16.—(1) Where the Minister is of the opinion that the Council has failed, neglected or refused to perform a function assigned to it under this Act or has failed effectively to perform any such function or otherwise is in breach of this Act, the Minister may, after first advising the Council of his or her opinion and considering any explanation given in response, appoint a person to inquire into any matter giving rise to the Minister's opinion.

(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall inquire into the matters giving rise to the Minister's opinion and any related matter and shall report to the Minister on the findings of the inquiry.

(3) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall, for the purposes of this section, be entitled at all reasonable times to enter the premises of the Council to inquire into the affairs of the Council or to conduct an inspection of the premises, equipment and records where the inspection is, in his or her opinion, relevant to the inquiry.

(4) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall be afforded all reasonable co-operation and facility by the Council and its employees, including access to such premises, equipment and records as the person may require, to enable him or her to perform his or her functions under this section.

(5) Where the Minister, after considering the report referred to in subsection (2), remains of the opinion that the Council has failed, neglected or refused to perform a function assigned to it under this Act or has failed effectively to perform any such function or otherwise is in breach of this Act, the Minister shall, by notice in writing, inform the Director, and shall give a copy of the report to the Director.

(6) The Council may make representations to the Minister in respect of the report within 14 days of the date of receipt of the report.

(7) The Minister may, by order, after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) and after considering the representations, if any, of the Council in respect of the report, remove the members of the Council and terminate their membership—

(a) if the Minister remains of the opinion that the Council has failed, neglected or refused to perform a function assigned to it under this Act or has failed effectively to perform any such function or otherwise is in breach of this Act, and

(b) if the Minister is of the opinion that the Council should be removed.

(8) Where the Minister proposes to make an order under subsection (7), a draft of the proposed order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft order has been passed by each such House.

(9) Where the Minister makes an order under subsection (7), he or she shall appoint such person or body of persons as he or she thinks fit to perform the functions of the Council and that person or body shall perform those functions until the commencement of the first meeting of the Council after the appointment of its members under subsection (11).

(10) When performing a function conferred by this Act, a person or body of persons appointed under subsection (9) may deviate in matters of procedure and in the form of any notice given under this Act as the person or body considers appropriate for the effective performance of the function concerned.

(11) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable, but in any case not later than 12 months after the removal of the members of the Council, appoint a new Council in accordance with section 8.

(12) The remuneration, if any, of a person appointed under subsection (1) or of a person or member of a body appointed under subsection (9) shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.