109J.— (1) An adjudication officer may at any time resign from office by giving notice in writing to the Minister of his or her resignation and the resignation shall take effect on such date as may be specified in the notice.

(2) The Minister may at any time remove an adjudication officer from office for stated reasons if the Minister is satisfied that the adjudication officer has–

(a) become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her functions,

(b) engaged in serious misconduct, or

(c) a serious conflict of interest, which conflict is likely to continue.

(3) An adjudication officer shall cease to be qualified for office as an adjudication officer and shall cease to hold such office if–

(a) he or she is convicted on indictment of an offence,

(b) he or she is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(c) he or she is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment,

(d) in the case of a person who was, at the date of his or her appointment as an adjudication officer, a practising barrister, his or her name is removed from the roll of practising barristers (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Act of 2015), or

(e) in the case of a person who was, at the date of his or her appointment as an adjudication officer, a practising solicitor, his or her name is struck off the roll of solicitors (within the meaning of section 9 of the Solicitors Act 1954 (No. 36 of 1954)).

(4) Where an adjudication officer is–

(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

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

(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 (No. 2 of 1997) as having been elected to be a member of the European Parliament,

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

(e) appointed to be a judge,

he or she shall thereupon cease to hold office as an adjudication officer.

(5) A person who is for the time being–

(a) entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein,

(b) a member of the European Parliament, or

(c) entitled under the standing orders of a local authority to sit as a member thereof,

shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a member, as the case may be, be disqualified for office as an adjudication officer.

(6) Where an adjudication officer dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office, ceases to hold office or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint, in the same manner as the adjudication officer who occasioned the casual vacancy was appointed, a person to be an adjudication officer to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned.

(7) A person appointed to be an adjudication officer pursuant to paragraph (6) shall hold office for that period of the term of office of the adjudication officer who occasioned the casual vacancy concerned that remains unexpired at the date of his or her appointment and shall be eligible for reappointment as an adjudication officer on the expiry of the said period.]