3Protection of existing officers.N.I.
(1)It shall be deemed to be part of the terms and conditions of the employment of any officer of the council holding office at the commencement of this Act that—
(a)he shall not be removed from his office before attaining the age of sixty-five years without the sanction of the Ministry; and
(b)in the event of the council refusing to grant him an appropriate superannuation allowance on his removal from office or on his retirement after attaining the age of sixty-five years or on his resignation from office with the sanction of the Ministry prior to attaining that age, or in the event of his being dissatisfied with the superannuation allowance granted to him by the council, the matter in dispute shall be referred to and determined by the Ministry.
(2)The Ministry shall not give its sanction to the resignation of any such officer as aforesaid unless the Ministry is satisfied—
(a)that, owing to changes made without reasonable cause in the conditions of his employment after the passing of this Act, his position has been materially altered to his detriment; or
(b)that he has become incapable of discharging the duties of his office with efficiency by reason of permanent infirmity of mind or body; or
(c)that he is not less than sixty years of age and has served as an officer of the council for not less than twenty years.
(3)The foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment (whether public general or local) other than section eight of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1919 [1919 c.19] , as amended by sub-section (2) of section sixty-eight of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 [1920 c.67] :
Provided that nothing in this section shall empower the council to grant a superannuation allowance otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Local Officers' Superannuation (Ireland) Act, 1869 [1869 c.79] .
(4)In the application of this section to any officer appointed by the council or by the City Administrators acting as an education authority, the expression “the Ministry” shall be construed as meaning the Ministry of Education, and in the application of this section to any other officer, shall be construed as meaning the Ministry of Health and Local GovernmentF1.
F1Now D/Env., SRO (NI) 1964/205; 1973/504; 1976 NI 6