Defence (Amendment) Act 2024
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External Oversight Body - insertion of Thirteenth Schedule to Principal Act | ||
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22. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following Schedule after the Twelfth Schedule: | ||
“THIRTEENTH SCHEDULE | ||
EXTERNAL OVERSIGHT BODY | ||
Section 321(4) | ||
1. The External Oversight Body shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a seal and power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name and shall, with the consent of the Minister given with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery 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 External Oversight Body shall be authenticated by the signatures of— | ||
(a) a member of the External Oversight Body, and | ||
(b) a member of staff of the External Oversight Body authorised in writing by the External Oversight Body to act in that behalf. | ||
3. Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the External Oversight Body and any document purporting to be an instrument made by and to be sealed with the seal of the External Oversight Body (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with paragraph 2) and 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 External Oversight Body by any person generally or specially authorised by the External Oversight Body to act in that behalf. | ||
5. A person shall not be eligible to be recommended for appointment or appointed as a member of the External Oversight Body if he or she— | ||
(a) is a member of either House of the Oireachtas, | ||
(b) is entitled under the rules of procedure of the European Parliament to sit in that Parliament, | ||
(c) is a member of a local authority, | ||
(d) is a member of the Defence Forces, | ||
(e) is a former member of the Defence Forces who served as a member during the period of 5 years immediately prior to a recommendation or an appointment, | ||
(f) is a civil servant (within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 ) serving in the Department of Defence, other than the Secretary General, or | ||
(g) is a civil servant (within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 ), or former civil servant, who served with the Department of Defence during the period of 5 years immediately prior to a recommendation or appointment. | ||
6. Where a member of the External Oversight Body 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 the European Parliament, or | ||
(d) becomes a member of a local authority, | ||
he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the External Oversight Body and, where applicable, a member of a committee of the External Oversight Body. | ||
7. A member of the External Oversight Body or a member of a committee of the External Oversight Body shall be ineligible to be a member, and cease to be a member, where he or she— | ||
(a) subject to paragraph 8, is adjudicated bankrupt, | ||
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with his or her creditors, | ||
(c) is convicted of an indictable offence, or is convicted outside the State for an offence consisting of acts or omissions that, if done or made in the State, would constitute an offence triable on indictment, | ||
(d) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, | ||
(e) is convicted by a court-martial of an offence against military law for which he or she is sentenced to imprisonment to a term of not less than 12 months in respect of that offence, | ||
(f) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment, | ||
(g) has a declaration under section 819 of the Companies Act 2014 made against him or her, or is deemed to be subject to such a declaration by virtue of Chapter 5 of Part 14 of that Act, or | ||
(h) is subject, or is deemed to be subject, to a disqualification order, within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014 , whether by virtue of that Chapter or any other provision of that Act. | ||
8. A person shall be ineligible under subparagraph (a) of paragraph 7 for appointment as a member of the External Oversight Body or a member of a committee of the External Oversight Body only for so long as he or she has not obtained a certificate of discharge from the bankruptcy or the bankruptcy has not been annulled. | ||
9. Where a member of the External Oversight Body does not, for a consecutive period of 6 months, attend a meeting of the External Oversight Body, he or she shall, at the end of that period cease to be a member of the External Oversight Body unless the member demonstrates to the Minister’s satisfaction that the failure to attend was due to ill-health. | ||
10. In this Schedule, ‘local authority’ means a local authority within the meaning of section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001 .”. |