26. (1) The Government may by order delegate to the Executive any or all of the Minister’s relevant functions (not being an excluded function).

(2) Where a delegation is made under subsection (1) —

(a) the Government may at any time by order revoke the delegation in whole or in part,

(b) subject to paragraph (a), the delegation shall operate, so long as it continues in force, to confer on and vest in the Executive each relevant function delegated by the delegation,

(c) a relevant function delegated by the delegation shall be performed by the Executive subject to any conditions stated in the order concerned under this section,

(d) any obligation or liability undertaken by the Executive consequent upon the performance by the Executive of a relevant function to which the delegation relates shall be of the same force and effect as if the obligation or liability, as the case may be, had been undertaken by the Minister,

(e) a relevant function of the Minister delegated by the delegation shall, notwithstanding the delegation, continue to be vested in the Minister but shall be so vested concurrently with the Executive and so as to be capable of being performed by either the Minister or the Executive,

(f) the delegation shall not remove or derogate from the responsibility of the Minister to Dáil Éireann or as a member of the Government for the performance of the relevant functions of the Minister thereby delegated, and

(g) the Executive shall, by virtue of this paragraph and notwithstanding any other enactment, have the power to perform each relevant function delegated by the delegation in accordance with any conditions stated in the order concerned under this section.

(3) The Government may by order amend or revoke an order under this section including an order under this subsection.

(4) An order under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the order.

(5) In this section—

“excluded function” means the Minister’s function under section 12 or to make regulations;

“relevant function” means a function of the Minister under—

(a) this Act (including any function of the Minister as a recipient of information),

(b) section 38(10) (amended by section 35) of the Dentists Act 1985,

(c) section 66(1)(ga) (amended by section 9) of the Civil Registration Act 2004,

(d) section 52(3A) (amended by section 36) of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005,

(e) section 35(3A) (amended by section 37) of the Pharmacy Act 2007,

(f) section 57(1A) (amended by section 38) of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, or

(g) section 55(1A) (amended by section 39) of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011.