Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement

1.(1) This Act may be cited as the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), this Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Health may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(3) Part 3 comes into operation on the commencement of section 19 of the Health (Amendment) Act 2013.

2. Repeal of Opticians Act 1956

2. The Opticians Act 1956 is repealed.

3. Expenses

3. The expenses incurred by the Minister for Health in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of money provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Amendment of Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005

4. Definition of “Principal Act”

4. In this Part “Principal Act” means the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005.

5. Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act

5. Section 3(1) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following definitions:

“‘Act of 1956’ means the Opticians Act 1956;

‘afocal goggles’ or ‘afocal sunglasses’ means goggles or sunglasses containing lenses with no optical power;

‘contact lenses’ includes any device, designed to be worn in contact with the ocular surface, for the correction of vision, for the provision of a decorative or cosmetic effect, for a therapeutic purpose, or for any other reason, and regardless of the optical properties or the absence of optical properties of the device;

‘new name’, in relation to a registration board referred to in section 26(1), means the most recent name (if any) that the board has been given pursuant to regulations under section 4;

‘ready-made reading spectacles’ means spectacles that have 2 single vision lenses each of which has the same positive spherical power not exceeding 4 dioptres and the purpose of which is to relieve the condition known as presbyopia;

‘relevant day’ means the day on which section 2 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 is commenced;

‘relevant medical disability’, in relation to a person seeking registration as a member of a designated profession, or who is a registrant of that profession, means a physical or mental disability of the person (including addiction to alcohol or drugs) which may impair his or her ability to practise that profession or a particular aspect thereof;

‘spectacles’ includes—

(a) contact lenses,

(b) pince-nez, and

(c) monocles,

but does not include—

(i) afocal goggles or similar articles,

(ii) afocal sunglasses or similar articles, or

(iii) ready-made reading spectacles;”.

6. Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act

6. Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) —

(i) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) dispensing optician;”,

(ii) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (d):

“(da) optometrist;”,

and

(iii) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (i):

“(ia) radiation therapist;”,

(b) by substituting the following subsections for subsection (5):

“(5) Regulations under this section shall, in relation to a profession designated in the regulations, either—

(a) (i) subject to subsection (5A), include provision for the establishment of a registration board for that profession, and

(ii) specify the name by which the registration board is to be known,

or

(b) specify—

(i) the name (or, if applicable, the new name) of the registration board referred to in section 26(1) that shall be the registration board for that profession, and

(ii) that, in order to take account of the fact referred to in subparagraph (i), from the date on which the first appointment under section 28A(4) or (5), as the case may be, takes effect, the registration board referred to in that subparagraph—

(I) is to cease to be known by the name (or, if applicable, the new name) it had immediately before that date, and

(II) shall be known by the new name specified for it in the regulations.

(5A) Regulations under this section may establish one registration board for 2 or more professions designated in the regulations.”,

and

(c) in subsection (7), by inserting “(whether effected by virtue of an amendment to subsection (1) or by regulations under this section)” after “number of designated professions”.

7. Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act

7. Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (7):

“(8) The Council shall elect a deputy chairperson of the Council from amongst its members in accordance with Schedule 1.”

8. Amendment of section 11 of Principal Act

8. Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting the following paragraphs for paragraph (b):

“(b) act as registrar of each registration board,

(ba) perform any other functions that may be delegated by the Council or a registration board, and”,

and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) If the chief executive officer is absent or the position of chief executive officer is vacant, the functions of the chief executive officer under this Act may be performed by a member of the staff of the Council designated by the Council.”

9. Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act

9. Section 18 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (e):

“(ea) subject to subsection (1A), the consideration by a registration board of an application under section 48 by an institution for approval of an education and training programme;

(eb) subject to subsection (1A), the annual retention of an approval under section 48 by a registration board of an institution’s education and training programme;”,

and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) The Council shall not exercise its power under subsection (1)(ea) or (eb) except with the consent of the Minister.”

10. Amendment of section 23 of Principal Act

10. Section 23(1) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting “, section 42B or 43” after “under this Part”.

11. Amendment of section 24 of Principal Act

11. Section 24 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) The removal of the members of the Council from office does not revoke or otherwise affect any delegation of the Council’s functions under section 11.”

12. Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act

12. Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (d):

“(da) the Optical Registration Board;”,

and

(b) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (1):

“(1A) The Optical Registration Board is the registration board of both the designated profession of optometrist and the designated profession of dispensing optician.

(1B) The Radiographers Registration Board is the registration board of both the designated profession of radiographer and the designated profession of radiation therapist.”

13. Amendment of section 27 of Principal Act

13. Section 27 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (3)(a), by inserting “(which, in the case of a registration board which is the registration board of 2 or more designated professions, means a register for each of those professions)” after “of the designated profession”, and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(5) Without prejudice to the generality of section 11, the registrar of a registration board shall perform any functions that may be delegated by the board.”

14. Amendment of section 27A of Principal Act

14. Section 27A of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following subsections after subsection (4):

“(5) Subject to subsection (6), a person who was, immediately before the day on which the register of a designated profession is established under section 36(1), the competent authority under Directive 2005/36/EC in relation to the designated profession concerned shall, before the expiration of the number of days after that day that has been prescribed under section 95 for the purposes of this subsection, give the registration board of that profession all the records, being records of such kind and in such format that have been prescribed under section 95 for the purposes of this subsection, that are in the person’s power or control and that the person acquired in the person’s former capacity as such competent authority, that the board requires to perform its functions—

(a) as the competent authority under that Directive for that profession, and

(b) under this Act as the registration board of that profession.

(6) If the person referred to in subsection (5) requires any records referred to in that subsection for the purposes of performing a function under subsection (3) or (4), the reference in subsection (5) to ‘after the day’ shall be construed to mean, in the case of those records, after that day on which those records are no longer required for those purposes.

(7) Any right of access, under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003, to records referred to in subsection (5) that existed immediately before the day on which those records were given to a registration board pursuant to that subsection is not affected by the giving of those records to that board.

(8) For the purposes of section 18 of the Freedom of Information Act 1997, any act done by the person referred to in subsection (5) before the day on which records referred to in that subsection were given to a registration board pursuant to that subsection is deemed to have been done by that board.”

15. Amendment of section 28 of Principal Act

15. Section 28 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting “subsections (4) to (6), subsection (8) and section 36B(1), the registration board of a designated profession, other than a registration board which is the registration board of 2 or more designated professions,” for “subsections (4) to (6), the registration board of a designated profession”, and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (7):

“(8) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) does not apply to the registration board of a designated profession during the transitional period, within the meaning of section 90, applicable to that board.”

16. Amendment of Principal Act - insertion of section 28A (membership of registration boards of 2 or more designated professions)

16. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 28 :

“Membership of registration boards of 2 or more designated professions

28A. (1) Subject to subsections (4), (5), (6), (7), (10)(a) and (11), a registration board that is the registration board of 2 or more designated professions is to consist of the following members:

(a) 6 persons appointed by the Minister on the election of the person concerned by the registrants of that designated profession of which he or she is a member, of whom—

(i) 3 are to be registrants of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this subparagraph and who are engaged in the practice of any of those professions so prescribed,

(ii) 2 are to be registrants of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this subparagraph and who are engaged, as members of any of those professions so prescribed, in the management of services provided by any of those professions so prescribed, and

(iii) one is to be a registrant of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this subparagraph and who is engaged in the State in the education and training of persons with respect to the practice of any of those professions so prescribed;

(b) 7 persons appointed by the Minister, of whom—

(i) one is to be representative of the management of the public health sector, the social care sector or both sectors,

(ii) one is to be representative of the management of a voluntary or private sector organisation concerned with health or social care,

(iii) one is to be representative of third level educational establishments in the State involved in the education and training of persons with respect to the practice of one or more than one of those professions and is nominated by the Minister for Education and Skills, and

(iv) 4 are to be representative of the interest of the general public and are appointed with the consent of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

(2) The election of members under subsection (1)(a) shall be conducted in accordance with the bye-laws of the registration board concerned and before the commencement of the members’ terms of office.

(3) Before appointing a member under subsection (1)(b)(i) or (ii), (4) or (5), the Minister may consult with any organisations that he or she considers appropriate.

(4) Subject to subsection (10)(b), when the registration board of 2 or more designated professions is first constituted, subsection (1)(a) does not apply and instead the Minister shall appoint 6 persons, of whom—

(a) 3 are to be persons engaged in the practice of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph,

(b) 2 are to be persons who are engaged, as members of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph, in the management of services provided by any of those professions so prescribed, and

(c) one is to be a person who is engaged in the State in the education and training of persons with respect to the practice of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph.

(5) Subject to subsection (10)(b), when regulations under section 4, in relation to a designated profession that falls within paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘designated profession’ in section 3(1), specify the name (or, if applicable, the new name) of a registration board referred to in section 26(1), being a registration board that has already been constituted, that shall be the registration board for that profession, subsection (1)(a) does not apply and instead the Minister shall appoint 6 persons, of whom—

(a) 3 are to be persons engaged in the practice of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph,

(b) 2 are to be persons who are engaged as members of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purpose of this paragraph, in the management of services provided by any of those professions so prescribed, and

(c) one is to be a person who is engaged in the State in the education and training of persons with respect to the practice of any of those professions that are prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph.

(6) (a) When the Minister appoints 6 persons under subsection (5) in respect of a registration board referred to in that subsection, the persons who were, immediately before that appointment, members of the board by virtue of—

(i) section 28(1)(a), (4), (5) (in so far as it relates to section 28(1)(a)(ii) or (iii)) or (6), or

(ii) subsection (1)(a), (4), (5) (in so far as it relates to subsection (1)(a)(ii) or (iii) ) or (6),

shall cease to be members of the board from the date that that appointment takes effect.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not of itself be construed to prevent any of the persons second-mentioned in that paragraph from being any of the 6 persons the subject of the appointment referred to in that paragraph.

(7) If no person qualifies under subsection (1)(a)(ii) or (iii) for election or under subsection (1)(b)(iii), (4)(b) or (c) or (5) (b) or (c) for appointment to the registration board concerned—

(a) subsection (1)(a)(ii) or (iii) or subsection (1)(b)(iii), (4)(b) or (c) or (5)(b) or (c), as the case may be, does not apply in relation to the board, and

(b) the references in subsections (1)(a), (4) and (5) to 6 persons and in subsection (1) (b) to 7 persons are, in relation to the board, to be read as modified accordingly.

(8) If, for any reason other than the operation of subsection (7), fewer than 6 registrants of the designated professions concerned are elected as members of its registration board under subsection (1)(a), the Minister may appoint as members of the board sufficient registrants of those professions to compensate for the deficiency in the number of elected registrants.

(9) Registrants appointed to a registration board under subsection (8) are, during their term of office, considered to be elected members of the board.

(10) (a) The number of persons who may be elected by the registrants of a particular designated profession for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) shall be as prescribed but, in any case, shall never be less than one.

(b) The number of persons who may be appointed from a particular designated profession for the purposes of subsection (4) or (5) shall be as prescribed but, in any case, shall never be less than one.

(11) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) does not apply to the registration board of a designated profession during the transitional period (if any), within the meaning of section 90, applicable to that board.”

17. Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act

17. Section 31(1) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a), by inserting “or 28A, as appropriate,” after “section 28”, and

(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (ia):

“(ib) if the board is the Optical Registration Board, for the purposes of section 81C or 81D;”.

18. Amendment of section 34 of Principal Act

18. Section 34 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) The removal of the members of a registration board from office does not revoke or otherwise affect any delegation of the board’s functions under this Act.”

19. Amendment of section 36 of Principal Act

19. Section 36(1)(b) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting “, or entitled, by virtue of section 79(4) (b), to use a title referred to in section 79(1), (2) or (3),” after “or 91”.

20. Amendment of Principal Act - insertion of section 36A (transitional provisions applicable to registers of members of designated professions of optometrist and dispensing optician)