89.— (1) The Board shall, not later than the first anniversary of the commencement of this section, or such longer period as the Minister permits in writing at the request of the Board, develop, establish and operate one or more than one scheme for the purposes of monitoring the maintenance of professional competence by registered nurses and registered midwives.

(2) A scheme under this section shall not be established or operated until a proposal for it has been approved by the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

(3) The Board, in respect of a professional competence scheme—

(a) shall review the operation of the scheme periodically, and

(b) may, following such a review, make recommendations to the Minister as to the steps that, in the opinion of the Board, may need to be taken to improve the operation of the scheme.