is removed under subsection (11), the House of the Oireachtas of which he or she was a member immediately prior to such cesser, or a Committee of that House authorised by it to do so, may appoint another member of that House to be an ordinary member of the Commission in his or her place. | ||
(16) Where the Minister's representative ceases to be a member of the Commission under subsection (10) or (13) or is removed from office as such a member under subsection (14) the Minister may appoint a member of either House of the Oireachtas to be the Minister's representative on the Commission in place of the other Minister's representative. | ||
(17) A member of the Commission, other than the Minister's representative, ceases to hold office as such member if he or she is appointed to be a Minister of the Government, a Minister of State or Attorney General. | ||
(18) Subject to section 10 (3), the Commission may act despite one or more vacancies in its membership. |