Saving and Transitional Provisions

Continuance in office of members of the Authority

1. A person who was a member of the Authority immediately before the commencement of section 35 shall continue in office as such a member for the remainder of the term of office for which he or she was appointed, unless he or she sooner dies or resigns from office or otherwise ceases to hold office.

Transfer of certain staff

2. (1) Every officer of the Minister who has been designated by the Minister at any time before such day as may be appointed by the Minister by order for the purposes of this paragraph shall, on the day of such designation, be transferred to, and become a member of, the staff of the Authority.

(2) The Minister shall not make an order under subparagraph (1) without having notified in writing any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned and the Authority of his or her intention to do so and considering any representations made by them or any of them in relation to the matter within such time as may be specified in the notification.

(3) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association concerned, an officer of the Minister designated by the Minister under subparagraph (1), who is transferred by that subparagraph to the staff of the Authority shall not, while in the service of the Authority, receive a lesser scale of pay or be made subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure of office) than the scale of pay to which he or she was entitled and terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure of office) to which he or she was subject immediately before the day on which he or she was so transferred.

(4) Until such time as the scales of pay and the terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure of office) of staff so transferred are varied by the Authority, following consultation with any recognised trade unions and staff associations concerned, the scales of pay to which they were entitled and the terms and conditions of service (other than those relating to tenure of office), restrictions, requirements and obligations to which they were subject immediately before their transfer shall continue to apply to them and may be applied or imposed by the Authority while they are in the service of the Authority. No such variation shall operate to worsen the scales of pay or the terms or conditions of service applicable to a member of such staff immediately before the day on which he or she was transferred save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade union or staff association concerned.

(5) The terms and conditions relating to tenure of office which are granted by the Authority to a member of the staff of the Authority who was designated by the Minister and under subparagraph (1) transferred to its staff shall not, while he or she is in the service of the Authority, be less favourable to him or her than those prevailing for the time being in the civil service; any alteration in the conditions in regard to tenure of office of any such member shall not be such as to render those conditions less favourable to him or her than those prevailing in the civil service at the time of such alteration save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trade unions or staff associations concerned. If a dispute arises between the Authority and any such member as to conditions prevailing in the civil service, the matter shall be determined by the Minister for Finance after consultation with the Minister.

(6) In relation to staff transferred by subparagraph (1) to the staff of the Authority, previous service in the civil service shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any other exemptions or exclusions in, the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1990, the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 and 1984, and the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 1993.

(7) In this paragraph “recognised trade union or staff association” means a trade union or staff association recognised by the Authority for the purposes of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration or conditions of employment, or the working conditions, of employees.

Certificates, licences and notifications

3. (1) On the commencement of section 48(d)—

(a) every certificate issued under section 4(4) of the Competition Act, 1991, and in force immediately before that commencement shall stand revoked;

(b) every licence granted under section 4(2) of the Competition Act, 1991, and in force immediately before that commencement (other than a licence to which subparagraph (2) applies) shall stand revoked, and

(c) every notification made under section 7 of the Competition Act, 1991, shall cease to have effect.

(2) Every licence granted under section 4(2) of the Competition Act, 1991, in respect of a category of agreements, decisions or concerted practices and in force immediately before the commencement of section 4 shall continue in being as if it were a declaration made under subsection (3) of the latter section and may be revoked by the Authority accordingly.

Mergers or take-overs notified before commencement of section 18, etc.

4. (1) In this paragraph “Act of 1978” means the Mergers, Take-overs and Monopolies (Control) Act, 1978.

(2) Notwithstanding the repeals effected by section 48, the provisions of the Act of 1978, and of every instrument thereunder in force immediately before the commencement of section 18, shall continue in force for the purposes mentioned in subparagraphs (3) and (4).

(3) A merger or take-over (within the meaning of the Act of 1978) notified to the Minister in accordance with section 5 of that Act before the commencement of section 18 shall continue to be dealt with under that Act after that commencement and the provisions of that Act and of every instrument thereunder shall, accordingly, apply for that purpose.

(4) A proposed merger or take-over prohibited either absolutely or except on conditions by virtue of section 9 of the Act of 1978 (whether such prohibition took effect before the commencement of section 18 or, in the case of a merger or take-over referred to in subparagraph (3), after that commencement) shall continue to be so prohibited indefinitely save where the Minister, by virtue of the exercise by him or her of the powers under subsection (4) of that section 9, otherwise determines.

Section 21 of Interpretation Act, 1937

5. The provisions of this Schedule are without prejudice to the generality of section 21 of the Interpretation Act, 1937, (which, amongst other things, enables the prosecution of offences committed under repealed enactments).