20A.—(1) The College shall have an academic council.

(2) Subject to this section, An Bord shall make regulations which shall provide, in relation to the academic council, for—

(a) the number of members,

(b) procedures for selection and appointment of members,

(c) term of office of members,

(d) eligibility for re-appointment of members, and

(e) the number of consecutive periods for which members may hold office.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2)—

(a) the majority of members of the academic council shall be members of the academic staff of the College,

(b) the regulations of An Bord under subsection (2) shall provide for the following persons to be members referred to in paragraph (a)—

(i) the senior member of staff having responsibility to the Director for each academic discipline, school or department as An Bord determines,

(ii) members from what, in the opinion of An Bord, is an appropriate range of levels of other academic staff from an appropriate range of academic disciplines, and

(iii) an appropriate number of students,

and

(c) in making regulations under subsection (2), An Bord shall have regard to the objective that at least 40 per cent of members of the academic council shall be women and at least 40 per cent of them shall be men.

(4) The Director shall be—

(a) an ex officio member of the academic council, and

(b) entitled to preside at all meetings of the academic council or a committee of the Council at which he or she is present, but if he or she at any time chooses not to so preside, he or she shall nominate a person to preside in his or her place.

(5) The academic council shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act and, subject to any regulations of An Bord as relate to the academic council, may regulate its own procedure.

(6) The academic council may establish such and so many committees as it considers necessary to assist it in the performance of its functions under this Act.

(7) Persons who are members of the academic council or other members of the staff of the College may be members of a committee established under subsection (6).]