36.— (1) Where the Court makes one or more orders under section 35 in relation to a creditor or creditors of a transferor, the Bank shall, not later than 6 months after the date of the last order in relation to the creditors of that transferor, appoint a person (referred to in this Act as the “Assessor”) to determine, in accordance with this Act, the fair and reasonable amount, if any, payable to each creditor concerned.

(2) The Bank may appoint the same person to be the Assessor in relation to more than one transferor.

(3) In appointing a person as the Assessor, the Bank shall ensure that the person has, in the Bank’s opinion, significant knowledge or experience of the financial services sector.

(4) The Bank shall not appoint a person as the Assessor unless the Bank is satisfied that the person would, if appointed, have no conflict of a material nature between any personal or business interests and the performance of the Assessor’s functions.

(5) A person is not eligible to be appointed as the Assessor if the person—

(a) is a member of either House of the Oireachtas or is, with the person’s consent, nominated as a candidate for election as such a member,

(b) is a member of the European Parliament or is, with the person’s consent, nominated as a candidate for election as such a member or to fill a vacancy in the membership of that Parliament, or

(c) is a member of a local authority (within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001) or is, with the person’s consent, nominated as a candidate for election as such a member.

(6) For the purpose of facilitating the performance of his or her functions under this Act, the Assessor has the powers set out in Schedule 1 and may exercise, for any particular purpose, such of those powers as he or she, in his or her sole discretion, determines are appropriate for that purpose.

(7) A person who commits an offence under Schedule 1 is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

(8) If an offence under this section is committed by an authorised credit institution, and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance, or to be attributable to any wilful neglect, of a person who, when the offence is committed, is—

(a) a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the authorised credit institution or a person purporting to act in that capacity, or

(b) a member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the authorised credit institution or a person purporting to act in that capacity,

that person is taken to have also committed an offence and may be proceeded against and punished in accordance with subsection (9).

(9) A person referred to in subsection (8) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or both.

(10) In the performance of his or her functions under this Act, the Assessor—

(a) is independent,

(b) shall act as an expert only, and

(c) shall act as expeditiously as possible consistent with fairness.

(11) The Assessor shall complete the performance of his or her functions within such period as the Bank specifies from time to time.