Opticians Act , 1956

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Opticians Act, 1956.

2 Interpretation.

2.—In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the appointed day” means the day appointed, by order made by the Minister under subsection (2) of section 3 of this Act, to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act;

“the Board” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 5 of this Act;

“the day of the commencement of the Register of Dispensing Opticians” means the day certified, by order made by the Minister under subsection (5) of section 32 of this Act, to be the day of the setting up of that Register;

“the day of the commencement of the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians” means the day certified, by order made by the Minister under subsection (5) of section 23 of this Act, to be the day of the setting up of that Register;

“the establishment day” means the day appointed, by order made by the Minister under subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act, to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“register” means the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians or the Register of Dispensing Opticians;

“registered dispensing optician” means a person registered in the Register of Dispensing Opticians;

“registered ophthalmic optician” means a person registered in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians;

“registered optician” means a person registered in a register;

“rules” means rules made under section 18 of this Act;

“spectacles” includes pince-nez, contact lenses and monocles, but does not include sun-glasses, goggles or similar articles.

3 Establishment day and appointed day.

3.—(1) The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Minister may by order appoint a day (which shall be not less than twelve months after the establishment day) to be the appointed day for the purposes of this Act.

4 Expenses of the Minister.

4.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART II. Bord na Radharcmhastóirí.

5 Establishment of the Board.

5.—(1) On the establishment day there shall be established a board to be known as Bord na Radharcmhastóirí (in this Act referred to as the Board).

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and power to sue and be sued in their corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of land.

6 Seal of the Board.

6.—(1) The Board shall provide themselves with a seal, and such seal shall be authenticated by the signature of the president of the Board or some other member thereof authorised by the Board to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

(2) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Board, and every document purporting to be an instrument made by the Board and to be sealed with the seal (purporting to be authenticated in accordance with this section) of the Board shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

7 Number of members of the Board.

7.—The number of the members of the Board shall be eleven.

8 Election year.

8.—The election years for the purposes of this Act shall be—

(a) the third year after the year in which the establishment day falls, and

(b) each fifth successive year thereafter.

9 Appointment by Minister of members of the Board.

9.—(1) Before the establishment day, the Minister shall appoint—

(a) four persons each of whom is a registered medical practitioner,

(b) six persons each of whom is an optician and at least one of whom is also a pharmaceutical chemist or dispensing chemist and druggist, and

(c) one other person (whether or not having any qualification referred to in the foregoing paragraphs),

to be members of the Board.

(2) Before the 1st day of December in each election year, the Minister shall appoint—

(a) four persons each of whom is a registered medical practitioner, and

(b) one other person (whether or not being a registered medical practitioner),

to be members of the Board.

(3) Before appointing the persons referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, the persons referred to in paragraph (b) of that subsection or the persons referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section, the Minister shall consult such organisations or bodies as he considers suitable to advise him on the appointments.

10 Election of members of the Board.

10.—(1) Before the 1st day of December in each election year, six persons shall be elected by registered opticians to be members of the Board.

(2) Subject to any regulations under subsection (3) of this section for the time being in force, of the six persons referred to in subsection (1) of this section—

(a) five shall be registered ophthalmic opticians, and

(b) one shall be a registered dispensing optician.

(3) The Minister may by regulations substitute other numbers totalling six for the numbers specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Every election under this section shall be carried out in accordance with rules.

11 Terms of office of members of the Board.

11.—(1) The term of office of a member of the Board shall commence—

(a) in the case of a first member, on the establishment day;

(b) in the case of a member filling a casual vacancy, on the day on which he is co-opted or appointed; and

(c) in every other case, on the 1st day of January in the year following the relevant election year.

(2) The term of office of a member of the Board shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or is removed from office, terminate on such 31st day of December in an election year as next follows the commencement of his term of office.

12 Resignation of members of the Board.

12.—A member of the Board may resign his office as member of the Board by letter sent by registered post to the Board, and the resignation shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the receipt of the letter if the resignation is not withdrawn in writing before that meeting.

13 President of the Board.

13.—(1) The Minister shall, on or as soon as may be after the establishment day and every 1st day of January in a year following an election year, appoint one of the members of the Board to be president of the Board.

(2) Where the office of president of the Board becomes vacant otherwise than by the termination of the term of office of a president, the Minister shall appoint one of the members of the Board to be president of the Board.

(3) Every president of the Board shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns the office of president, or ceases to be president under subsection (5) of this section, hold office until such 31st day of December in an election year as next follows the commencement of his term of office as a member of the Board.

(4) The president of the Board may at any time resign his office as president by letter sent by registered post to the Board, and the resignation shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the receipt of the letter if the resignation is not withdrawn in writing before that meeting.

(5) Where the president of the Board ceases during his term of office as president to be a member of the Board, he shall be disqualified from being and shall forthwith cease to be such president.

14 Casual vacancies.

14.—(1) (a) A casual vacancy occurring among the elected members of the Board, the person occasioning the vacancy being a registered ophthalmic optician, shall be filled by co-option by the other elected members of the Board of a registered ophthalmic optician.

(b) A casual vacancy occurring among the elected members of the Board, the person occasioning the vacancy being a registered dispensing optician, shall be filled by co-option by the other elected members of the Board of a registered dispensing optician.

(2) A casual vacancy occurring among the appointed members of the Board shall be filled by appointment by the Minister, subject to the like conditions (if any) as governed the appointment of the member occasioning the vacancy.

(3) Any person co-opted under subsection (1) of this section shall be regarded subsequently for the purposes of that subsection as a person elected as a member of the Board.

15 Removal of member of the Board.

15.—(1) The Minister may at any time by order remove any member of the Board from office.

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.

16 Removal from office for failure to perform statutory function.

16.—(1) The Minister, if he is satisfied that the Board have not performed any function which they are required by this Act to perform, may by order require the Board to perform such function and to comply with such directions as are given in the order.

(2) If the Board do not, within a period specified by the Minister, comply with an order made under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may by order remove from office the members of the Board.

(3) An order under this section may contain such provisions as the Minister considers necessary for enabling the functions of the Board to be discharged notwithstanding the removal of the members and may, in particular, appoint a person or persons to discharge those functions.

17 Meetings and procedure of the Board.

17.—(1) The Board shall hold at least one meeting in each quarter of the year and shall also hold such other meetings as may be necessary for the due performance of their functions.

(2) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be four.

(3) The president of the Board shall act as chairman of every meeting of the Board at which he is present.

(4) During the absence of the president of the Board from any meeting of the Board or if when any meeting of the Board is held there is no president of the Board in office, the members of the Board present shall elect one of themselves to be chairman of the meeting for the time being and, where at such election there is an equality of votes for two or more persons, it shall be determined by lot which of those persons shall be chairman of the meeting for the time being.

(5) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question and, in case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

(6) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among their members.

(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate, by rules, the procedure of the Board.

(8) The Minister may fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Board.

18 Power to make rules.

18.—(1) The Board may make rules—

(a) in relation to any matter or thing referred to in this Act as the subject matter of rules, and

(b) generally for carrying this Act into effect,

and any rules so made may specify forms to be used on the occasions specified therein.

(2) The Board, as soon as may be after making any rules, shall cause notice to that effect to be published in two or more daily newspapers circulating in the State and shall make a copy of the rules available at a reasonable price to any person who requests one.

(3) Rules under this section shall not have effect unless and until they are approved of by the Minister.

(4) The Government, if they so think proper, may by order declare that subsection (3) of this section shall cease to have effect as on and from a specified day and, where such an order is made, that subsection shall cease to have effect as on and from the specified day.

(5) The Government, if they so think proper, may by order declare that subsection (3) of this section shall cease to have effect as on and from a specified day—

(a) in respect of rules of a specified class, or

(b) in respect of all provisions in rules save provisions of a specified class,

and, where such an order is made, that subsection shall cease to have effect as on and from the specified day in respect of (as may be appropriate) rules of the specified class or all provisions in rules save provisions of the specified class.

19 Committees of the Board.

19.—The Board may by rules provide for the establishment, functions and procedure (including quorum) of committees of the Board and the rules may authorise the appointment of persons other than members of the Board to be members of the committees and may provide for the delegation, to a committee or committees of the Board, of any powers, functions or duties of the Board.

20 Expenses of members of the Board or committee of the Board.

20.—The Board may pay to a member attending a meeting of the Board or of any committee of the Board, or to a member of the Board or of such committee performing any function on behalf of the Board, his travelling and subsistence expenses.

21 Officers and servants of the Board.

21.—(1) The Board shall appoint such and so many persons to be officers and servants of the Board as the Board from time to time think proper.

(2) An officer or servant of the Board shall hold his office or employment on such terms and conditions as the Board from time to time determine.

(3) The Board shall pay to their officers and servants such remuneration and allowances as the Board from time to time determine.

22 Pensions and gratuities to or in respect of officers and servants of the Board.

22.—(1) The Board may make a scheme (in this section referred to as a pension scheme) for the provision of pensions or gratuities, or pensions and gratuities, for or in respect of such officers or servants of the Board as they may think fit, and any scheme so made shall be carried out by the Board.

(2) The Board may at any time by a subsequent pension scheme (in this subsection and in subsequent subsections of this section referred to as an amending scheme) amend a pension scheme or a previous amending scheme, and any such amending scheme may be expressed to operate retrospectively.

(3) Where an amending scheme amends a pension scheme, an officer or servant to whom such pension scheme applies or applied may, within six months after the coming into operation of the amending scheme, elect not to have the amending scheme apply to him and, if he does so elect, the amending scheme shall not apply to him.

(4) An amending scheme shall not terminate or reduce any pension which was, immediately before the coming into force of such amending scheme, payable under the scheme thereby amended.

PART III. The Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

23 The Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

23.—(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the establishment day, the Board shall, in accordance with rules, set up and maintain a register to be known as the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

(2) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, publish the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

(3) Any change in the name or address of a registered ophthalmic optician shall be notified by him to the Board.

(4) The Board may, by rules, provide for correcting errors in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians and for correcting names and addresses therein which have been changed.

(5) On setting up the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, the Board shall inform the Minister and the Minister shall by order certify the day of the setting up of that Register.

24 General provision as to registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

24.—The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who has undergone such courses of training and passed such examinations (being courses of training and examinations under Part V of this Act) as are specified for the purposes of this section in the rules.

25 Registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians of certain persons trained outside the State.

25.—The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who has undergone such courses of training and passed such examinations (being courses of training and examinations held outside the State) as are specified for the purposes of this section in the rules.

26 Registration of certain other persons in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

26.—(1) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who satisfies the conditions that prior to the establishment day he had received a qualification approved of by the Board for the purposes of this subsection and that, at the time of his application, he continues to hold that qualification with the approval of the examining body concerned.

(2) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who satisfies the condition that his principal means of livelihood during the whole period of seven years ending on the establishment day was the carrying on of the business of ophthalmic optician in the State.

(3) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration, who has passed an examination held by the Board in the prescribing and dispensing of spectacles and who satisfies the condition that, during the period of five years ending on the establishment day, he engaged to such extent as may be specified in the rules in the prescribing and dispensing of spectacles in the State.

(4) The examination referred to in subsection (3) of this section shall, during the period of two years beginning on the day of the commencement of the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, be held by the Board on so many occasions as may be directed or approved of by the Minister, and shall not be held after the expiration of that period.

27 Refusal of registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

27.—Notwithstanding sections 24 to 26 of this Act, the Board may refuse to register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person whose name stands removed from the Register of Dispensing Opticians.