“Tenure of office of established civil servants.

5.—(1) Every established civil servant shall hold office at the will and pleasure of the Government.

(2) Where the Government so authorises, the powers and functions of the Government under subsection (1) of this section may as respects an established civil servant be exercised by the Minister of the Government by whom the power of appointing a successor to that civil servant would for the time being be exercisable.

(3) Where the Government so authorises, the powers and functions of the Government under subsection (1) may, as respects an established civil servant in relation to whom a person other than a Minister of the Government is the appropriate authority, be exercised on behalf of the Government by such appropriate authority.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) shall not apply as respects the dismissal of—

(a) a civil servant who is the Head of a Scheduled Office, or

(b) a civil servant who holds a position as Commissioner of the Revenue Commissioners appointed pursuant to Article 7 of the Revenue Commissioners Order 1923.

(5) A Minister of the Government shall not exercise the powers and functions exercisable by him or her by virtue of subsection (2) unless the Secretary General of the Department concerned or the Head of the Scheduled Office concerned has made a recommendation in writing in that regard as respects the civil servant concerned.

(6) This section shall not apply to a person who is an established civil servant holding the office referred to in section 17(1) of the Courts Service Act 1998.

Appointment of civil servants on probationary contract.

5A.—(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a person may initially be appointed to be an established civil servant on the basis of a probationary contract.

(2) Where a civil servant to whom subsection (1) refers completes the probationary period concerned to the satisfaction of the appropriate authority, that civil servant shall be appointed as an established civil servant and subsection (1) shall cease to apply to that appointment.

(3) Where a civil servant to whom subsection (1) refers does not complete the period of the probationary contract to the satisfaction of the appropriate authority, the provisions of section 7 shall apply.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the termination of an appointment under subsection (1) in accordance with the terms and conditions of the probationary contract prior to the expiry of the term of the contract.”.