14.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the Ombudsman as he or she may from time to time determine.

(2) A member of the staff of the Ombudsman shall be a civil servant in the Civil Service of the State.

(3) The appropriate authority, within the meaning of the Civil Service Commissioners Act 1956 and the Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 1996 in relation to the staff of the Ombudsman shall be the Ombudsman.

(4) The Ombudsman may delegate to any member of the staff of the Ombudsman any function of the Ombudsman under this Act other than the functions referred to in sections 7(5), 7(7), 11 and 12.

(5) In this section "civil servant in the Civil Service of the State” means a person holding a position in the Civil Service of the State.