177.—(1) Where a person who is a member of a board of management is—

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

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

(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,

the person shall thereupon cease to be a member of the board.

(2) Where a person employed by a board of management is—

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

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

(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,

the person shall thereupon stand seconded from employment by the board and shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, it any remuneration or allowance in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election or when that person is so regarded as having been elected (as the case may be) and ending when that person 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 that person is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified from becoming a member of a board of management or from employment in any capacity by it.

(4) 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 a board of management for the purposes of any superannuation benefits.