9.— (1) The Board shall—

(a) do all things necessary and reasonable to further its object, and

(b) perform its functions in the public interest.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Board shall—

(a) establish and maintain the register of nurses and midwives and the candidate register,

(b) establish procedures and criteria for assessment and registration in the register of nurses and midwives and the candidate register, and the divisions of those registers, including the issue of certificates of registration and renewal of registration,

(c) approve programmes of education and further education necessary for the purposes of registration and continued registration,

(d) keep the programmes referred to in paragraph (c) under review,

(e) act as the competent authority for the purposes of—

(i) the mutual recognition of professional qualifications of nurses and midwives F6[under the Regulations of 2017],

(ii) all matters referred to in Directive 2005/36/EC which relate to the role of a competent authority for the purposes of the recognition of professional qualifications of nurses and midwives,

(f) enter into agreements, with bodies in third countries that are duly authorised to perform functions in third countries that correspond to the functions of the Board, in relation to—

(i) the recognition by the Board, for the purposes of registration, of degrees, diplomas and other qualifications relating to the practice of nursing and midwifery awarded in those third countries,

(ii) the recognition by such bodies, for the purposes of authorisation to practise nursing and midwifery in third countries, of degrees, diplomas and other qualifications relating to the practice of nursing and midwifery awarded in the State,

(g) specify standards of practice for registered nurses and registered midwives, including the establishment, publication, maintenance and review of—

(i) appropriate guidance on all matters related to professional conduct and ethics for registered nurses and registered midwives,

(ii) appropriate guidance on the maintenance of the professional competence of registered nurses and registered midwives, and

(iii) a code of professional conduct for registered nurses and registered midwives,

(h) specify criteria regarding the creation by employers of specialist nursing and midwifery posts,

(i) establish committees to inquire into complaints,

(j) make decisions and give directions under Part 9 relating to the imposition of sanctions on registered nurses and registered midwives,

(k) advise the public on all matters of general interest relating to the functions of the Board, its area of expertise and other matters of interest to the public relating to nurses and midwives and their practice, including public advertisement of the object, functions and contact details of the Board from time to time,

(l) advise the Minister, either at the Minister’s request or on its own initiative, on all matters relating to the other functions conferred on it by any provision of this Act, and

(m) perform any other function conferred on it under any other provision of this Act or of any other enactment.

(3) The Board shall, not later than 12 months after this subsection is commenced, publish in the prescribed manner a code of practice regarding its interactions with nurses and midwives, candidates and members of the public.

(4) The Board shall, in performing its functions, have regard to—

(a) functions performed by other bodies that are similar or ancillary to the functions that the Board performs,

(b) the need to co-operate with and co-ordinate its activities with those of other public authorities or bodies (in particular, the Health Service Executive) if the performance of their functions affects or could affect the health of the public,

(c) the need to promote efficiencies in the delivery of training of candidates, post-registration training and specialist training through the development of standard practices,

(d) the policies and objectives of the Government or any Minister of the Government to the extent that those policies and objectives may affect or relate to the functions of the Board,

(e) the resources, wherever originating, that are available to it for the purpose of performing its functions, and

(f) the need to secure the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of those resources.

(5) The Board has power to do anything that appears to it to be requisite, advantageous or incidental to, or to facilitate, the performance of its functions, including the making of arrangements with any person or body to assist the Board or a committee of the Board in the proper discharge of any of its functions.

(6) The Minister, or a person authorised by the Minister to give a notice under this subsection, may by notice in writing given to the Board require the Board to provide the Minister or that person, as the case may be, with such information in relation to the performance of the Board’s functions as is specified in the notice and within the period specified in the notice (being a period reasonable in the circumstances).

(7) The Board shall comply with a notice given to it under subsection (6) except to the extent that it is prohibited from doing so by another provision of this Act.