3.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

F1[“Act of 1956” means the Opticians Act 1956;]

F1[“afocal goggles” or ”afocal sunglasses” means goggles or sunglasses containing lenses with no optical power;]

“bye-law” means a bye-law made by a registration board under section 31;

F6["condition" includes a restriction;]

F1[“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;]

“Council” means the Health and Social Care Professionals Council established under section 6;

“Court” means the High Court;

“designated profession” means a health or social care profession that—

(a) is designated in section 4(1), or

(b) is designated by regulation under section 4(2);

F2["Directive 2005/36/EC" has the meaning assigned to “Directive” in Regulation 3(1) of the Professional Qualifications Regulations;]

“establishment day” means—

(a) in relation to the Council, the day appointed under section 6(3) for its establishment, and

(b) in relation to a registration board, the day appointed under section 26(3) for its establishment;

“fee” means a fee set by the Council from time to time under section 18;

“functions” includes duties and responsibilities;

F6["health or social care", in relation to a person (howsoever described), means the health or social care that the person provides or has provided in his or her capacity or former capacity as a member of a relevant profession;]

“health or social care profession” has the meaning given by section 4(3);

F6["material matter", in relation to a person (howsoever described), means—

(a) any of the following taken by any regulatory body (whether in or outside the State) in relation to the provision of one or more than one kind of health or social care by the person—

(i) the imposition of conditions on any registration or licence,

(ii) the suspension, withdrawal or removal of any registration or licence, or

(iii) the refusal to grant registration or a licence,

or

(b) a conviction in the State for an offence triable on indictment (other than a spent conviction within the meaning of section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 ) or a conviction outside the State for an offence consisting of acts or omissions that, if done or made in the State, would constitute an offence triable on indictment;]

“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

F1[“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;]

F3[“professional qualification”, in relation to registration of a person in a designated profession, means a document, other than a document referred to in the definition of "qualification" in this section, that attests to the person’s having achieved a standard of proficiency in that profession, whether or not that standard was achieved in part through practical experience in that profession; ]

F4["Professional Qualifications Regulations" means the European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 8 of 2017);]

F3[“qualification”, in relation to registration of a person in a designated profession, means a document that attests to the person’s having achieved the standard of proficiency required for registration in that profession, and that—

(a) in the case of registration sought under F5[section 38(2)(a)], has been approved by bye-law of the registration board of the profession concerned,

(b) in the case of registration sought under section 91(1), is listed in the third column of Schedule 3 opposite the profession concerned, or

(c) in the case of registration sought under section 91(5), has been prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under section 95;]

F1[“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;]

“register” means a register established and maintained under section 36;

“registrant”, in relation to a designated profession, means an individual whose name is entered in the register of members of that profession;

“registration board” means a board established under section 26 or established by regulation under section 4;

F1[“relevant day” means the day on which section 2 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 is commenced;]

F1[“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;]

F6["relevant profession" means any of the following professions:

(a) dentist;

(b) a designated profession;

(c) medical practitioner;

(d) midwife;

(e) nurse;

(f) pharmacist;]

F6["restriction" includes a condition;]

“rule” means a rule made by the Council under section 22;

F1[”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;]

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

(2) In this Act “material interest” is to be construed in accordance with section 2(3) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to a register includes a division of the register and “registered” and “registration” are to be construed accordingly.

F6[(3A) Unless otherwise specified in this Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed to prejudice the performance by a registration board of its functions under the Professional Qualifications Regulations as the competent authority in respect of the regulated professions (within the meaning of Regulation 3 of those Regulations) concerned.]

(4) In this Act—

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

(c) a reference to any other enactment is to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act, unless the context otherwise requires.