15.—(1) Each Commissioner shall be appointed—

(a) by the Minister, and

(b) on such terms and conditions, including remuneration, as the Minister may fix, with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(2) Subject to subsection (5), a person shall not be appointed as a Commissioner unless the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commissioners, after holding a competition on behalf of the Commission, have selected him or her for appointment as a Commissioner.

(3) A Commissioner appointed in accordance with subsection (2) shall be appointed on a full-time basis for a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years.

(4) Subject to subsection (5)(c), a Commissioner shall not serve more than 2 terms of office as a Commissioner.

(5) (a) Notwithstanding this section, the person who, immediately before the establishment day, was the Director, shall be deemed to be appointed as a Commissioner upon that day and shall, subject to paragraph (b), stand appointed on the same terms and conditions on which she was previously retained.

(b) Section 19(5) applies to the Commissioner deemed appointed under paragraph (a) instead of paragraph 8 of the First Schedule to the Act of 1996.

(c) The Commissioner deemed appointed under paragraph (a) shall, where her term of office, in accordance with that paragraph, expires by effluxion of time, be deemed to have served 2 terms as a Commissioner and, accordingly, she shall not be eligible for re-appointment as a Commissioner.