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Appointment of members of Commission
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13. (1) A member of the Commission shall be appointed by the President—
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(a) on the advice of the Government, and
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(b) following the passing of a resolution of each House of the Oireachtas recommending the appointment.
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(2) Where a vacancy arises, or is anticipated will arise, on the Commission, the Government shall, for the purposes of identifying persons and making recommendations to the Government in respect of those persons for appointment as members of the Commission, invite the Service to undertake a selection competition.
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(3) The Service shall, subject to subsection (4), appoint a selection panel.
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(4) Of the members of the selection panel, one of them shall be nominated by the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
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(5) The Service shall appoint the members of the selection panel from amongst persons who, in the opinion of the Service, have relevant experience of, and expertise in relation to, matters connected with any or all of the following:
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(a) human rights matters or law;
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(b) equality matters or law;
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(c) public sector administration and reform;
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(d) board management and corporate governance.
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(6) The Minister shall agree with the Service the selection criteria and process to be implemented in respect of the filling of any vacancy on the Commission.
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(7) A vacancy on the Commission shall be advertised publicly and shall include details of the agreed selection criteria for the filling of the vacancy and the process to be implemented in respect of the filling of that vacancy.
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(8) The Service may adopt such procedures as it thinks fit to carry out its functions under this section.
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(9) A person shall not be recommended for appointment by the President under this section unless the person is, in the opinion of the Service and the Government agrees, suitably qualified for such appointment by reason of his or her possessing such relevant experience, training or expertise as is appropriate having regard in particular to the functions conferred on the Commission by or under this Act.
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(10) The Service shall provide the Government with particulars of experience, training and expertise of the person whom it recommends under this section.
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(11) Where the Service makes a recommendation for the appointment of a person to the Commission, the Government shall accept that recommendation.
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(12) In exceptional circumstances, where the Government, for substantial and stated reasons, is unable to accept the recommendation by the Service of a particular person, it shall inform the Service of that fact and the reasons for it and shall request the Service to make another recommendation in respect of the vacancy and, the Service shall—
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(a) consider the Government’s reasons, and
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(b) unless the Service disagrees with the reasons and wishes to make representations to the Government in that behalf, make another recommendation for appointment to the Commission.
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(13) In making recommendations for appointment of persons to the Commission under this section, the Service, and the Government shall have regard to the need to ensure that the members of the Commission broadly reflect the nature of Irish society and that such persons possess knowledge of, or experience in—
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(a) mattersconnected with human rights, and
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(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a),matters connected with persons or classes of persons who are disadvantaged by reference to the following factors:
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(i) gender;
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(ii) civil status;
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(iii) family status;
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(iv) sexual orientation;
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(v) religious belief;
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(vi) age;
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(vii) disability;
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(viii) race, including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin;
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(ix) membership of the Traveller community.
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(14) In this section the factors specified in subparagraphs (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vii) and (ix) of subsection (13) have the meanings they have in section 2 of the Act of 1998.
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