9.—(1) Subject to subsection (4) and (6) and section 12, where it is proposed to have a person (other than a child) involuntarily admitted to an approved centre, an application for a recommendation that the person be so admitted may be made to a registered medical practitioner by any of the following:

(a) the spouse F11[or civil partner] or a relative of the person,

(b) an authorised officer,

(c) a member of the Garda Síochána, or

(d) subject to the provisions of subsection (2), any other person.

(2) The following persons shall be disqualified for making an application in respect of a person—

(a) a person under the age of 18 years,

(b) an authorised officer or a member of the Garda Síochána who is a relative of the person or of the spouse F11[or civil partner] of the person,

(c) a member of the governing body, or the staff, or the person in charge, of the approved centre concerned,

F12[(cc) an authorised person (but without prejudice to any capacity that the authorised person has to make such an application by virtue of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1)),]

(d) any person with an interest in the payments (if any) to be made in respect of the taking care of the person concerned in the approved centre concerned,

(e) any registered medical practitioner who provides a regular medical service at the approved centre concerned,

(f) the spouse F11[or civil partner], parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt of any of the persons mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs (b) to (e), whether of the whole blood, of the half blood or by affinity.

(3) An application shall be made in a form specified by the Commission.

(4) A person shall not make an application unless he or she has observed the person the subject of the application not more than 48 hours before the date of the making of the application.

(5) Where an application is made under subsection (1)(d), the application shall contain a statement of the reasons why it is so made, of the connection of the applicant with the person to whom the application relates, and of the circumstances in which the application is made.

(6) A person who, for the purposes of or in relation to an application, makes any statement which is to his or her knowledge false or misleading in any material particular, shall be guilty of an offence.

(7) In paragraph (c) of subsection (2), the reference to a member of the governing body of the approved centre concerned does not include a reference to F13[a member of the Board of the Health Service Executive.]

(8) In this section—

“authorised officer” means an officer of F13[the Health Service Executive] who is of a prescribed rank or grade and who is authorised by the chief executive officer to exercise the powers conferred on authorised officers by this section;

F14["civil partner", in relation to a person, does not include a civil partner of a person who is living separately and apart from the person or in respect of whom—

(a) an application for an order has been made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 or an application for an order has been made which is treated, in accordance with section 42 of that Act, as if it had been made under that Act, or

(b) an order has been made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 or an order has been made which is treated, in accordance with section 41 of that Act, as if it had been made under that Act;]

F14["spouse", in relation to a person, does not include a spouse of a person who is living separately and apart from the person or in respect of whom—

(a) an application for an order has been made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 or an application for an order has been made which is treated, in accordance with section 42 of that Act, as if it had been made under that Act, or

(b) an order has been made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 or an order has been made which is treated, in accordance with section 41 of that Act, as if it had been made under that Act.]