1. The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name and shall, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land, and shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

2. The seal of the Authority shall be authenticated by the signatures of—

(a) a Member, and

(b) a member of staff of the Authority authorised by the Authority for that purpose.

3. Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Authority and any document purporting to be an instrument made by, and to be sealed with the seal of, the Authority shall, unless the contrary is proved, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof.

4. Any contract or instrument which, if entered into or executed by an individual, would not require to be under seal may be entered into or executed on behalf of the Authority by any person generally or specially authorised by the Authority in that behalf.

5. (1) Where a Member 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 as having been elected to that Parliament, or

(d) is elected or co-opted as a member of a local authority, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a Member of the Authority.

(2) 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 as mentioned in clause (a) or (c) or is such a member as mentioned in clause (b), be disqualified for membership of the Authority or for employment in any capacity by the Authority.]