22.— (1) The Executive may, subject to subsections (2) to (5), appoint persons to be its employees and may determine their duties.

(2) Employees appointed under this section shall be recruited in accordance with the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to employees appointed under this section during the period of 3 months beginning with the establishment day or during such shorter period as the Minister may specify.

(4) The Executive shall, F100[with the approval of the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, given with the consent of] the Minister for Finance, determine—

(a) the terms and conditions of employment (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration and allowances) of employees appointed under this section, and

(b) the grades of the employees of the Executive and the numbers of employees in each grade.

(5) A person is not eligible for appointment as an employee of the Executive if the person is—

(a) a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament, or

(b) regarded pursuant to section 19 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy.

(6) The remuneration and allowances of the Executive's employees are payable by the Executive to them out of funds at its disposal.

F101[(7) This section shall not apply to the appointment of the chief executive officer under section 21A.]