Electoral Act, 1997

Provisions in relation to members.

8.—(1) Where, before the reports of a Constituency Commission have been presented to the Chairman of the Dáil under section 9 , the person appointed to be chairperson of the Commission—

(a) through ill-health or other reasonable cause becomes unable to act as such chairperson, the Chief Justice shall assign another judge of the Supreme Court or, following consultation with the President of the High Court, another judge of the High Court to be a member and the chairperson of the Commission;

(b) ceases to hold office as a judge of the Supreme Court or of the High Court, the person shall continue as such chairperson until the reports of the Commission have been presented unless the Chief Justice assigns another judge of either court to be a member and the chairperson of the Commission.

(2) Where the holder of an office referred to in paragraphs (b) to (e) of section 7 , through ill-health or other reasonable cause, is unable to act as a member of a Constituency Commission or any such office is vacant, the Minister may appoint, in the case of—

(a) the Ombudsman, the Director of the Office of the Ombudsman,

(b) the Secretary of the Department of the Environment, another officer of the Minister, who is an established civil servant for the purposes of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 ,

(c) the Clerk of the Dáil, the Clerk Assistant of the Dáil, and

(d) the Clerk of the Seanad, the Clerk Assistant of the Seanad,

to be a member of the Commission and the person so appointed shall remain a member of the Commission until the reports of the Commission are presented to the Chairman of the Dáil under section 9 .

(3) Where, before the reports of a Constituency Commission have been presented to the Chairman of the Dáil under section 9 , a person who is a member of the Commission ceases to hold an office referred to in paragraphs (b) to (e) of section 7 , the person shall continue as a member of the Commission until the reports of the Commission have been presented unless the Minister by order directs that the person's successor in office or the appropriate person referred to in subsection (2) shall be a member of the Commission.

(4) Subject to subsections (1), (2) and (3), a Constituency Commission may act notwithstanding vacancies in its membership.