PART IV.

Application of Regulation Act and the amending Regulation Act to members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas and amendments of those Acts.

16. —(1) The provisions of the Regulation Act and the amending Regulation Act shall, as amended by this Act, apply to members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

(2) The provisions of the Regulation Act and the amending Regulation Act, as applied by subsection (1) of this section, shall apply to persons who are members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas on the date of the passing of this Act as well as to persons who become members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas after that date.

17. —(1) So much of subsection (1) (as originally enacted) of section 1 of the Regulation Act as defines “civil servant,” “member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas” and “officer of the Houses of the Oireachtas” is hereby repealed.

(2) There shall be inserted in subsection (1) of section 1 of the Regulation Act the following four new definitions—

‘“civil servant” means a person holding a position in the Civil Service and includes a member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas;

“member of the joint staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas” does not include an officer of the Houses of the Oireachtas;

“member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas” includes an officer of the Houses of the Oireaehtas;

“officer of the Houses of the Oireaehtas” means a person being—

(a) the Clerk or Clerk-Assistant of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann, or

(b) the Superintendent, Houses of the Oireachtas, or

(c) the Captain of the Guard, Houses of the Oireachtas;’.

18. —(1) Subsection (1) of section 2 of the Regulation Act is hereby amended in the following respects—

(I) There shall be inserted the following two new paragraphs—

“(aa) in relation to a civil servant who is the Clerk or Clerk-Assistant of Dáil Éireann, the Superintendent, Houses of the Oireachtas, the Captain of the Guard, Houses of the Oireachtas or a member of the joint staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Chairman of Dáil Éireann,

(ab) in relation to a civil servant who is the Clerk or Clerk-Assistant of Seanad Éireann, the Chairman of Seanad Éireann,”;

(II) in paragraph (b), the words “a member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas or” shall be repealed.

(2) Paragraphs (a) and (b) (as originally enacted) of subsection (2) of section 2 of the Regulation Act are hereby repealed.

19. —Subsection (4) of section 3 of the Regulation Act is hereby repealed.

20. —Notwithstanding anything contained in section 5 of the Regulation Act, as applied and amended by this Act—

(a) an established civil servant who is the Clerk or Clerk Assistant of Dáil Éireann shall not be removed from office by the Government except upon the recommendation of the Chairman of Dáil Éireann,

(b) an established civil servant who is the Clerk or Clerk Assistant of Seanad Éireann shall not be removed from office by the Government except upon the recommendation of the Chairman of Seanad Éireann,

(c) an established civil servant w;ho is the Superintendent, Houses of the Oireachtas, or the Captain of the Guard, Houses of the Oireachtas, shall not be removed from office by the Government except after consultation with the Chairman of Dáil Éireann and the Chairman of Seanad Éireann,

(d) an established civil servant who is a member of the joint staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas shall not be removed from office by the Government except upon the recommendation of the Chairman of Dáil Éireann, given after consultation with the Chairman of Seanad Éireann.

21. —(1) In this section—

“the appropriate authority” means the Chairman of Dáil Éireann;

“the Chairman” means the Chairman of Seanad Éireann;

“civil servant to whom this section applies” means a member of the joint staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas;

“suspend” means, in relation to a civil servant to whom this section applies, suspend from duty under subsection (2) of this section, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) The Chairman may suspend from duty a civil servant to whom this section applies, who, while employed on duties directly related to the business of Seanad Éireann, is guilty of grave misconduct warranting disciplinary action.

(3) The Chairman may terminate the suspension of a civil servant to whom this section applies who is suspended under subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Where the Chairman terminates, under subsection (3) of this section, the suspension of a civil servant to whom this section applies and restores him to duty—

(a) the appropriate authority, if satisfied that considerations of equity so require, shall direct that ordinary remuneration, in whole or in part, as the appropriate authority may direct, shall be paid to that civil servant in respect of the period of suspension,

(b) before the appropriate authority decides not to give a direction under paragraph (a) of this subsection or decides to give a direction under that paragraph for payment of part only of ordinary remuneration, the civil servant shall be given an opportunity of making to the appropriate authority any representations he may wish to offer.

(5) Where the suspension of a civil servant to whom this section applies is terminated by his dismissal from office, the appropriate authority, if considerations of equity so require, shall direct that ordinary remuneration in whole or in part, as the appropriate authority may direct, be paid to him in respect of the period of suspension.

(6) (a) Save in accordance with subsections (4) or (5) of this section, a civil servant to whom this section applies who is suspended shall not be paid remuneration in respect of the period of suspension.

(b) Where a civil servant to whom this section applies is suspended and satisfies the appropriate authority that, by reason of the prolongation of the investigation of his case, undue hardship is being caused, nothing in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall prevent the appropriate authority from authorising, for the mitigation of hardship, payment of such portion, as the appropriate authority thinks fit, of the remuneration which would, but for his suspension, have been payable to that civil servant.

(7) The preceding provisions of this section shall not be construed as affecting the operation of sections 13 and 14 of the Regulation Act.

22. —Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 15 of the Regulation Act, the Minister shall not give a direction under that paragraph in relation to a member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas except after consultation with the appropriate authority within the meaning of the Regulation Act, as amended by this Act.

23. —(1) Section 17 of the Regulation Act shall not apply to the fixing of the hours of attendance on duty of members of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

(2) The hours of attendance on duty of every member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas—

(a) shall, in the case of the Clerk and the Clerk-Assistant of Dáil Éireann, be such as may be fixed from time to time by the Chairman of Dáil Éireann,

(b) shall, in the case of the Clerk and the Clerk-Assistant of Seanad Éireann, be such as may be fixed from time to time by the Chairman of Seanad Éireann,

(c) shall, in the case of the Superintendent, Houses of the Oireachtas, the Captain of the Guard, Houses of the Oireachtas, and a member of the joint staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, be such as may be fixed from time to time by the Chairman of Dáil Éireann, after consultation with the Chairman of Seanad Éireann.

24. — The power conferred by section 19 of the Regulation Act of appointing a person to be a member of the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas shall not be exercisable after the passing of this Act.

25. —Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 20 of the Regulation Act is hereby repealed.

26. —Section 4 of the amending Regulation Act is hereby repealed.