14.— (1) The board of directors of the Agency is to consist of—

(a) not more than 5 directors (including the chairperson), and

(b) the person holding the office of chief executive who, by virtue of that office, is a director.

(2) The directors (other than the chief executive) shall be appointed by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(3) A person appointed as a director under subsection (2) shall be a person who, in the Minister’s opinion, has experience and competence in one or more of the following areas:

(a) oil or oil related industries;

F16[(aa) biofuel or biofuel related industries;]

(b) chemical or chemical related industries;

(c) finance;

(d) economics;

(e) legal matters;

(f) energy production and supply industries.

(4) Each director appointed under subsection (2) shall be appointed for a period not exceeding 5 years and is eligible for reappointment.

(5) The Minister shall designate one of the directors (other than the chief executive) as chairperson.

(6) The Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance may, at any time, remove from office a director appointed under subsection (2) if—

(a) in the Minister’s opinion, the director has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions,

(b) in the Minister’s opinion, the director has committed stated misbehaviour,

(c) the director’s removal from office appears to the Minister to be necessary for the Agency to perform its functions effectively, or

(d) the director has contravened section 24 of this Act or an applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.

(7) Section 182 of the Act of 1963 does not apply to the Agency.

F17[(8) The directors (including the chairperson and chief executive) shall be paid by the Agency out of F18[the proceeds of the levy collected and recovered and the proceeds of the biofuel levy collected and recovered] such remuneration (if any) and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.]

(9) A person who, immediately before the commencement of this section, held office as a director of the Agency shall, subject to subsection (6) and section 23 and the terms and conditions upon which he or she was appointed, continue in office as such director until the end of the period for which he or she was appointed, as if appointed under subsection (2).

(10) In this section “applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995”, in relation to a director appointed under subsection (2), means a provision of that Act that, by virtue of a regulation under section 3 of that Act, applies to that director.