12.— (1) A Commissioner shall hold office on such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

(2) A Commissioner shall be paid such remuneration as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determines.

(3) A Commissioner holds office until his or her term of office expires, unless he or she ceases to be a Commissioner under any other provision of this section.

(4) A Commissioner may resign from the Commission by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect on the date specified in the letter, or on the date on which the Minister receives the letter, whichever is the later.

(5) The Government may at any time remove a Commissioner from office if it is satisfied that—

(a) the Commissioner has become incapable through ill-health or otherwise of performing the functions of the office,

(b) the Commissioner has engaged in serious misconduct,

(c) the Commissioner has a conflict of interest of such significance that the Commissioner should cease to hold office, or

(d) the Commissioner has failed without reasonable cause to perform his or her functions for a continuous period of at least 3 months.

(6) Where the Government proposes to remove a Commissioner from office under subsection (5), the Government shall give notice in writing to the Commissioner of that proposal.

(7) A notice under subsection (6) shall contain a statement—

(a) of the reasons for the proposed removal,

(b) that the Commissioner may make representations to the Government in such form and manner as may be specified by the Government,

(c) that any such representations must be made within a period of 20 working days from the date of the giving of the notice, or such longer period as the Government may, having regard to the requirements of natural justice, specify in the notice, and

(d) that at the end of the period referred to in paragraph (c) or the period specified in the notice, whether or not any representations are made, the Government shall decide whether to remove the Commissioner from office.

(8) In considering whether to remove a Commissioner from office under subsection (5), the Government shall take into account—

(a) any representations made by the Commissioner in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (7), and

(b) any other matter the Government considers relevant.

(9) Where, after giving notice under subsection (6), the Government decides not to remove the Commissioner from office, the Government shall notify the Commissioner in writing of the decision.

(10) Where, after giving notice under subsection (6), the Government decides to remove a Commissioner from office, the Government shall—

(a) notify the Commissioner in writing of the decision, the reasons for it and the date from which it shall take effect (which shall be a date not earlier than the date of the notice under this paragraph),

(b) shall lay before each House of the Oireachtas a statement in writing of the decision and the reasons for it, and

(c) shall provide a copy of that statement to the Commissioner.

(11) A person shall cease to hold office as a Commissioner if he or she—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with his or her creditors,

(c) is convicted of an indictable offence in relation to a company, a body corporate or a trust,

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

(e) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(f) is elected to be a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a member of the European Parliament,

(g) is regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 as having been elected to the European Parliament,

(h) is elected or co-opted as a member of a local authority,

(i) becomes, or acquires a relevant interest in, a provider of communications media, or

(j) enters into employment with a provider of communications media, or with an organisation representative of providers of communications media.

(12) References to a relevant interest in a provider of communications media in subsection (11)(i) are to be read in accordance with subsections (13) and (14).

(13) A person has a relevant interest in a provider of communications media if the person, or a connected person—

(a) holds shares or any other proprietary interest in the provider, where the value of the interest exceeds €5,000,

(b) holds bonds, debentures, or other like investments in the provider, where their aggregate value exceeds €13,000,

(c) holds a directorship or shadow directorship (within the meaning of the Companies Act 2014) in the provider, or

(d) receives gifts or other benefits from the provider, where their aggregate value exceeds €650.

(14) A person also has a relevant interest in a provider of communications media if the person or a connected relative of the person is a party to an arrangement or agreement concerning land (whether or not enforceable) with the provider.

(15) In this section—

“civil partner” means a civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;

“connected person”, in relation to a person, means—

(a) a connected relative of the person,

(b) a person acting on behalf of the person or of a connected relative of the person,

(c) a company or other body of which the person or a connected relative of the person, or a nominee of either of them, is a member,

(d) a partnership in which the person or a connected relative of the person is a partner, or

(e) an employer of the person, or of a connected relative of the person;

“connected relative”, in relation to a person, means a spouse, partner, civil partner, parent, brother, sister, or child of the person, or a spouse, partner or civil partner of a child of the person (and "child" in this definition includes an adult child).]