(1) Subject to subsection (2), where a member will be absent from the State or is prevented by illness or any other cause from exercising his or her functions as a member of the Commission, the body which nominated the member shall—
(a) notify the Minister of that member's inability to perform the function as a member of the Commission; and
(b) shall nominate another person to act in the place of that member during the period of the member's absence or incapacity,
and the Minister shall appoint that other person as an alternate member.
(2) The body which nominates a member under section 3 may advise the Minister of the names of 2 alternate members who will serve in the absence of a member in circumstances as contemplated in subsection (1) and the Minister shall appoint such persons as alternate members, and any one of these alternate members may sit and function as a member of the Commission in the absence of the members nominated by the body.