Health Act 2004

Interpretation.

2

2.— (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“Act of 1996” means the Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Act 1996;

“Act of 1999” means the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act 1999;

“annual report” means a report prepared under section 37;

F2[]

F2[]

“Area Health Board” has the same meaning as in the Act of 1999;

F3[Board has the meaning assigned to it by section 16N;]

“carer” means a person who provides care for another person, but who is not employed to do so by any body in the performance of its functions under an enactment;

“chairperson” means the chairperson of the Board;

F3[chief executive officer has the meaning assigned to it by section 21A;]

“clinical judgment” means a decision made or opinion formed in connection with the diagnosis, care or treatment of a patient;

F4[Committee of Public Accounts means the Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the rules and standing orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General;]

F1[Directorate means the Directorate established under section 16A;]

F1[Director General means the person holding the office of Director General appointed pursuant to section 16E;]

F5[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 section 7(2) of that Act;]

“Eastern Regional Health Authority” means the body of that name established by section 7 of the Act of 1999;

“enactment” means a statute or an instrument made under a power conferred by a statute;

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

“Executive” means the Health Service Executive established under section 6;

“functions” includes powers and duties and references to the performance of functions include, with respect to powers and duties, references to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of duties;

“health board” means a health board established under section 4(1) of the Health Act 1970;

“health and personal social services” means services that immediately before the establishment day were provided under the Acts referred to in Schedule 1 by a specified body as defined in section 56 of this Act, and references in this Act to a health or personal social service are to be read as references to any of those services;

“Interim Health Service Executive” means the body of that name established under the Health (Corporate Bodies) Act 1961;

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

F3[member, in relation to the Board, includes the chairperson and the deputy chairperson;]

“Minister” means Minister for Health and Children;

F3[ordinary member means a member of the Board other than the chairperson or the deputy chairperson;]

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

“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) such other body, if any, as is prescribed for the purpose of any provision of this Act;

“service provider” means a person who enters into an arrangement under section 38 to provide a health or personal social service on behalf of the Executive;

F5[specialist community-based disability services means any health or personal social services, provided by or on behalf of the Executive under this Act or any other enactment, in the community to a person who has a disability, and so provided in relation to that disability, other than any such services provided—

(a) under the Mental Health Acts 1945 to 2001, or

(b) in a hospital;

specialist community-based disability services functions means the management and delivery, or arrangement of delivery on its behalf, by the Executive, of specialist community-based disability services;]

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

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section, Part or Schedule is a reference to a section or Part of, or a Schedule to, this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended, and

(c) a reference to an enactment includes a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended at any time by any enactment.

Annotations:

Amendments:

F1

Inserted (25.07.2013) by Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2013 (23/2013), s. 4, S.I. No. 275 of 2013.

F2

Deleted (28.06.2019) by Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2019 (17/2019), s. 4(f), S.I. No. 283 of 2019.

F3

Substituted (28.06.2019) by Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2019 (17/2019), s. 4(b), (c), (d), (e), S.I. No. 283 of 2019.

F4

Inserted (28.06.2019) by Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2019 (17/2019), s. 4(a), S.I. No. 283 of 2019.

F5

Inserted (1.03.2023) by Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (6/2022), s. 3, S.I. No. 666 of 2022.

F6

Substituted by Health Act 2007 (23/2007), ss. 3, 105 & sch. 2 part 4, item 1, not commenced as of date of revision.

Modifications (not altering text):

C2

Prospective affecting provision: application of section extended by Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 (41/2011), s. 84(5), not commenced as of date of provision.

Duties of Health Service Executive in relation to education and training of nurses and midwives.

84.— ...

(5) Specialist nursing and midwifery education and training shall, for the purposes of sections 38 and 39 of the Health Act 2004, be deemed to be a health and personal social service within the meaning of section 2 of that Act.

...

C3

Functions transferred and reference construed (1.03.2023) by Specialist Community-Based Disability Services (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 688 of 2022), arts. 2, 3, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 5-9.

2. In this Order, “relevant function” means –

(a) any function transferred by Article 4 of this Order, and

(b) any function transferred to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth by –

(i) the Health Act 2004 (No. 42 of 2004),

(ii) the Disability Act 2005 (No. 14 of 2005),

(iii) the Health Act 2007 (No. 23 of 2007),

in so far only as the function consists of, or is connected with, specialist community-based disability services, within the meaning of the Health Act 2004, or any such other function otherwise assigned to that Minister by any of those Acts.

3. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any relevant function are transferred to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

(2) References to the Department of Health contained in any Act or any instrument made under such Act and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) of this Article shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

...

C4

Prospective affecting provision: definition of "service provider" substituted by Health Act 2007 (23/2007), ss. 3, 105 and sch. 2 part 4 item 1, not commenced as of date of revision.

F6[service provider means a person who—

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

(b) is in receipt of assistance under—

(i) section 39 in an amount that exceeds an amount prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b)(i) of the definition of "service provider" in section 2 of the Health Act 2007, or

(ii) section 10 of the Child Care Act 1991 in an amount that exceeds an amount prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of "service provider" in section 2 of the Health Act 2007;]

C5

Application of section extended (31.12.2008) by Medical Practitioners Act 2007 (25/2007), s. 86(6), S.I. No. 554 of 2008.

Duties of Health Service Executive in relation to medical and dental education and training.

86.— ...

(6) Specialist medical and dental education and training shall, for the purposes of sections 38 and 39 of the Health Act 2004 , be deemed to be a health and personal social service within the meaning of section 2 of that Act.

...

Editorial Notes:

E1

Previous affecting provision: definition of appointed director inserted (25.07.2013) by Health Service Executive (Governance) Act 2013 (23/2013), s. 4, S.I. No. 275 of 2013; deleted as per F-note above.