Section 9.

1. The Director of a college shall, subject to this Act, manage and direct the carrying on by the college of its academic, administrative, financial, personnel and other activities and for those purposes has such powers as are necessary or expedient.

2. In performing his or her functions the Director shall be subject to such policies as may be determined from time to time by the governing body and shall be answerable to the governing body for the efficient and effective management of the college and for the due performance of his or her functions.

3. (1) A Director may delegate any of his or her functions to another member of the staff of the college, unless they are delegated to the Director subject to the condition that they shall not be delegated further; that other member shall be answerable to the Director for the performance of those functions.

(2) Notwithstanding any such delegation, the Director shall at all times remain answerable to the governing body in respect of the functions so delegated.

4. A Director shall not hold any other office or position without the consent of the governing body.

5. A Director shall be entitled to be a member of, and preside over, any and every committee appointed by the governing body, except where the governing body with the concurrence of An tÚdarás decides otherwise.

6. A Director shall be entitled to be a member of the academic council and, if present, shall preside at all meetings of that council; he or she shall be entitled to be a member of every committee established by that council.

F79[ 7. Unless he or she resigns, retires or is removed from office, a Director shall hold office for such period as the governing body, with the consent of the Minister, determines, but the period shall not exceed 10 years from the date of the Director’s appointment. ]

8. A Director shall, whenever required to do so by the Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, give evidence to that Committee on—

(a) the regularity and propriety of the transactions recorded or required to be recorded in any book or other record of account subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General that the college is required by this Act to prepare,

(b) the economy and efficiency of the college in the use of its resources,

(c) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the college for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations, and

(d) any matter affecting the college referred to in a special report of the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 11(2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993, or in any other report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (in so far as it relates to a matter specified in subparagraph (a), (b) or (c)) that is laid before Dáil Éireann.

9. A Director, if required under paragraph 8 to give evidence, shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy.

10. From time to time and whenever so requested, a Director shall account for the performance of a college’s functions to a Committee of one or both Houses of the Oireachtas and shall have regard to any recommendations of such Committee relevant to these functions. ]