Health Act 2007

PART 1 Preliminary Matters

1. Short title, collective citation and construction.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Health Act 2007.

(2) The Health Acts 1947 to 2006, this Act and the Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Act 2007 may be cited together as the Health Acts 1947 to 2007 and shall be construed together as one.

2. Interpretation.

2.— (1) In this Act:

F1["Act of 2004" means the Health Act 2004;]

F2["Agency" means the Child and Family Agency established under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013;]

“Authority” means the Health Information and Quality Authority established under section 6;

“Board” means the Board, referred to in section 13, of the Authority;

F1["cancer screening service" has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023;]

F1["complainant" shall be construed in accordance withsection 41A(5);]

“dependent person” means dependent person as defined in section 1(1) of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990;

F3["designated centre" means an institution—

(a) at which residential services are provided by the Executive, the Agency, a service provider under this Act or a person that is not a service provider but who receives assistance undersection 39of theHealth Act 2004—

(i) in accordance with theChild Care Act 1991,

(ii) to persons with disabilities, in relation to their disabilities, or

(iii) to other dependent persons, in relation to their dependencies,

or

(b) that is a special care unit,

(c) that is a nursing home as defined insection 2of theHealth (Nursing Homes) Act 1990, but does not include any of the following:

(i) a centre registered by the Mental Health Commission;

(ii) an institution managed by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government;

(iii) that part of an institution in which the majority of persons being cared for and maintained are being treated for acute illness or provided with palliative care;

(iv) an institution primarily used for the provision of educational, cultural, recreational, leisure, social or physical activities;

(v) a children detention school as defined insection 3of theChildren Act 2001;]

“disability” means disability as defined in section 2 of the Disability Act 2005 and the term “substantial restriction” in that definition shall be construed as meaning a restriction as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 7(2) of that Act;

“Executive” means the Health Service Executive established under the Health Act 2004;

“financial year” means a period of 12 months ending on 31 December in any year;

F1["health service" means the provision of clinical care or any ancillary service to a person for—

(a) the screening (other than screening carried out by a cancer screening service), preservation or improvement of the health of the person,

(b) the prevention, diagnosis, treatment or care of an illness, injury or health condition of the person,

(c) the performance or surgery, or a surgical intervention, in respect of aesthetic purposes, or other non-medical purposes, that involves instruments or equipment being inserted into the body of the person, or

(d) without prejudice toparagraph (a), a cancer screening service;]

“Interim Health Information and Quality Authority” means the body established by the Interim Health Information and Quality Authority (Establishment) Order, 2005 (S.I. No. 132 of 2005);

“Irish Health Services Accreditation Board” means the body established by the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board (Establishment) Order, 2002 (S.I. No. 160 of 2002);

“local authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 2001;

F1["medical speciality" means a medical speciality recognised by the Medical Council under section 89 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;]

“Mental Health Commission” means the body established by section 32 of the Mental Health Act 2001;

“member” in relation to the Board includes the chairperson;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

“ordinary member” means a member of the Board other than the chairperson;

F1["patient" has the meaning assigned to it bysection 41A(10);]

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation made by the Minister;

F1["prescribed private health service" means a health service that is prescribed undersection 101A;]

F1["private hospital" means a hospital under the management or control of a person (other than the Executive)—

(a) at which—

(i) medical or surgical treatment for illness, injury, disability, palliative, obstetric or gynaecological care, or

(ii) a health service,

is provided to a person which provision of treatment is under the direction of registered medical practitioners from at least 3 different medical specialities who are registered in the Specialist Division of the register of medical practitioners, and

(b) which is capable of accommodating one or more persons in that hospital when providing the treatment underparagraph (a), for a minimum period of 24 hours, but does not include—

(i) a designated centre,

(ii) a centre registered by the Mental Health Commission,

(iii) a service provider to whichparagraph (a)of the definition of service provider applies, or

(iv) a hospital which is in receipt of assistance under section 39 of the Act of 2004;]

“public authority” means any of the following:

(a) a Minister of the Government;

(b) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;

(c) a local authority;

(d) a harbour authority within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1946;

(e) a board or other body (but not a company) established by or under statute;

(f) a company in which all the shares are held by or on behalf of, or by directors appointed by, a Minister of the Government;

(g) a company in which all the shares are held by a board, company or other body referred to in paragraph (e) or (f);

(h) any other body prescribed for the purpose of any provision of this Act;

“register” means a register of designated centres established under F4[section 41(1)(b)];

F1["register of medical practitioners" has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;]

F1["registered medical practitioner" has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;]

“registered provider” in relation to a designated centre means the person whose name is entered in a register as the person carrying on the business of the designated centre;

F5["service provider" means—

(a) a person who enters into an arrangement under section 38 of the Act of 2004 to provide a health or personal social service on behalf of the Executive,

(b) a person who is in receipt of assistance under section 39 of the Act of 2004 in an amount that exceeds an amount prescribed for the purpose of this subparagraph,

(c) a service provider under theChild and Family Agency Act 2013, or

(d) a private hospital;]

F6["special care unit" has the meaning assigned to it by Part IVA (as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011) of theChild Care Act 1991;]

F7["specialist community-based disability services functions" has the same meaning as it has in the Health Act 2004;]

F1["Specialist Division" has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.]

“superannuation benefit” means a pension, gratuity or other allowance payable on resignation, retirement or death.

(2) For the purposes of the definition of designated centre in subsection (1), “institution” means a home, F8[unit,] centre or institution or part of a home, F8[unit,] centre or institution.

F9[(2A) For the purposes of the definition of designated centre (as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011) insubsection (1)and construing references to persons resident in, residents of, and persons who can be accommodated in, a designated centre, such references shall be construed as including children detained in a special care unit in accordance with theChild Care Act 1991(as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011).]

3. Commencement.

3.— (1) This Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order.

(2) Different days may be appointed under this section for different purposes or different provisions of this Act.

4. Establishment day.

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

5. Expenses.

5.— 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 money provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Health Information and Quality Authority

6. Establishment of Health Information and Quality Authority.

6.— (1) There is hereby established a body, to be known as An tÚdarás um Fhaisnéis agus Cáilíocht Sláinte or in the English language as the Health Information and Quality Authority to perform the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Authority is a body corporate with perpetual succession.

(3) The Authority may sue and be sued in its corporate name and, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance, may acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land and any other property.

(4) The Authority shall provide itself with a seal as soon as may be after the Authority’s establishment.

(5) The seal of the Authority shall be authenticated by the signature of—

(a) the chairperson of the Authority or of another member of the Board of the Authority authorised by it to act in that behalf, and

(b) by the signature of the chief executive officer or of another member of staff of the Authority as may be designated by the chief executive officer.

(6) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Authority, and any document purporting to be an instrument made by the Authority and to be sealed with the seal of the Authority shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and be deemed to be that instrument without further proof.

7. Object of the Authority.

7.— The object of the Authority is to promote safety and quality in the provision of health and personal social services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public.

8. Functions of Authority.

8.— (1) The functions of the Authority are as follows:

F11[(a) subject to this Act and to the extent practicable, to further the Authority’s object;

(b) to set standards on safety and quality in relation to—

(i) services provided by the Executive, the Agency orF12[a service provider to whichparagraph (a),(b)or(c)of the definition of service provider applies]in accordance with—...

(I) the Health Acts 1947 to 2011, except for services under the Mental Health Acts 1945 to 2009 that, under theHealth Act 2004, are provided by the Executive,

(II) the Child Care Acts 1991 to 2013,

(III) theChildren Act 2001,

and

(ii) services provided by a nursing home as defined insection 2of theHealth (Nursing Homes) Act 1990,

F12[and advise the Minister, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs], the Agency and the Executive as may be appropriate in relation to the particular service in respect of which the standards are set.]

F12[(ba) to set standards on safety and quality in relation to services provided by a service provider to whichparagraph (d)of the definition of service provider applies or a person carrying on the business of providing prescribed private health services;]

(c) to monitor compliance with the standards referred to in F12[paragraphs (b)and(ba)], except any standards in relation to designated centres F13[…] and the performance of the Executive’s F14[and the Agency’s] functions referred to in F15[section 41(1)(a)] and to advise F16[the Minister, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Executive and the Agency accordingly];

(d) to undertake investigations in accordance with section 9;

(e) at the request or with the approval of the Minister F17[or the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs] to review and make recommendations as the Authority thinks fit in respect of the F12[services referred to inparagraph (b)], to ensure the best outcomes for the resources available to F18[the Executive and the Agency;]

(f) to operate accreditation programmes in respect of the F19[services referred to inparagraph (b)or(ba)] and to grant accreditation to any of them meeting standards set or recognised by the Authority;

(g) to operate such other schemes aimed at ensuring safety and quality in the provision of the F19[services referred to inparagraph (b)or(ba)] as the Authority considers appropriate;

(h) to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies including drugs and provide advice arising out of the evaluation to the Minister and the Executive;

(i) to evaluate available information respecting the F19[services referred to inparagraph (b)or(ba)] and the health and welfare of the population;

(j) to provide advice and make recommendations to F20[the Minister, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Executive and the Agency] about deficiencies identified by the Authority in respect of the information referred to in paragraph (i);

F19[(k) to set standards as the Authority considers appropriate for the Executive, the Agency, service providers or a person carrying on the business of providing prescribed private health services respecting data and information in their possession in relation to services and the health and welfare of the population;]

(l) to advise F21[the Minister, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Executive and the Agency] as to the level of compliance by F19[the Executive, the Agency, service providers and persons carrying on the business of providing prescribed private health services] with the standards referred to in paragraph (k);

(m) to act as a body standing prescribed by regulations made by the Minister for Health and Children—

(i) as set out in section 5(5) of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004, and

(ii) as set out in section 10 of the F22[Disability Act 2005;]

F23[(n) to exercise such powers and perform such functions of the State and the competent authority under Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5 December 2013 as are conferred on the Authority by the European Union (Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Dangers Arising from Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 256 of 2018).]

F24[(1A) The Authority may, in setting standards referred to insubsections (1)(b),(1)(ba)or(1)(k), set different standards for different categories of services referred to in those subsections.]

(2) In carrying out its functions the Authority shall have regard to—

(a) the policies and objectives of the Government or any Minister of the Government in so far as they may affect or relate to the functions of the Authority,

(b) the need to co-operate with and co-ordinate its activities with public authorities, the performance of whose functions may affect or relate to the functions of the Authority other than the functions described in subsection (1)(c), (d) and (l),

(c) the resources available to F25[the Executive and the Agency,] and

(d) in so far as is reasonably practicable, research, statistics and other information in relation to the health and personal social services that are provided in other jurisdictions.

(3) The Authority has all the powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance by it of its functions.

(4) Subject to any directions given by the Minister under section 29, or to any charges determined under section 39, the Authority, in relation to health or personal social services, may—

(a) provide advice on safety, quality and standards, and

(b) operate accreditation programmes for and at the request of health providers other than service providers F26[as defined in section 2(1), the Executive or the Agency.]

9. Investigations by Authority.

9.— (1) F29[Subject tosubsection (1A), the Authority may undertake an investigation as to the safety, quality and standards of any of the services described insection 8(1)(b)or(1)(ba)] if the Authority believes on reasonable grounds that—

F29[(a) there may be a serious risk—

(i) to the health or welfare of a person receiving those services, or

(ii) of a failure to comply with the provisions of the Act of 2013,

notwithstanding that such a risk may also exist elsewhere in those services,]

F29[(b) the risk may be the result of any act, failure to act or negligence on the part of—

(i) the Executive,

(ii) the Agency,

(iii) a service provider to whichparagraph (a)or(b)of the definition of service provider applies,

(iv) a service provider to whichparagraph (c)of the definition of service provider applies,

(iva) a service provider to whichparagraph (d)of the definition of service provider applies,

(v) the registered provider of a designated centre to whichparagraph (a)(ii),(iii)or(c)of the definition of designated centre applies,

(vi) the registered provider of a designated centre to whichparagraph (a)(i)or(b)of the definition of designated centre applies,

(vii) the person in charge of a designated centre referred to insubparagraph (v), if other than its registered provider,

(viii) the person in charge of a designated centre referred to insubparagraph (vi), if other than its registered provider, or

(ix) a person carrying on the business of providing a prescribed private health service, and]

F30[(c) an investigation may be in the interests of—

(i) improving the safety, quality and standards of the services described insection 8(1)(b)or(1)(ba)which are the subject of the investigation, or

(ii) the provision of health and personal social services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public.]

F30[(1A) The Authority shall notify the Minister in writing before undertaking an investigation undersubsection (1).]

F31[(2) The Minister may, if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that—