Refugee Act, 1996

SECOND SCHEDULE

Refugee Appeal Board

Section 15 .

1. The Appeal Board shall consist of the following members:

(1) a chairperson who shall have had not less than 10 years' experience as a practising barrister or practising solicitor,

(2) an officer of the Minister,

(3) an officer of the Minister for Foreign Affairs nominated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and

(4) two persons not being officers of the Minister or the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

2. The members of the Appeal Board shall be appointed from time to time as the occasion requires by the Minister and, subject tothe provisions of this Schedule, shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.

3. The term of office of a member of the Appeal Board shall be 3years and, subject to the provisions of this Schedule, a member of the Appeal Board shall be eligible for re-appointment as such member.

4. (1) A member of the Appeal Board may at any time resign his or her office as such member by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on and from the date of receipt of the letter.

(2) A member of the Appeal Board may be removed from office by the Minister for stated reasons.

5. The chairperson and each member of the Appeal Board may be paid, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, such remuneration (if any) and such allowances for expenses as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine.

6. If a member of the Appeal Board dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint another person to be a member of the Appeal Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned and the person so appointed shall be appointed in the same manner as the member of the Appeal Board who occasioned the vacancy and shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office for which his or her predecessor was appointed.

7. The Minister may appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the Appeal Board as he or she considers necessary to assist the Appeal Board in the performance of its functions and such members of the staff of the Appeal Board shall hold their offices or employment on such terms and conditions and receive such remuneration as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine.

8. Members of the staff of the Appeal Board shall be civil servants within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 .

9. The Appeal Board shall hold such meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act.

10. The quorum for a meeting of the Appeal Board shall be 3.

11. Every question at a meeting of the Appeal Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members voting on the question and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairperson of the meeting shall have a casting vote.

12. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, the Appeal Board shall determine, by rules or otherwise, the procedure and business of the Board.