20.— (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), the Board shall, in each year—

(a) prepare and adopt a business plan in respect of that year or of such other period as may be determined by the Minister, and

(b) submit the plan to the Minister.

(2) The Board shall prepare a business plan in a form and manner in accordance with any directions issued by the Minister (including any timescale in which the plan must be submitted to the Minister) and shall ensure that the plan—

(a) indicates the type and volume of business to be undertaken by the Board during the period to which the plan relates,

(b) indicates any capital plans proposed by the Board,

(c) contains estimates of the number of employees of the Board for the period and the business to which the plan relates, and

(d) contains any other information specified by the Minister.

(3) The Board shall, in preparing a business plan, have regard to—

(a) the statement of strategy in operation at that time,

(b) any direction issued by the Minister under section 11(1), and

(c) the policies and objectives of the Minister and the Government as they relate to the functions of the Board.

(4) The Minister may direct the Board to amend a business plan submitted to the Minister if, in the Minister’s opinion, the plan—

(a) does not contain any information required under subsection (2),

(b) does not comply in any other respect with subsection (2), or

(c) has been prepared without regard to a matter specified in subsection (3).

(5) The Board shall comply with a direction given to it under subsection (4) within the period, if any, specified in the direction, being a period reasonable in the circumstances.

(6) The Board shall submit to the Minister with a business plan a statement of its estimate of the income and expenditure relating to the plan that is consistent with the moneys estimated to be available to the Board for the period to which the business plan relates.

(7) The Minister shall ensure that copies of a business plan submitted to the Minister are laid before each House of the Oireachtas within 21 days after the plan is so submitted.

(8) The Board shall ensure that, as soon as is practicable after copies of a business plan are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, the plan is published in the prescribed manner.

(9) The Board may amend an adopted business plan and, in any such case—

(a) subsections (2) to (8) shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to the preparation of the amended plan as they apply to a business plan prepared under subsection (1), and

(b) the Board shall adopt the amended plan and submit it to the Minister not later than 3 weeks after the date on which the Board adopted the amended plan.