Health Act , 1953

PART I Preliminary and General

1. Short title and collective citation.

1.—(1)This Act may be cited as the Health Act, 1953.

(2)The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Health Acts, 1947 and 1953.

2. Commencement.

2.—Save as otherwise specifically provided thereby, this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.

3. Principal Act and construction of that Act and this Act.

3.—(1)In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947).

(2)The Principal Act and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

(3)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, a reference in the Principal Act to that Act shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be construed as including a reference to this Act.

4. General saver.

4.—(1)Nothing in this Act or any instrument thereunder shall be construed as imposing an obligation on any person to avail himself or any service provided under this Act or to submit himself or any person for whom he is responsible to health examination or treatment.

(2)Any person who avails himself of any service provided under this Act shall not be under any obligation to submit himself or any person for whom he is responsible to a health examination or treatment which is contrary to the teaching of his religion.

5. Repeals.

5.—The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in the third column of that Schedule.

PART II Institutions

6. Extension of meaning of “institution.”

6.—F1[…]

7. District institutions and dispensaries.

7.—F2[…]

8. Conduct and management of health institution.

8.—F3[…]

9. Direction with respect to institutional services.

9.—F4[…]

10. Extern institutions.

10.—F5[…]

11. Transfer of officers on discontinuation of health institution.

11.—F6[…]

12. Religious Services.

12.—F7[…]

13. Exemption from local inquiry.

13.—F8[…]

PART III Health Services

14. General medical services.

14.—F9[…]

15. Institutional and specialist services.

15.—(1) F10[…]

(2) F10[…]

(3) F10[…]

(4) F10[…]

(5) F10[…]

(6) F10[…]

(7) F10[…]

(8) F10[…]

(9)F11[…]

(10) F10[…]

16. Medical care for mothers.

16.—F12[…]

17. Infant welfare services.

17.—F13[…]

18. Child welfare services.

18.—F14[…]

19. School health examination and treatment service.

19.—F15[…]

20. Dental, ophthalmic and aural services, for children.

20.—F16[…]

21. Dental, ophthalmic and aural services for middle income group.

21.—F17[…]

22. Regulations in relation to services.

22.—F18[…]

23. Maternity cash grants.

23.—F19[…]

24. Milk for mothers and children.

24.—F20[…]

25. Institutional services at choice of patient, etc.

25.—F21[…]

26. Institutional services for persons not entitled to services under section 15.

26.—F22[…]

27. Declaration as to means.

27.—F23[…]

28. Notification of change of circumstances.

28.—F24[…]

29. Determination of doubt as to responsible health authority.

29.—F25[…]

30. Charge where person not entitled obtains service.

30.—F26[…]

31. Recovery of charges.

31.—F27[…]

32. Affording of facilities for health examination of children at schools.

32.—F28[…]

33. False statements, etc.

33.—F29[…]

PART IV Miscellaneous Amendments of Principal Act

34. Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act.

34.—Section 31 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following subsection:

35. Amendment of section 38 of Principal Act.

35.—An order made after the commencement of this section under subsection (1) of section 38 of the Principal Act shall have no effect unless, in addition to being signed by the chief medical officer, it is also signed by another registered medical practitioner.

36. Amendment of section 44 of Principal Act.

36.—(1)Section 44 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of “or a disease suspected to be an infectious disease by the chief medical officer of the health authority in whose functional area such person ordinarily resides” after “infectious disease”.

(2)F30[…]

(3)Sections 28 and 33 of this Act shall apply in relation to the service made available under section 44 of the Principal Act in like manner as they apply in relation to the services made available under Part III of this Act.

37. Amendment of section 48 of Principal Act.

37.—Subsection (1) of section 48 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a)by the substitution of the words “medical officer of health” for the words “district medical officer” in both places where the latter words occur, and

(b)by the substitution of the words “the area or district for which he acts” for the words “his district”.

38. Regulations under Part V of Principal Act.

38.—(1)Regulations under Part V of the Principal Act may provide for all or any of the following matters:

(a)the licensing or registration of—

(i)persons engaged in the manufacture, preparation, importation, storage, distribution or sale of food for human consumption,

(ii)premises, vehicles or stalls in or at which food is manufactured, prepared, stored, distributed or exposed for sale for human consumption,

(b)the description of premises, vehicles or stalls so licensed or registered,

(c)the prohibition of the manufacture, preparation, importation, storage, distribution, exposure for sale or sale of food otherwise than by licensed or registered persons or in or at licensed or registered premises, vehicles or stalls (as the case may be),

(d)the cancellation or suspension of licences or registrations,

(e)matters ancillary to the foregoing matters.

(2)Where regulations under Part V of the Principal Act include, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, provision for the keeping of registers by health authorities—

(a)any register kept pursuant to the regulations by a health authority shall be deemed to be in proper custody when in the custody of an officer of the health authority authorised in that behalf by the health authority and shall be admissible in evidence without further proof, on production from the proper custody,

(b)prima facie evidence of any entry in any register kept pursuant to the regulations by a health authority may be given in any Court or any legal proceedings by the production of a copy of such entry purporting to be certified to be a true copy by an officer of the health authority authorised in that behalf, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such officer, or that he was in fact such officer or was so authorised,

(c)a certificate purporting to be under the hand of an officer of a health authority authorised in that behalf that a specified person, premises, vehicle or stall was not, during a specified period, registered in a specified register kept pursuant to the regulations by the health authority shall be accepted in any Court or any legal proceedings as prima facie evidence of the facts so certified, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such officer, or that he was in fact such officer or was so authorised.

(3)Regulations under Part V of the Principal Act may provide for functions to be performed for the purposes of the regulations by Justices of the District Court or Peace Commissioners, being functions relating to any of the following matters:

(a)the making of orders in relation to the destruction or other disposal of food which is diseased, contaminated or otherwise unfit for human consumption,

(b)the reviewing of orders prohibiting the importation or the removal from the place of importation of articles of food or animals or materials intended for use in the manufacture of food,

(c)the annulment or confirmation of orders relating to the cancellation or suspension of licences or registrations or the prohibition of the user of premises, stalls or vehicles for any specified purpose,

(d)the direction of health authorities to license or register persons, premises, vehicles or stalls in specified circumstances.

(4)Where any repairs, structural alterations or additions to premises are required by any authority enforcing regulations under Part V of the Principal Act to comply with those regulations—

(a)the repairs, structural alterations or additions may be carried out notwithstanding any covenant, agreement or condition in any lease or other contract of tenancy under which the premises are held,

(b)before the repairs, structural alterations or additions are carried out, the person required to carry them out shall—

(i)if he is not the rated occupier of the premises, inform the rated occupier, and

(ii)if he holds the premises under a lease or other contract of tenancy, inform the immediate landlord or his agent.

(5)In sections 56 and 57 of the Principal Act, the word “food” shall be construed, in addition to referring to any individual food, as referring to any class whatsoever of food.

(6)This section and the repeal by section 5 of this Act of section 55 of the Principal Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the day on which Part V of the Principal Act came into operation.

39. Amendment of section 65 of Principal Act.

39.—Section 65 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a)by the deletion of the definition of “substance” in subsection (1) and the substitution therefor of the following:

(b)by the addition at the end of subsection (3) of the following paragraph—

(c)by the addition at the end of subsection (5) of the words “or by the health authority in whose functional area the offence is committed.”.

40. Amendment of section 66 of Principal Act.

40.—Section 66 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition at the end of subsection (9) of the words “or by the health authority in whose functional area the offence is committed.”.

41. Amendment of section 98 of Principal Act.

41.—Section 98 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a)F31[…]

(b)by the deletion in subsection (4) of the words “the National Health Council or of”;

(c)F31[…]

42. Amendment of section 103 of Principal Act.

42.—F32[…]

43. Amendment of section 104 of Principal Act.

43.—Subsection (2) of section 104 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of “or other means of transport” before “provided”.

44. Prosecution of certain offences.

44.—An offence under Part V, Part VIII or Part IX of the Principal Act may be prosecuted by the health authority in whose functional area the offence is committed.

PART V. Miscellaneous.

45. Joint action by health authorities.

45.—(1) F33[…]

(2)F33[…]

(3)F33[…]

(4)F33[…]

(5)F33[…]

(6)F34[…]

(7)F34[…]

(8)F33[…]

(9)F33[…]

(10)F33[…]

46. Balrothery and Rathdown Boards of Assistance.

46.—F35[…]

47. Arrangements between health authorities and other authorities.

47.—F36[…]

48. Consultative health committees.

48.—F37[…]

49. Agreement for provision of service.

49.—F38[…]

50. Rehabilitation and maintenance of disabled persons.

50.—F39[…]

51. Dispensary districts.

51.—F40[…]

52. District medical officers.

52.—F41[…]

53. Holders of certain offices under public assistance authorities.

53.—F42[…]

54. Shelter and maintenance in county home.

54.—(1)In this section “institutional assistance” means shelter and maintenance in a county home or similar institution.

(2)A person who is unable to provide shelter and maintenance for himself or his dependants shall, for the purposes of this section, be eligible for institutional assistance.

(3)It shall be the duty of a health authority, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section and the regulations thereunder, to give to every person in their functional area who is eligible for institutional assistance such institutional assistance as appears to them to be necessary or proper in each particular case.

(4)The Minister may make regulations governing the giving of institutional assistance and such regulations may, in particular, provide for requiring persons to contribute in specified cases towards the cost of providing them with institutional assistance.

(5)Every person maintained by a health authority in a county home or similar institution who behaves in a disorderly manner in such home or institution, or causes unreasonable disturbance to other persons maintained in such home or institution or to persons employed therein, shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty-one days.

(6)Where the Minister directs by order that a specified class of persons shall not be sheltered or maintained under this section by or on behalf of a health authority in a specified institution, the authority shall not (except in cases of urgent necessity) shelter or maintain, or arrange for the shelter or maintenance of, any persons of that class in that institution.

(7)(a)Where a person maintained by a health authority in a county home or similar institution does work on behalf of the authority, he shall be deemed, in relation to the doing of the work, to be for the purposes of the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1953, a workman in the employment of the authority, but, save as aforesaid, the doing of the work by such person shall not operate to create or imply the relation of master and servant or a contract of service between the authority and such person.

(b)In any proceedings under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1953, brought by virtue of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the applicant shall be deemed to have worked for remuneration and the amount of the remuneration shall be estimated by the Court by reference to the value of the work.

55. Boarding out etc., of children.

55.—F43[…]

56. Removal of child boarded out, etc.

56.—F44[…]

57. Local authority for purposes of Part I of Children Act, 1908.

57.—F45[…]

58. Regulations as to filling materials.

58.—(1)The Minister may make regulations—

(a)prescribing a standard of cleanliness for filling material either generally or as respects a particular type of filling material,

(b)prohibiting the sale or keeping for sale, or use or keeping for use for the purpose of making bedding, cushions, articles of upholstery, toys or similar articles, of filling material which does not conform with the prescribed standard,

(c)prohibiting the sale or keeping for sale of any bedding, cushion, article of upholstery, toy or similar article containing filling material which does not conform with the prescribed standard.

(2)Regulations under this section—

(a)may provide for the enforcement and execution of the regulations by officers of the Minister, by health authorities and their officers and, with the consent of the Minister for Local Government, by officers of sanitary authorities,

(b)may provide for the empowering of specified persons (being authorised officers for the purpose of Part IX of the Principal Act) to seize and remove, and to detain and destroy or have otherwise suitably disposed of, filling material which does not conform with the prescribed standard,

(c)may provide for the giving and taking (without payment) of samples and the carrying out of tests, examinations and analyses of such samples,

(d)may prescribe the classes of persons to be responsible for the carrying out of tests, examinations and analyses of samples of filling material and the means by and the manner in which any such test, examination or analysis is to be made,

(e)may prescribe the certificate or other evidence to be given of the result of any such test, examination or analysis and the classes of persons by and to whom any such certificate or evidence is to be given,

(f)may provide that any certificate or other evidence prescribed under paragraph (e) of this subsection and given in respect of the test, examination or analysis of a sample shall as respects that sample be evidence for all purposes of the result of the test, examination or analysis,

(g)may provide for the licensing or registration of premises in which filling material is kept for sale or for use for the purpose of making bedding, cushions, articles of upholstery, toys or similar articles and for the prohibition of the keeping for sale or for the said use of filling material in premises which are not licensed or registered,

(h)may provide for conditions governing the grant, retention or renewal of licences or registrations,

(i)may provide for the imposition of charges in respect of the grant, retention or renewal of licences or registrations,

(j)may provide for the marking or labelling in a specified manner of bedding, cushions, articles of upholstery, toys or similar articles containing filling material,

(k)may provide for the keeping of records by persons engaged in the manufacture, preparation, importation, storage, distribution or sale of filling material or bedding, cushions, articles of upholstery, toys or similar articles containing filling material and for the production of such records for inspection by officers concerned in the enforcement or execution of the regulations.