(1) A person who is a member of either House of the Oireachtas, the European Parliament or a local authority is disqualified from being employed in any capacity by the Agency.

(2) Where a member of staff of the Agency -

(a) is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

(b) is elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a member of the European Parliament,

(c) is regarded, pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997, as having been elected to the European Parliament, or

(d) becomes a member of a local authority,

he or she shall thereupon stand seconded from employment by the Agency and shall not be paid by, or be entitled to receive from, the Agency any remuneration or allowances in respect of the period commencing on such nomination or election or when he or she is so regarded as having been elected or becomes a member of a local authority (as the case may be), and ending when such person ceases to be a member of either such House or a member of the European Parliament or local authority.