2. In this Act—

“Agency” means the Child and Family Agency established under section 7;

“annual budget” means the Financial Statement and associated material presented by the Minister for Finance to Dáil Éireann, and the estimates for Public Services presented by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to Dáil Éireann, which set out the Government’s proposals for the year with regard to the raising of tax and other revenues and to public expenditure;

“Board” means the Board of the Agency;

“child” means a person under the age of 18 years other than a person who is or has been married;

“confidential information” means—

(a) information that is expressed by the Agency to be confidential either as regards particular information or as regards information of a particular class or description, or

(b) proposals of a commercial nature or tenders submitted to the Agency by any person;

“couple” means —

(a) a married couple,

(b) civil partners within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010,

(c) a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife, or

(d) two persons of the same sex who are cohabiting in domestic circumstances comparable to that of a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife;

“dissolved body” means a body dissolved under section 71;

“document” means—

(a) a book, record or other written or printed material,

(b) a photograph,

(c) any information stored, maintained or preserved by means of any mechanical or electronic device, whether or not stored, maintained or preserved in legible form, and

(d) any audio or video recording;

F1["education welfare functions" means—

(a) in the case of the Agency, the functions of the Agency under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 transferred to it by section 72, and

(b) in the case of the Minister for Education, the functions of that Minister under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000;]

“establishment day” means the day appointed under section 6;

“family” means spouse, parent, grandparent, step-parent, child (including a step-child), grandchild, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, and any other person who, in the opinion of the Agency, has a bona fide interest in the child;

“local authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001;

“Minister” means the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“public body” means—

(a) a Department of State,

(b) a local authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001,

(c) any other entity established by or under any enactment (other than the Companies Acts), statutory instrument or charter or any scheme administered by a Minister of the Government,

(d) a company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts) a majority of the shares in which are held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government,

(e) a subsidiary (within the meaning of the Companies Acts) of such a company,

(f) an entity established or appointed by the Government or a Minister of the Government,

(g) any entity (other than one within paragraph (e)) that is directly or indirectly controlled by an entity within any of paragraphs (b) to (f), or

(h) an entity on which any functions are conferred by or under any enactment (other than the Companies Acts), statutory instrument or charter,

F2[(i) a designated institution of higher education within the meaning of the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 that falls under paragraph (a) of section 53(1) of that Act and that is also a funded body within the meaning of that Act;]

“service provider” means a person who enters into an arrangement under section 56 or 58;

“spouse” means each person of a couple in relation to the other.