13.— (1) If a vacancy occurs in the office of a Commissioner, or if a Commissioner is absent from the State or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of a Commissioner, the Minister may appoint a member of the staff of the Commission to perform the functions of the Commissioner (referred to in this section and in section 14 as an “Acting Commissioner”, and the term “Commissioner” shall be construed as including an Acting Commissioner).

(2) An appointment under subsection (1)—

(a) shall be made for a period of not more than 6 months, and

(b) subject to paragraph (a), may be made for all or part of the period of vacancy, absence or inability.

(3) If, in a case of vacancy, the Minister is satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable for an appointment under section 11 to be made before the end of the period referred to in subsection (2), the Minister may extend the appointment by such further period, not exceeding 6 months, as he or she is satisfied is necessary for an appointment to be made under that section.]