Local Government Act, 2001

Tenure of manager.

147.—(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, a person appointed to a position of manager holds the employment unless he or she earlier dies, resigns or is removed, during whichever of the following tenure periods is the shorter—

(a) a period of such length as the Minister specifies by order,

(b) the period from the date of the appointment to the date on which he or she attains such age as the Minister specifies by order,

and on the expiration of that period he or she ceases to hold the employment.

(2) Notwithstanding any enactment (including subsection (1)) or instrument made under such enactment, the tenure period of a manager referred to in subsection (1)(a) shall, subject to and in accordance with this section and with regulations made by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, be extended where notification (in this section referred to as the “prescribed notification”)—

(a) is given by the manager to the Cathaoirleach of the local authority concerned, and

(b) is in the form prescribed by regulations made under this section,

but in no case shall the tenure period as so extended exceed 10 years.

(3) On receipt of a prescribed notification the Cathaoirleach of the local authority concerned shall—

(a) inform the members of the local authority of it at the next meeting of that local authority, and

(b) transmit a copy of it to the Minister and to the Local Appointments Commissioners.

(4) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of subsection (2) and such regulations may provide for:

(a) the form of the prescribed notification;

(b) the period (in this section referred to as the “notification period”) within which a prescribed notification shall be given;

(c) subject to subsection (2), the period by which the tenure period shall be extended;

(d) the positions of manager to which subsection (5) does not apply;

(e) the application of different periods for the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) to specified classes of manager.

(5) Subject to regulations made under subsection (4)(d):

(a) a manager whose tenure period is extended under subsection (2) shall not apply for appointment to any position of manager during the period commencing on the date the manager gives a prescribed notification and ending on a date which is 6 months prior to the expiration of the extended tenure period (in this subsection referred to as the “exclusion period”), and

(b) notwithstanding section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , a manager who has given a prescribed notification shall not be considered by the Local Appointments Commissioners for selection for any position of manager during the exclusion period.

(6) (a) A notification period referred to in subsection (4)(b) shall be wholly within the tenure period.

(b) A prescribed notification for the purposes of this section which is given outside of the notification period is invalid.

(7) Where the tenure period of a manager stands extended in accordance with this section, such extended tenure period shall be the tenure period for the purposes of subsection (2) of section 145 and that section shall apply accordingly.

(8) The Local Government (Tenure of Office) Order, 2000 ( S.I. No. 221 of 2000 ), and the Local Government (Tenure of Office of Managers) Regulations, 2000 ( S.I. No. 219 of 2000 ), shall be deemed to have been made under subsections (1) and (4), respectively, and shall continue to have effect and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

(9) Nothing in this section operates to interfere with or alter the tenure of a manager—

(a) appointed before the commencement of section 47 of the Local Government Act, 1991 (in this subsection referred to as the “Act of 1991”), or

(b) whose tenure is governed by an order under section 47 of the Act of 1991, or

(c) whose tenure is governed by such an order and section 47A (inserted by section 1 of the Local Government Act, 2000 ) of the Act of 1991,

notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of the Act of 1991 and of the Local Government Act, 2000 .