17.— (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (9), the members of the Council shall be appointed by the Minister and shall consist of the following 25 persons:

(a) 2 persons jointly nominated by the bodies approved under section 88(2)(a)(i)(II) to deliver programmes of basic medical education and training;

(b) one registered medical practitioner nominated by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in relation to medical specialties;

(c) one registered medical practitioner nominated by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in relation to surgical specialties;

(d) one registered medical practitioner nominated by the Irish College of General Practitioners in relation to general practice;

(e) one registered medical practitioner nominated by—

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii), the Irish Psychiatric Training Committee in relation to psychiatry,

(ii) if a body other than that Committee is approved under section 89(3)(a)(ii) to grant evidence of the satisfactory completion of specialist training in relation to psychiatry, that body;

(f) 6 registered medical practitioners practising medicine in the State (but excluding any visiting EEA practitioner) following their election, in accordance with regulations made under section 18, by registered medical practitioners;

(g) one person nominated by the Royal Irish Academy who is not and never has been a medical practitioner in the State or in another jurisdiction;

(h) 2 persons nominated by the Health Service Executive who are representative of the management of the public health sector;

(i) one person nominated by the Minister for Education and Science, after consultation with the Higher Education Authority, who is not and never has been a medical practitioner in the State or in another jurisdiction;

(j) one person nominated by An Bord Altranais whose name is entered in the register of nurses and midwives maintained under the Nurses Act 1985;

(k) one person nominated by the Health and Social Care Professionals Council—

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii), who is a registrant within the meaning of section 3 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005,

(ii) in the absence of any such registrant, a person who is a member of a designated profession within the meaning of that section;

(l) one person nominated by the Health Information and Quality Authority who is not and never has been a medical practitioner in the State or in another jurisdiction;

(m) one person nominated by the Independent Hospitals Association of Ireland who is not and never has been a medical practitioner in the State or in another jurisdiction; and

(n) 5 persons who—

(i) are not and never have been medical practitioners in the State or in another jurisdiction, and

(ii) have such qualifications, expertise, interests or experience as, in the opinion of the Minister, would enable them to make a contribution to the performance of the Council’s functions.

(2) Members of the Council shall perform their functions as such in the public interest.

(3) Only registered medical practitioners are eligible for election as the President or Vice-President of the Council in accordance with Schedule 2.

(4) The persons appointed under subsection (1)(n) may include members of advocacy groups and users of services provided by registered medical practitioners.

(5) The Minister shall, to the extent practicable, endeavour to ensure that there is an equitable balance between men and women in the membership of the Council.

(6) The Minister shall ensure that, as soon as is practicable after a person is appointed as a member of the Council, a notice to that effect that includes the person’s name is published in Iris Oifigiúil.

(7) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Council, or of a committee, if the person is—

(a) a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament,

(b) regarded, pursuant to section 19 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997, as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or

(c) a member of a local authority.

(8) F31[Subject to subsection (8A), the 6 registered medical practitioners] appointed under subsection (1)(f) shall consist of—

(a) one medical practitioner registered, or able to be registered, in the Specialist Division in relation to obstetrics and gynaecology,

(b) one medical practitioner registered, or able to be registered, in the Specialist Division in relation to anaesthesia,

(c) one medical practitioner registered, or able to be registered, in the Specialist Division in relation to public health medicine,

(d) one medical practitioner registered, or able to be registered, in the Specialist Division in relation to pathology or radiology,

(e) one registered medical practitioner, not being a consultant, practising medicine in a hospital, and

(f) one registered medical practitioner not falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (e).

F32[(8A) The references in subsection (8) to the Specialist Division shall, for the purposes of the first election and appointment of medical practitioners under subsection (1)(f), be construed as references to the Register of Medical Specialists.]

(9) Without prejudice to the generality of the other provisions of this Act relating to the membership of the Council—

(a) the Minister may not refuse to appoint as a member of the Council a person nominated under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l) or (m) or elected as referred to in subsection (1)(f), and

F33[(b) a person appointed to be a member of the Council pursuant to section 9 of the Act of 1978 shall, subject to that Act, continue to be a member of the Council until the first appointment of persons to be members of the Council pursuant to subsection (1) whereupon the person shall cease to be a member of the Council unless he or she is one of those persons so first appointed. ]

F34[(10) Notwithstanding the appointment of persons to be members of the Council pursuant to this section, the Council may, without prejudice to section 4, perform any function assigned to it by any provision of the Act of 1978 until such provision is repealed.]