27.— (1) The Minister may at any time remove a member of the Board from office if, in the Minister’s opinion—

(a) the member has become incapable through illness of performing the functions of the office,

(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour,

(c) whether or not following a review under subsection (9), the member’s behaviour prevents the Board from, or unnecessarily hinders the Board in, performing its functions in an effective manner,

(d) the member has contravened an applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, or

(e) in performing functions under this Act, the member has not been guided by a code of conduct that has been drawn up under section 10(3) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 and that relates to the member.

(2) A member of the Board ceases to hold office if the member—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is convicted of an indictable offence,

(d) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(e) is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990,

(f) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(g) is removed by a competent authority for any reason (other than failure to pay a fee) from any register established for the purpose of registering members of a profession in the State or in another jurisdiction.

(3) A member of the Board who does not, for a consecutive period of 6 months, attend a meeting of the Board ceases at the end of that period to hold office unless the member demonstrates to the Minister’s satisfaction that the failure to attend was due to illness.

(4) Where the Board does not perform any function conferred on it under this Act, the Minister may, by order, direct the Board to perform that function and for that purpose to do such other things ancillary or incidental thereto as may be specified in the order.

(5) Subject to subsection (7), where the Board fails to comply with any direction of the Minister contained in an order under subsection (4), the Minister may, by order, remove from office the members of the Board.

(6) Subject to subsection (7), the Minister may, by order, remove all the members of the Board from office if the Minister is of the opinion that—

(a) the Board fails to achieve a quorum for 3 consecutive meetings,

(b) the Board does not comply with a judgment, order or decree of any court,

(c) the Board does not comply with a direction of the Minister or any other requirement imposed on it by or under any enactment including this Act, or

(d) whether or not following a review under subsection (9), the Minister is satisfied that the members’ behaviour prevents the Board from, or unnecessarily hinders the Board in, performing its functions in an effective manner.

(7) Every order made under this section shall be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly and the member or members concerned shall be restored to office but without prejudice to the validity of anything done by any person or persons appointed to discharge all or any of the functions of the member or members concerned.

(8) Where the Board fails to achieve a quorum for 3 consecutive meetings, the chief executive officer shall, forthwith upon the occurrence of that failure, give the Minister notice in writing of that failure.

(9) The Minister may, if of the opinion that the Board’s functions are not being performed in an effective manner, appoint a person to—

(a) conduct an independent review of any matter giving rise to that opinion, and

(b) submit a report to the Minister on the results of the review.

(10) For the purposes of a review referred to in subsection (9), the Board shall give the person conducting the review all reasonable assistance, including access to such premises, equipment and records as the person may require for the purposes of the review.

(11) The removal of the members of the Board from office does not revoke or otherwise affect any delegation of the Board’s functions to the chief executive officer under section 28.

(12) An order under subsection (5) or (6) may contain such provisions as the Minister considers necessary to enable the functions of the Board to be performed notwithstanding the removal from office of its members, and any such order may, in particular, appoint a person or persons to discharge all or any of the functions of the Board.

(13) In this section “applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001”, in relation to a member of the Board, means a provision of those Acts that, by virtue of a regulation under section 3 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, applies to that member.