28.—(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 to effectively perform any such function or otherwise has contravened 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 that opinion.

(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall—

(a) inquire into the matters giving rise to the Minister's opinion and any related matter and report to the Minister on the findings of the inquiry,

(b) 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,

(c) be afforded all reasonable co-operation and assistance by the Council and its employees, including access to such premises, equipment and records as the person may require, to enable the person to perform his or her functions under this section.

(3) Where the Minister, after considering the report referred to in subsection (2)(a), 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 to effectively perform any such function or otherwise has contravened this Act, the Minister shall, by notice in writing, inform the Chief Executive Officer and the chairperson of the Council, and shall give a copy of the report to the Chief Executive Officer and the chairperson.

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

(5) After the end of the period referred to in subsection (4) and after considering the representations, if any, of the Council in respect of the report, the Minister may by order remove the members of the Council and terminate their membership if—

(a) 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 to effectively perform any such function or otherwise has contravened this Act, and

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

(6) Where an order is made under subsection (5), the Minister 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 (8).

(7) Where an order is proposed to be made under subsection (5), a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

(8) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the removal of the members of the Council, appoint, in replacement of those members, members of the Council in accordance with section 21.

(9) The remuneration, if any, of a person appointed under subsection (1) or of a person or member of a body appointed under subsection (6) shall be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance and be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.