21.— (1) The Board shall appoint a person recruited in accordance with the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 to be the chief executive officer of the Authority.

(2) A person is not eligible for appointment as the chief executive officer if the person is—

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

(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, or

(c) a member of a local authority.

(3) The chief executive officer shall hold office on the terms and conditions (including those relating to remuneration, allowances and superannuation) that shall be determined by the Board with the approval of the Minister given with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(4) The chief executive officer shall be paid by the Authority, out of funds at its disposal, remuneration and allowances determined under subsection (3).

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the chief executive officer of the Interim Health Information and Quality Authority is the first chief executive officer of the Authority and shall hold office subject to the terms and conditions as may be determined in accordance with subsection (3).