61.—F386[(1) The Child and Family Agency shall establish and maintain a register of children’s residential services.]

F386[(1A) For the purpose of subsection (1), each register of children’s residential centres established by the Health Service Executive before the establishment day of the Child and Family Agency shall be deemed to have been established by the Child and Family Agency and shall be maintained by the Agency.]

(2) (a) There shall be entered in a register in respect of each centre registered therein the name of the person by whom it is carried on, the name of the person who is in charge of it, the address of the premises in which it is carried on, a statement of the number of children who can be accommodated in the centre, the date on which the registration is to take effect (referred to subsequently in this section as “the date of registration”) and such other (if any) particulars as may be prescribed.

(b) A register maintained under this section shall be made available for inspection free of charge by members of the public at all reasonable times.

(3) (a) F387[The F388[Child and Family Agency]] may, on application to it in that behalf by a person who proposes to carry on a centre F389[…], register or refuse to register the centre.

(b) Subject to the provisions of this section, the period of a registration shall be 3 years from the date of registration.

F390[(c) An application for registration made to the Health Service Executive before the establishment of the Child and Family Agency shall be deemed to have been made to the Child and Family Agency if the Health Service Executive has not, before the establishment day of the Agency, registered or refused to register the centre in relation to which the application was made.]

(4) F391[The F388[Child and Family Agency]] may remove a centre from the register.

(5) F392[The F388[Child and Family Agency]] shall not—

(a) refuse to register a centre in relation to which an application for its registration has been duly made, or

(b) remove a centre from the register,

unless—

(i) it is of opinion that—

(I) the premises to which the application or, as the case may be, the registration relates do not comply with the regulations, or

(II) the carrying on of the centre will not be or is not in compliance with the regulations, or

(ii) the applicant or the registered proprietor, as the case may be, or the person in charge or, as the case may be, proposed to be in charge of the centre has been convicted of an offence under this Part or of any other offence that is such as to render the person unfit to carry on or, as the case may be, to be in charge of the centre, or

(iii) the applicant or the registered proprietor, as the case may be, has failed or refused to furnish the F388[Child and Family Agency] with information requested by it pursuant to subsection (8) or has furnished the F388[Child and Family Agency] with information that is false or misleading in a material particular, or

(iv) the registered proprietor has, not more than one year before the date from which the registration or removal from the register would take effect, contravened a condition under subsection (6).

(6) (a) F393[The F388[Child and Family Agency]] may—

(i) at the time of registration or subsequently attach to the registration conditions in relation to the carrying on of the centre concerned and such other matters as it considers appropriate having regard to its functions under this Part,

(ii) attach different conditions to the registration of different centres, and

(iii) amend or revoke a condition of registration.

(b) Conditions imposed under this subsection or amendments and revocations under this subsection shall be notified in writing to the registered proprietor of the centre concerned.

F394[(6A) Conditions imposed, amended or revoked by a health board before the amendment of this subsection by the F395[Child and Family Agency Act 2013] shall be deemed to have been imposed, amended or revoked by the F395[Child and Family Agency].]

(7) An application for registration shall be in the prescribed form or in a form to the like effect.

(8) (a) F396[The F388[Child and Family Agency]] may request an applicant for registration or, as the case may be, a registered proprietor to furnish it with such information as it considers necessary for the purposes of its functions under this Part.

(b) A person who, whether in pursuance of a request or otherwise, furnishes information to F397[the F388[Child and Family Agency]] for the purposes of this Part that is false or misleading in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence unless he shows that, at the time the information was furnished F397[to the F398[Agency]], he was not aware that it was false or misleading in a material particular.

(9) The registered proprietor of a centre who proposes to carry on the centre immediately after the expiration of the period of registration of the centre may apply under subsection (3) to the F388[Child and Family Agency] not less than 2 months before such expiration for the registration of the centre and, F399[if the F398[Agency]] does not notify him before such expiration that it proposes to refuse to register the centre, it shall register the centre and its date of registration shall be the day following the day of such expiration.

(10) (a) Where a registered children’s residential centre commences to be carried on by a person other than the registered proprietor—

(i) the centre shall thereupon cease to be registered,

(ii) the person shall (if he has not done so before such commencement) apply not later than 4 weeks after it to F400[the F388[Child and Family Agency]] for the registration of the centre, and, if the application is granted, the date of registration of the centre shall be that of the day following the day of the cesser aforesaid,

(iii) if the application aforesaid is duly made, and is not refused then, during the period from the commencement aforesaid until the centre is registered, it shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 60 to be registered and there shall be deemed to be attached to the registration any conditions attached to the previous registration.

(b) A person who contravenes paragraph (a) (ii) shall be guilty of an offence.

(11) (a) Where F401[the F388[Child and Family Agency]] proposes to refuse to register a children’s residential centre, to remove a centre from the register, to attach a condition to, or amend or revoke a condition attached to, a registration, it shall notify in writing the applicant or the registered proprietor, as the case may be, of its proposal and of the reasons for it.

(b) A person who has been notified of a proposal under paragraph (a) may, within 21 days of the receipt of the notification, make representations in writing to the F388[Child and Family Agency]F402[ and the F398[Agency]] shall—

(i) before deciding the matter, take into consideration any representations duly made to it under this paragraph in relation to the proposal, and

(ii) notify the person in writing of its decision and of the reasons for it.

(12) A notification of a proposal of F403[the F388[Child and Family Agency]] under subsection (11) shall include a statement that the person concerned may make representations to F403[the F388[Child and Family Agency]] within 21 days of the receipt by him of the notification and a notification of a decision of F403[the F388[Child and Family Agency]] under subsection (11) shall include a statement that the person concerned may appeal to the District Court under section 62 against the decision within 21 days from the receipt by him of the notification.

(13) Where, in relation to a children’s residential centre, there is a contravention of a condition of registration, the registered proprietor and the person in charge of the centre shall be guilty of an offence.