31.—(1) The terms and conditions relating to tenure which are granted by the Agency in relation to a person accepted into its employment under section 30 or 32 shall not, while the person is in the employment of the Agency, be less favourable to him than those prevailing immediately before his acceptance into such employment save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned; and if a dispute arises between the Agency and any such person as to terms and conditions prevailing immediately before his acceptance into the employment of the Agency, the matter shall be determined by the Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister.

(2) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned, a person referred to in subsection (1) shall not, while in the employment of the Agency, receive a lesser scale of pay or be made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure) than the scale of pay to which he was entitled and the terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure) to which he was subject immediately before the day on which he was so accepted.

(3) Until such time as the scale of pay and the terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure) of a person referred to in subsection (1) are varied by the Agency, following consultation with any recognised trade unions and staff associations concerned, the scales of pay to which such a person was entitled and the terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure), restrictions, requirements and obligations to which the person was subject immediately before such acceptance shall continue to apply and may be applied or imposed by the Agency, while the person is in the employment of the Agency; no such variation shall operate to worsen the scale of pay or the terms or conditions of service aforesaid applicable to an employee immediately before he was accepted into the employment of the Agency, save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned.

(4) Previous service of any person in a public authority from which he was accepted into the employment of the Agency under section 30 or 32 shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any other exceptions or exclusions in, the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991, the Holidays (Employees) Acts, 1973 and 1991, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 1991, and the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 and 1991.