Labour Services (Amendment) Act 2009

Amendment of Part I of Schedule to Principal Act.

9.— Part I of the Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 2:

“2. (1) An Foras shall consist of the following members, that is to say—

(a) a chairman, and

(b) 10 ordinary members (including the Director General).

(2) The members of An Foras shall be appointed by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have experience of, and expertise in matters connected with—

(a) the functions of An Foras, or

(b) finance, trade, commerce, corporate governance or public administration.

(3) Subject to subparagraph (5), the chairman of An Foras shall hold office for such period not exceeding 5 years from the date of his appointment, as the Minister shall determine.

(4) Subject to subparagraph (5), an ordinary member of An Foras shall hold office for such period not exceeding 5 years from the date of his appointment, as the Minister shall determine.

(5) Of the members of An Foras (other than the Director General) first appointed after the commencement of section 9 (a) of the Labour Services (Amendment) Act 2009

(a) such 3 members as the Minister shall determine shall hold office for 3 years from the date of their appointment,

(b) such 3 members as the Minister shall determine shall hold office for 4 years from the date of their appointment, and

(c) such 3 members as the Minister shall determine shall hold office for 5 years from the date of their appointment.

(6) Subject to subparagraph (7), a member of An Foras (other than the Director General) whose term of office expires by the effluxion of time shall be eligible for reappointment to An Foras.

(7) A member of An Foras (other than the Director General) who has served 2 terms of office shall not be eligible for reappointment to An Foras, and any period during which a person serves as a member of An Foras pursuant to an appointment under paragraph 7 (inserted by section 9 (b) of the Labour Services (Amendment) Act 2009) shall be deemed for the purposes of this subparagraph to be a term of office.

(8) The members of An Foras in office immediately before the commencement of section 9 (a) of the Labour Services (Amendment) Act 2009 shall continue in office for the period beginning on the date of such commencement and ending on the date of the first appointment of members of An Foras under this paragraph after such commencement, and An Foras as constituted immediately before such commencement shall during that period be deemed to be validly constituted for all purposes.”,

(b) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 7:

“7. (1) If a member of An Foras (other than the Director General) dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office and ceases to hold office or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of An Foras to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(2) A person appointed to be a member of An Foras pursuant to this paragraph shall hold office for—

(a) that period of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy concerned that remains unexpired at the date of his appointment, or

(b) such other period, not exceeding 5 years, as the Minister may determine,

and shall, subject to subparagraph (7) of paragraph 2 (inserted by section 9 (a) of the Labour Services (Amendment) Act 2009), be eligible for reappointment as a member of An Foras on the expiry of the said period.”,

(c) the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 12:

“12. (1) The Minister may at any time remove from office a member of An Foras and, in particular, may remove such member from office if the Minister is satisfied that—

(a) the member is not adequately performing his functions, whether by reason of incapacity through illness or injury or for any other reason,

(b) a material conflict of interest exists in relation to the performance by the member of his functions,

(c) the removal of the member is necessary or expedient for the effective performance by An Foras of its functions,

(d) the member has contravened section 9A (inserted by section 6 of the Labour Services (Amendment) Act 2009), or

(e) the member has contravened the Act of 1995.

(2) Where a person is removed from office pursuant to subparagraph (1), he shall thenceforth be disqualified for membership of An Foras.

(3) A member of An Foras may resign from office by notice in writing given to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice.

(4) A member of An Foras shall cease to be qualified for office and shall cease to hold office if he—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is convicted of an indictable offence in relation to a company,

(d) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in connection with a company or not,

(e) is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990,

(f) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(g) ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State.

(5) A member of An Foras shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, hold office upon such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and allowances) as may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance.”,

(d) the substitution of “7” for “9” in paragraph 16.