81.— (1) The number of members of the board of a corporation shall be 12 in number, of which—

(a) 6 of them shall be appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister,

(b) subject to subsection (2), 4 of them shall be appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister,

(c) one shall be appointed by the Government following an election in accordance with section 83, and

(d) one shall be the director general of the corporation.

(2) Where an appointment is to be made by the Government under subsection (1)(b) or under that paragraph arising from a vacancy referred to in section 84(12)—

(a) the Minister shall inform the Joint Oireachtas Committee of the proposed appointment,

(b) The Minister in respect of an appointment under subsection (1)(a) shall provide a statement to the Joint Oireachtas Committee indicating the relevant experience and expertise of the persons or person nominated by the Minister for appointment or appointed by the Government on the nomination of the Minister, and such other matters as the Minister considers relevant,

(c) the Joint Oireachtas Committee shall within the period of 90 days of being so informed, advise the Minister of the names of the persons or name of the person it proposes that the Minister should nominate under subsection (1)(b) giving reasons, such as relevant experience and expertise, in relation to the proposed named persons or person,

(d) the Minister shall have regard to the advice and may accept the proposed named persons or some of them or the named person or decide to nominate as he or she sees fit other persons or another person, and

(e) inform the Joint Oireachtas Committee of his or her decision.

(3) Not less than 5 of the members of the board of a corporation shall be men and not less than 5 of them shall be women.

(4) The Joint Oireachtas Committee for the purposes of providing advice to the Minister under subsection (2) may establish a panel, for such duration, and consisting of such number of persons as the Joint Oireachtas Committee shall think proper.

(5) Persons placed on a panel established under subsection (4) shall—

(a) have experience of or have shown capacity in one or more of the matters stated in section 82 (1),

(b) in respect of TG4 comply with the requirements of section 82 (2), and

(c) be chosen with a view to representing the public interest in respect of public service broadcasting matters.

(6) The Joint Oireachtas Committee shall, insofar as is practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the persons placed on a panel under subsection (4) there is an equitable balance between men and women.

(7) The Joint Oireachtas Committee shall have sole responsibility for the selection and placing of candidates on a panel established under subsection (4).