16.—(1) Where a commissioner is—

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) nominated to stand as a candidate for election as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament,

(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997, as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or

(d) becomes a member of a local authority,

he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Commission.

(2) Where a person employed by the Commission—

(a) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) is elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament,

(c) is regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997, as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or

(d) becomes a member of a local authority,

he or she shall thereupon stand seconded from his or her employment by the Commission and shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, the Commission, remuneration or allowances in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election, or when he or she is so regarded as having been elected, as the case may be, and ending when he or she ceases to be a member of either such House or such Parliament.

(3) A person who is, for the time being, entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a member of the European Parliament shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified from becoming a member of, or a member of the staff of, the Commission.

(4) A person who is a member of a local authority shall be disqualified from becoming a member of the Commission.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), that subsection shall be construed as prohibiting, among other things, the reckoning of a period mentioned in that subsection as service with the Commission for the purposes of any superannuation benefits.