Medical Practitioners Act , 1978

PART I Preliminary and General

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978.

2.—In this Act—

2 Interpretation.

“the Board” means An Bord Míochaine agus Déidliachta Iarchéime or the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board established by this Act;

“certificate of experience” means a certificate granted to a person who has complied with the provisions of section 28 of this Act;

“the Council” means Comhairle na nDochtúirí Leighis or the Medical Council established by this Act;

“the Dental Board” means the Dental Board constituted under the Dentists Act, 1928;

“employment in a residential medical capacity” has the meaning specified in section 28 of this Act;

“establishment day” means the day appointed to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act under section 4 of this Act;

“Fitness to Practise Committee” means the committee to be established by the Council under section 13 (2) (b) of this Act;

“formal qualification” means a primary qualification together with a certificate of experience;

“full registration” means registration other than provisional registration or temporary registration and “fully registered” shall be construed accordingly;

“the Medical Registration Council” means the Medical Registration Council established under the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927;

“Member State” means a state other than the State which is a member of the European Economic Community;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“practice of medicine” includes practice of surgery, midwifery and other disciplines of medicine and “medical practitioner” shall be construed accordingly;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulations;

“primary qualification” means a qualification specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Act;

“provisional registration” means registration by virtue of section 28 of this Act, and “provisionally registered” shall be construed accordingly;

“the register” means the General Register of Medical Practitioners established under section 26 of this Act;

“registered dentist” means a person whose name is entered in the Register of Dentists maintained under the Dentists Act, 1928;

“registered medical practitioner” means a person whose name is entered in the register;

“Register of Medical Specialists” means the register referred to in section 30 of this Act;

“the Registrar” means the chief officer of the Council;

“retention fee” means a fee payable by a person entitled to be registered in any register maintained by the Council for the retention of his name in that register;

“temporary registration” means registration by virtue of section 29 of this Act and “temporarily registered” shall be construed accordingly.

3 Commencement.

3.—This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

4 Establishment day.

4.—The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

5 Repeals.

5.—The enactments specified in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed.

PART II The Medical Council

6 Establishment of the Medical Council.

6.—(1) There shall, by virtue of this section, be established on the establishment day a body to be known as Comhairle na nDochtúiri Leighis, or in the English language as the Medical Council (in this Act referred to as the Council) to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

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

(3) The Council may, subject to the provisions of this Act, regulate its own procedure.

(4) The Second Schedule to this Act shall apply to the Council.

7 Dissolution of Medical Registration Council.

7.—(1) The Medical Registration Council shall, on the establishment day, be dissolved by virtue of this section.

(2) All property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which immediately before the establishment day was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust or subject to conditions for the Medical Registration Council, and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property, shall on the establishment day, without any conveyance or assignment but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company, become and be vested in or the property of or held in trust or subject to conditions for (as the case may require) the Council.

(3) All property transferred by this section which immediately before the establishment day was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation or company in the name of the Medical Registration Council shall, upon the request of the Council made at any time on or after the establishment day, be transferred in those books by the bank, corporation or company into the name of the Council.

(4) Every chose-in-action transferred by this section may, on or after the establishment day, be sued upon, recovered, or enforced by the Council in its own name and it shall not be necessary for the Council to give notice to the person bound by any such chose-in-action of the transfer effected by this section.

(5) Every debt or other liability (including unliquidated liabilities arising from torts or breaches of contract) which immediately before the establishment day is owing and unpaid and is undischarged by the Medical Registration Council shall, on the establishment day, become and be the debt or liability of the Council and shall be paid and discharged by and may be recovered from and enforced against the Council accordingly.

(6) Every contract which was entered into and is in force immediately before the establishment day between the Medical Registration Council and any person shall continue in force on or after the establishment day but it shall be construed and have effect as if the Council were substituted therein for the Medical Registration Council and shall be enforceable by or against the Council accordingly.

(7) Where immediately before the establishment day, any legal proceedings are pending to which the Medical Registration Council is a party, the name of the Council shall be substituted for that of the Medical Registration Council and the proceedings shall not abate by reason of such substitution.

(8) Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895, shall not apply to the vesting in the Council of the property or rights transferred by this section.

(9) Any contract of service (express or implied) in force immediately before the establishment day between the Medical Registration Council and any person shall continue in force on or after the establishment day, but shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Council were substituted therein for the name of the Medical Registration Council and every such contract shall be enforceable accordingly by or against the Council.

8 Seal of the Council.

8.—(1) The Council shall as soon as may be after its establishment provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Council shall be authenticated by the signature of the President of the Council or such other member thereof as may be authorised by the Council to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Council authorised by the Council to act in that behalf.

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

9 Membership of the Council.

9.—(1) The Council shall consist of twenty-five members appointed in the following manner, that is to say—

(a) one person appointed by each of the following bodies—

(i) University College Cork,

(ii) University College Dublin,

(iii) University College Galway,

(iv) the University of Dublin, and

(v) the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland;

(b) two other persons appointed by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, of whom one shall be appointed to represent the surgical specialties, and the other shall be appointed to represent jointly the specialties of anaesthetics and radiology;

(c) two persons appointed by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, of whom one shall be appointed to represent the medical specialties, and the other shall be appointed to represent jointly the specialties of pathology, obstetrics and gynaecology;

(d) one person appointed by the Minister after consultation with such body or bodies as, in his opinion, represent psychiatry;

(e) one person appointed by the Minister after consultation with such body or bodies as, in his opinion, represent general medical practice;

(f) ten fully registered medical practitioners engaged in the practice of medicine in the State of whom at least—

(i) two shall be consultants in general hospitals not being consultant psychiatrists,

(ii) one shall be a consultant psychiatrist,

(iii) one shall be engaged in community medicine,

(iv) one shall be engaged in hospital practice, other than as a consultant, and

(v) two shall be general practitioners,

appointed by election by fully registered medical practitioners; and

(g) four persons appointed by the Minister, at least three of whom—

(i) shall not be registered medical practitioners, and

(ii) shall, in the opinion of the Minister, represent the interests of the general public.

(2) The Minister may, by regulations made with the consent of the Council, vary the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Whenever the Minister proposes to make regulations pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, a draft of the proposed regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.

10 Appointment of persons to be members of Council.

10.—The Minister shall take all steps necessary to secure the appointment of members to the first Council established after the commencement of this Act and the Council shall take all steps necessary to secure the appointment of members to any subsequent Council.

11 Election of members of the Council.

11.—(1) Before the establishment day, in the case of the first election of members to the Council pursuant to this Act, and before the commencement of their term of office in the case of every subsequent election, the members of the Council to be elected in accordance with section 9 (1) (f) of this Act, shall be elected by way of an election held in accordance with regulations made by the Minister and any such regulations may, in particular, specify, in relation to any class of persons specified in the regulations, the qualifications to be held by candidates for election to the Council.

(2) In the case of the first election to the Council, the returning officer for that election shall be appointed by the Minister, and inthe case of every subsequent election, the returning officer for such election shall be appointed by the Council.

12 First meeting of Council.

12.—(1) The first meeting of the Council shall be held on a day to be appointed by the Minister and the Minister shall notify the members of the Council of the time and place of such meeting.

(2) The Council shall meet at the time and place appointed by the Minister under this section for its first meeting and shall thereupon enter on its duties under this Act.

13 Committees of the Council.

13.—(1) The Council may, subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, from time to time establish committees to perform such, if any, functions of the Council as, in the opinion of the Council, may be better or more conveniently performed by a committee, and are assigned to a committee by the Council.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Council shall—

(a) establish a committee to act in relation to its functions pursuant to Part IV of this Act, and

(b) establish a committee to act in relation to its functions pursuant to Part V of this Act.

(3) A committee established under this section, other than the committee referred to in subsection (2) (b) of this section may, if the Council thinks fit, include in its membership persons who are not members of the Council.

(4) The chairman of every committee established under this section shall be a member of the Council provided that in the case of the committee referred to in subsection (2) (b) of this section the chairman shall be a member of the Council other than the President or the Vice-President of the Council.

(5) The committee established under subsection (2) (a) of this section shall include in its membership each person appointed to the Council pursuant to section 9 (1) (a) of this Act.

(6) Every member of the committee referred to in subsection (2) (b) of this section shall be a member of the Council and—

(a) a majority of the members of such committee shall be persons who have been appointed by election to the Council, and

(b) at least one member of such committee shall be a person other than a registered medical practitioner who has been appointed to the Council by the Minister pursuant to section 9 (1) (g) of this Act.

(7) The acts of a committee established under this section shall be subject to confirmation by the Council unless the Council, at any time, dispenses with the necessity for such confirmation.

(8) The Council may, subject to the provisions of this Act, regulate the procedure of committees established under this section, but, subject to any such regulation, committees established under this section may regulate their own procedure.

14 Expenses of members of Council and committees.

14.—A member of the Council or of any committee established by the Council shall be paid, out of funds at the disposal of the Council, such allowances for travelling and subsistence expenses incurred in respect of his attendance at a meeting of the Council or otherwise in connection with the affairs of the Council as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for the Public Service, may determine.

15 Removal of Council from office.

15.—(1) If the Council fails, neglects or refuses to perform any function assigned to it under this Act, the Minister may, by order, direct the Council to discharge that function and for that purpose to do such other matters or things ancillary or incidental thereto as may be specified in the order.

(2) If the Council fails to comply with any direction of the Minister contained in an order made by him under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may, by order, remove from office the members of the Council.

(3) An order made by the Minister under this section may contain such provisions as the Minister considers necessary to enable the functions of the Council to be performed notwithstanding the removal from office of its members, and any such order may, in particular, appoint a person or persons to discharge all or any of the functions of the Council.

16 The Registrar.

16.—(1) There shall be a chief officer who shall act and be known as the Registrar of the Council.

(2) The Registrar shall be appointed by the Council and shall hold his office on such terms and conditions and shall perform such duties as the Council from time to time determines.

(3) There shall be paid by the Council to the Registrar out of funds at its disposal such remuneration and allowances as the Council, with the consent of the Minister, from time to time determines.

(4) The Minister may, whenever and so often as he thinks fit, declare that any power conferred on the Council by this section shall be exercisable only with the consent of the Minister and whenever any such declaration is in force, the said power may be exercisable only with such consent.

17 Other officers and servants of the Council.

17.—(1) In addition to the Registrar, the Council shall appoint such and so many persons to be officers and servants of the Council as the Council from time to time thinks proper.

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

(3) There shall be paid by the Council to its officers and servants out of funds at its disposal such remuneration and allowances as the Council, with the consent of the Minister, from time to time determines.

(4) The Minister may, whenever and as often as he thinks fit, declare that any power conferred on the Council by this section shall be exercisable only with the consent of the Minister and whenever any such declaration is in force, the said power may, in relation to any office or employment to which the declaration applies, be exercisable only with such consent.

18 Age limits.

18.—(1) A person who is a permanent officer of the Council shall cease to be a permanent officer on his attaining the age of 65 years or, in a case where a higher age is fixed by order of the Minister made under this section, on his attaining that age.

(2) The Minister may, by order, amend or revoke an order made under this section, including this subsection.

19 Superannuation.

19.—The Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956, shall apply to the Council and its officers and servants as if it were a local authority and they were officers and servants of a local authority but subject to any modifications (including modifications relating to service reckonable as pensionable service) which may, with the consent of the Minister for the Environment, be determined by the Minister.

20 Membership of either House of Oireachtas by officer or servant of the Council.

20.—(1) Where a person who is either an officer or a servant in the employment of the Council becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas—

(a) he shall during the period (in this section referred to as the secondment period) commencing on his becoming entitled under the Standing Orders of that House to sit therein and ending either when he ceases to be a member of that House or, if it should happen sooner, upon his resignation or retirement from such employment or upon determination of such employment by the Council, stand seconded from such employment,

(b) he shall not be paid by, or entitled to receive from, the Council any remuneration or allowance in respect of the secondment period,