Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Act, 1996

Appointment and removal from office of chief executive officer.

14.—(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, a person who is appointed to an office of chief executive officer after the commencement of this section shall, unless he or she earlier dies, resigns or is removed from office, hold the office during whichever of the following periods is the shorter and, on the expiration of that period, shall cease to hold the office, that is to say—

(a) a period of such length, not exceeding seven years, as the Minister prescribes by order, or

(b) the period from the date of the appointment to the date on which he or she attains such age as the Minister prescribes by order,

and, without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, the Minister may by order make such provision as he or she considers appropriate in relation to the periods specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) in relation to officers of health boards holding office on the commencement of this section by reference to the age of such officers.

(2) A person appointed as chief executive officer after the commencement of this section shall hold office under a contract of service in writing with the health board upon such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and expenses) as may be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance and specified in the contract.

(3) A chief executive officer to whom this section applies may be removed from office by the health board with the consent of the Minister in accordance with the terms and conditions of his or her contract of service.

(4) Section 21 of the Principal Act shall not apply to a chief executive officer appointed in accordance with this section.

(5) The appointment pursuant to a recommendation by the Local Appointments Commissioners and the removal from office of a chief executive officer in accordance with this section shall be reserved functions.

(6) A person appointed as chief executive officer in accordance with this section shall not be deemed to be a temporary officer of a health board for the purposes of section 2 (1) (j) (as amended by section 3 (a) of the Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993 ) of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 .