Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act, 1997

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Council.

16.—(1) There shall be a Council to perform the functions assigned to it by or under this Act.

(2) The Council shall consist of the Chairperson and twenty-five ordinary members.

(3) (a) The Chairperson shall chair the meetings of the Council.

(b) (i) In the event of the Chairperson being unable to attend a meeting of the Council, the ordinary members who are present shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting.

(ii) In the event of the office of Chairperson being vacant, the Minister shall designate one of the ordinary directors of the Executive Board to be a member of the Council and to chair its meetings until a Chairperson is appointed.

(4) Subject to subsection (3)(b)(ii), the ordinary directors of the Executive Board shall be entitled to attend and be heard at meetings of the Council but shall not be eligible to vote.

(5) The Minister may prescribe for the purposes of subsection (6)—

(a) organisations which, in the opinion of the Minister, are concerned with, or are representative of persons engaged in, the promotion or carrying out of social, economic or other development (including employment, education, training and the development of land) in the Dublin Docklands Area,

(b) organisations which, in the opinion of the Minister, are concerned with community development in the Dublin Docklands Area or with the promotion of the social, economic or general interests of communities in that Area,

(c) organisations which, in the opinion of the Minister, are representative of persons whose professions or occupations relate to town planning, urban design, architecture, conservation of the architectural heritage or civil engineering.

(6) The ordinary members of the Council shall be appointed by the Minister as follows—

(a) (i) one member shall be so appointed from among the officers of the Minister who are established civil servants for the purposes of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 ,

(ii) one member shall be so appointed from among the officers of the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht who are established civil servants for the purposes of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 ,

(b) one nominee of each of the following, namely—

(i) Coras Iompair Éireann,

(ii) Bord Gáis Éireann, and

(iii) the Electricity Supply Board,

shall be so appointed,

(c) the Dublin City Manager or an officer of Dublin Corporation nominated by the Manager shall be so appointed,

(d) five members of Dublin City Council, nominated by that Council, being members elected to that Council from electoral areas which are included in, or any part of which is included in, the Dublin Docklands Area, shall be so appointed,

(e) the Chief Executive of Dublin Port Company or an officer of that company nominated by the Chief Executive shall be so appointed,

(f) the Director of the Dublin Transportation Office or an officer of that Office nominated by the Director shall be so appointed,

(g) not less than two members shall be so appointed from among persons selected by the organisations which for the time being stand prescribed under each paragraph of subsection (5), subject to eight persons being appointed in all,

(h) four other persons, who, in the opinion of the Minister, have wide experience in relation to industrial, commercial, financial, employment, environmental or transport matters, local government, community development, training, education, administration or urban economics shall be appointed by the Minister.

(7) Each organisation prescribed under a particular paragraph of subsection (5) shall, whenever so requested by the Minister, select such number (not being less than two) of candidates as the Minister may specify for appointment and shall inform the Minister, within such period as the Minister shall specify when making the request, of the names of the candidates selected and of the reasons why, in the opinion of the organisation, they are suitable for such appointment.

(8) (a) In making nominations to the Minister for the purposes of subsection (6)(d) or in selecting candidates for appointment by the Minister pursuant to subsection (7), the Dublin City Council or the organisations prescribed under a particular paragraph of subsection (5), as the case may be, shall make such nominations or selections subject to such directives as may be issued by the Minister from time to time, including directives relating to an appropriate gender balance.

(b) In considering persons for appointment under subsection (6)(h), the Minister shall have regard to any directives referred to in paragraph (a).

(9) Subject to subsection (11), in the case of an appointment pursuant to subsection (6)(g) the Minister shall not appoint a person to be an ordinary member of the Council unless the person was among those selected pursuant to a request under subsection (7) in relation to that appointment.

(10) Notwithstanding subsection (7) or (9)—

(a) if the appropriate organisations prescribed under a particular paragraph of subsection (5) refuse or fail to select any candidate pursuant to a particular request under subsection (7), or

(b) if the Minister decides not to appoint as an ordinary member of the Council any of the candidates selected by such organisations pursuant to the request,

then either—

(i) the Minister shall appoint as an ordinary member of the Council a person who was among those selected by such organisations pursuant to a previous request (if any) under that subsection in relation to that appointment, or

(ii) the Minister shall make a further such request and shall appoint as an ordinary member of the Council a person who was among those selected pursuant to that request or pursuant to another such request made in relation to that appointment.

(11) Where a request is made pursuant to subsection (7), failure or refusal by any or all of the organisations of whom the request is made to select the number of candidates specified in the request shall not preclude the appointment as an ordinary member of the Council of a person who was selected in relation to that appointment either by any of the aforesaid organisations or any other organisation.

(12) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), an ordinary member of the Council shall be appointed for such term (not exceeding five years) as shall be specified by the Minister when appointing that ordinary member and an ordinary member of the Council whose term of office expires by the effluxion of time shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(b) Where an ordinary member of the Council appointed under subsection (6)(d) ceases to be a member of Dublin City Council during the term of office specified by the Minister under paragraph (a) in relation to that ordinary member, the person's appointment under subsection (6)(d) shall be terminated with effect from the date on which the person so ceases to be a member of Dublin City Council.

(13) An ordinary member of the Council shall be paid, out of moneys at the disposal of the Authority, such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determines.

(14) The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Council.

(15) The Minister may make regulations as regards any matter which the Minister considers expedient for the purposes of this section.

(16) (a) An ordinary member of the Council may resign from office by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect from the date of the receipt of the letter by the Minister.

(b) The Minister may remove from office an ordinary member of the Council if, in the opinion of the Minister, the ordinary member has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing the duties of an ordinary member, or for stated misbehaviour, or if the removal appears to the Minister to be necessary or desirable for the effective performance by the Council of its functions and, in case an ordinary member of the Council is removed from office under this paragraph, the Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas a statement in writing of the reasons for the removal.