36.— (1) A member of an education and training board may resign from the board by notice in writing to the chief executive.

(2) A resignation under subsection (1) shall take effect on—

(a) the date specified in the notice, or

(b) where no date is specified in the notice, the date on which the chief executive receives the notice.

(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), a person shall be taken to have resigned as a member of an education and training board where the person is absent from meetings of the board held during any 6 consecutive month period (in this section referred to as the “relevant period”) from the date (in this section referred to as the “relevant date”) of his or her last attendance at a meeting of the board.

(4) Where an education and training board accepts, by resolution passed before the end of the relevant period, that the absence of the member was due to illness or in good faith for another reason, the relevant period shall stand extended to 12 months from the relevant date.

(5) Where the absence of the member continues uninterrupted for the relevant period extended to 12 months from the relevant date under subsection (4), and the education and training board accept that the absence of the member was due to illness or in good faith for another reason, the relevant period shall stand extended to 18 months from the relevant date.

(6) A member is taken to have resigned on the next day after—

(a) in the case of subsection (3), the end of the relevant period,

(b) in the case of subsection (4), the end of the relevant period as extended to 12 months under that subsection, or

(c) in the case of subsection (5), the end of the relevant period as extended to 18 months under that subsection.

(7) Attendance as a member at a meeting of any committee or joint committee of the education and training board shall be taken for the purposes of this section to be attendance at a meeting of the board.

(8) A person who resigns as a member of an education and training board under this section also ceases on such resignation to be a member of any body—

(a) to which he or she was elected, nominated or appointed by the board, or

(b) of which he or she is a member by virtue of being a member of the board.