Civil Defence Act, 2002
|
Removal of members of Board from office. |
13.—(1) Where the Minister is of the opinion that the Board has failed, neglected or refused to perform a function conferred on it under this Act or has failed effectively to perform such function or otherwise has contravened this Act, the Minister, after first advising the Board of that opinion and considering any explanation given in response, may appoint a person to inquire into any matter giving rise to that opinion. | |
(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall— | ||
(a) inquire into the matters giving rise to the Minister's opinion and any related matter and report to the Minister on the findings of the inquiry. | ||
(b) for the purposes of this section, be entitled at all reasonable times to enter the premises of the Board to inquire into the affairs of the Board or to conduct an inspection of the premises, equipment and records where the inspection is, in that person's opinion, relevant to the inquiry, and | ||
(c) be afforded all reasonable co-operation and assistance by the Board and its members of staff, including access to such premises, equipment and records as the person may require, to enable that person to perform his or her functions under this section. | ||
(3) Where the Minister, after considering the report referred to in subsection (2)(a), remains of the opinion that the Board has failed, neglected or refused to perform a function conferred on it under this Act or has failed effectively to perform such function or otherwise has contravened this Act, the Minister shall, by notice in writing, inform the director general, and give a copy of the report to the director general. | ||
(4) The Board may make representations to the Minister in respect of the report within 14 days after the date of receipt of the report. | ||
(5) After the end of the period referred to in subsection (4) and after considering the representations, if any, of the Board in respect of the report, the Minister may by order remove the members of the Board and terminate their membership if— | ||
(a) the Minister remains of the opinion that the Board has failed, neglected or refused to perform a function conferred on it under this Act or has failed effectively to perform such function or otherwise has contravened this Act, and | ||
(b) the Minister is of the opinion that the Board should be removed. | ||
(6) Where an order is made under subsection (5), the Minister shall appoint such person or body of persons as he or she thinks fit to perform the functions of the Board and that person or body shall perform those functions until the commencement of the first meeting of the Board after the appointment of its members under subsection (8). | ||
(7) When performing a function conferred by this Act, a person or body of persons appointed under subsection (6) may deviate in matters of procedure and form under this Act as the person or body considers appropriate for the effective performance of that function. | ||
(8) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable, but in any case not later than 12 months after the removal of the members of the Board, appoint a new Board in accordance with section 11 . | ||
(9) The remuneration, if any, of a person appointed under subsection (1) or of a person or member of a body appointed under subsection (6) shall be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance and paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. |