(1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of this section, and thereafter within 6 months before each third anniversary of such commencement, the Authority shall prepare and submit to the Minister a plan (in this section referred to as a "strategic plan") for the ensuing 3 year period.
(2) A strategic plan shall -
(a) comprise the key objectives, outputs and related strategies, including use of resources, of the Authority,
(b) be prepared in a form and manner in accordance with any directions issued from time to time by the Minister, and
(c) have regard to the need to ensure the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of the resources of the Authority.
(3) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after a strategic plan has been submitted to him or her under subsection (1), cause a copy of it to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
(4) The Authority shall prepare and submit to the Minister by the end of each year a programme of the activities it proposes to c