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14 1999

NATIONAL DISABILITY AUTHORITY ACT, 1999

Chapter II

Membership of Authority

Membership of Authority.

20. —(1) (a) The Authority shall consist of a chairperson and 20 ordinary members who shall be appointed by the Minister and who shall, subject to the other provisions of this section, hold and vacate office as the Minister may determine.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), until the first appointment to the Authority of a person consequent to an election having been held to which subsection (4)(b) relates, the Authority shall consist of a chairperson and 19 ordinary members.

(2) (a) The Minister shall from time to time as the occasion requires appoint a member of the Authority to be chairperson thereof.

(b) The chairperson of the Authority shall cease to hold such office if he or she ceases to be a member of the Authority.

(c) The chairperson of the Authority shall hold such office until the expiration of his or her term of office as a member of the Authority unless he or she dies, resigns, becomes disqualified or is removed from office before the expiration of his or her term of office as a member of the Authority but, if he or she is reappointed as a member of the Authority, he or she shall be eligible for re-appointment as chairperson of the Authority.

(3) In appointing persons to be members of the Authority, the Minister shall have regard to—

(a) the objective that a majority of the Authority would be persons with disabilities, their representatives, families or carers and, in the case of each member of the Authority, that he or she would have knowledge or experience, either directly or indirectly, of matters pertaining to disability or of any other subject which in the opinion of the Minister would be of assistance to the Authority in the performance of its functions, and

(b) subject to paragraph (a)

(i) the objective that not less than 9 of the members are women and not less than 9 of the members are men, and

(ii) the desirability that the Authority would include among its members persons from both rural and urban areas.

(4) The ordinary members of the Authority shall include—

(a) one officer of the Minister and a representative of any other Minister of the Government who, in the opinion of the Minister, has at that time direct concern with or responsibility for activities relevant to the functions of the Authority, and

(b) one member of the staff of the Authority who shall be elected by secret ballot of the staff of the Authority in such manner—

(i) where notice of the holding of the first election is given before the establishment day, as the Minister shall direct in writing, and

(ii) in every other case (including where notice of the holding of the first election is given after the establishment day), as the Authority, with the agreement of the Minister, may determine.

Term of office, etc.

21. —(1) The term of office of a member of the Authority shall be not more than 4 years and no person shall be appointed a member of the Authority for more than 2 consecutive terms.

(2) Each member of the Authority shall act on a part-time basis and shall be paid such allowances for expenses as the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance may determine.

(3) A member of the Authority may resign from the Authority by letter addressed to the Minister and the resignation shall take effect as and from the date on which the Minister receives the letter.

(4) The Minister may at any time remove a member from the Authority where the Minister considers that such member has become incapable of performing his or her functions or has committed stated misbehaviour, or where such member's removal is considered necessary for the effective performance of the Authority.

Casual vacancies.

22. — The Minister may appoint a person to fill a casual vacancy which arises in the membership of the Authority due to the death, resignation, disqualification or removal from office of a member and provide that any such appointment shall run for the remainder of the term of office of the member replaced and that any such appointee shall be eligible for re-appointment as a member for one further term.

Meetings of Authority.

23. —(1) The Authority shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the performance of its functions but shall hold at least one meeting in each quarter of the calendar year.

(2) The Minister may fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Authority.

(3) The quorum for a meeting of the Authority shall be 14 or such other number (not being less than 11) as the Authority may from time to time determine.

(4) The chairperson of the Authority shall chair any meetings of the Authority except in the case that the chairperson is not present or such office is vacant in which case the members who are present shall choose one of their number to chair the meeting.

(5) At meetings of the Authority, the chairperson of the Authority and each ordinary member present shall have one vote.

(6) Where a vote is taken to determine a question at a meeting of the Authority, it shall be determined by a majority of votes, the chairperson or other member chairing the meeting having a casting vote in the case of an equal division.

Vacancies in membership.

24. — The Authority and any committee appointed by the Authority may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members.