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Period of office, resignation and removal from office.
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6.— (1) Subject to this section, a person appointed as the Legal Services Ombudsman holds office for such period, not exceeding 6 years, as may be specified by the Government in the instrument of appointment.
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(2) Such a person is eligible for re-appointment for a second or subsequent term.
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(3) The Legal Services Ombudsman may resign from office at any time by letter addressed to the Government and copied to the Minister, and the resignation takes effect on the date the Government receive the letter.
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(4) The Government may remove the Legal Services Ombudsman from office if—
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(a) in the opinion of the Government, the Ombudsman has become incapable through ill-health of performing the functions of the office,
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(b) in the opinion of the Government, the Ombudsman has committed stated misbehaviour,
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(c) the Ombudsman’s removal from office appears to the Government to be necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the office,
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(d) the Ombudsman is adjudicated bankrupt,
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(e) the Ombudsman has failed without reasonable cause to perform the functions of the office for a continuous period of at least 3 months beginning not earlier than 6 months before the day of removal, or
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(f) the Ombudsman is convicted on indictment by a court of competent jurisdiction and sentenced to imprisonment.
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(5) The Government shall cause to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas a statement of the reasons if the Legal Services Ombudsman is removed from office.
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(6) A person ceases to hold the office of Legal Services Ombudsman when the person—
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(a) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,
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(b) is elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament,
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(c) is regarded, pursuant to section 19 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997, as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or
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(d) becomes a member of a local authority.
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