23.— (1) The Minister may at any time remove a member of the Council from office if—

(a) the member has become incapable through illness of performing the functions of the office,

(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour,

(c) whether or not following a review under subsection (9), the Minister is satisfied that the member’s behaviour prevents the Council from, or unnecessarily hinders the Council in, performing its functions in an effective manner,

(d) the member has contravened—

(i) section 30, or

(ii) an applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995,

or

(e) in performing functions under this Act, the member has not been guided by a code of conduct that has been drawn up under section 10(3) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 and that relates to the member.

(2) A member of the Council ceases to hold office if the member—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is convicted of an indictable offence,

(d) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(e) is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990,

(f) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(g) is removed by a competent authority for any reason (other than failure to pay a fee) from any register established for the purpose of registering members of a profession in the State or in another jurisdiction.

(3) A member of the Council who does not, for a consecutive period of 6 months, attend a meeting of the Council ceases at the end of that period to hold office unless the member demonstrates to the Minister’s satisfaction that the failure to attend was due to illness.

(4) Where the Council does not perform any function conferred on it under this Act, the Minister may, by order, direct the Council to perform that function and for that purpose to do such other things ancillary or incidental thereto as may be specified in the order.

(5) Subject to subsection (7), where the Council fails to comply with any direction of the Minister contained in an order under subsection (4), the Minister may, by order, remove from office the members of the Council.

(6) Subject to subsection (7), the Minister may, by order, remove all the members of the Council from office if—

(a) the Council fails to achieve a quorum for 3 consecutive meetings,

(b) the Council does not comply with a judgment, order or decree of any court,

(c) the Council does not comply with a direction of the Minister or any other requirement imposed on it by or under any enactment including this Act, or

(d) whether or not following a review under subsection (9), the Minister is satisfied that the members’ behaviour prevents the Council from, or unnecessarily hinders the Council in, performing its functions in an effective manner.

(7) An order under subsection (5) or (6) removing the members of the Council from office shall not have effect unless—

(a) a draft of the proposed order and a statement of the reasons for the order have been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, and

(b) a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each House.

(8) Where the Council fails to achieve a quorum for 3 consecutive meetings, the chief executive officer shall, forthwith upon the occurrence of that failure, give the Minister notice in writing of that failure.

(9) The Minister may, if of the opinion that the Council’s functions are not being performed in an effective manner, appoint a person to—

(a) conduct an independent review of any matter giving rise to that opinion, and

(b) submit a report to the Minister on the results of the review.

(10) For the purposes of a review referred to in subsection (9), the Council shall give the person conducting the review all reasonable assistance, including access to such premises, equipment and records, as the person may require for the purposes of the review.

(11) The removal of the members of the Council from office does not revoke or otherwise affect any delegation of the Council’s functions to the chief executive officer under section 24.

(12) An order under subsection (5) or (6) may contain such provisions as the Minister considers necessary to enable the functions of the Council to be performed notwithstanding the removal from office of its members, and any such order may, in particular, appoint a person or persons to discharge all or any of the functions of the Council.

(13) In this section “applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995”, in relation to a member of the Council, means a provision of that Act that, by virtue of a regulation under section 3 of that Act, applies to that member.