947. (1) The Minister may at any time, for stated reasons, remove the Director from office.

(2) If the Director is removed from office under subsection (1), the Minister shall ensure that a statement of the reasons for the Director’s removal is laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(3) The Director shall cease to be the Director on—

(a) being nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) being nominated as a candidate for election to either House of the Oireachtas or to the European Parliament,

(c) being regarded, pursuant to section 19 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 , as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or

(d) becoming a member of a local authority.

(4) A person is disqualified from appointment as the Director for so long as he or she is—

(a) entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit in that House,

(b) a member of the European Parliament, or

(c) a member of a local authority.