Health Act 2007

2.

Interpretation.

2.— (1) In this Act:

F1["Agency" means the Child and Family Agency established under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013;]

“Authority” means the Health Information and Quality Authority established under section 6;

“Board” means the Board, referred to in section 13, of the Authority;

“dependent person” means dependent person as defined in section 1(1) of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990;

F2["designated centre" means an institution

(a) at which residential services are provided by the Executive, the Agency, a service provider under this Act or a person that is not a service provider but who receives assistance under section 39 of the Health Act 2004

(i) in accordance with the Child Care Act 1991,

(ii) to persons with disabilities, in relation to their disabilities, or

(iii) to other dependent persons, in relation to their dependencies,

or

(b) that is a special care unit,

(c) that is a nursing home as defined in section 2 of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990, but does not include any of the following:

(i) a centre registered by the Mental Health Commission;

(ii) an institution managed by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government;

(iii) that part of an institution in which the majority of persons being cared for and maintained are being treated for acute illness or provided with palliative care;

(iv) an institution primarily used for the provision of educational, cultural, recreational, leisure, social or physical activities;

(v) a children detention school as defined in section 3 of the Children Act 2001;]

“disability” means disability as defined in section 2 of the Disability Act 2005 and the term “substantial restriction” in that definition shall be construed as meaning a restriction as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 7(2) of that Act;

“Executive” means the Health Service Executive established under the Health Act 2004;

“financial year” means a period of 12 months ending on 31 December in any year;

“Interim Health Information and Quality Authority” means the body established by the Interim Health Information and Quality Authority (Establishment) Order, 2005 (S.I. No. 132 of 2005);

“Irish Health Services Accreditation Board” means the body established by the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board (Establishment) Order, 2002 (S.I. No. 160 of 2002);

“local authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 2001;

“Mental Health Commission” means the body established by section 32 of the Mental Health Act 2001;

“member” in relation to the Board includes the chairperson;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

“ordinary member” means a member of the Board other than the chairperson;

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

“public authority” means any of the following:

(a) a Minister of the Government;

(b) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland;

(c) a local authority;

(d) a harbour authority within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1946;

(e) a board or other body (but not a company) established by or under statute;

(f) a company in which all the shares are held by or on behalf of, or by directors appointed by, a Minister of the Government;

(g) a company in which all the shares are held by a board, company or other body referred to in paragraph (e) or (f);

(h) any other body prescribed for the purpose of any provision of this Act;

“register” means a register of designated centres established under F3[section 41(1)(b)];

“registered provider” in relation to a designated centre means the person whose name is entered in a register as the person carrying on the business of the designated centre;

F4["service provider" means a person who

(a) enters into an arrangement under section 38 of the Health Act 2004 to provide a health or personal social service on behalf of the Executive,

(b) is in receipt of assistance under section 39 of the Health Act 2004 in an amount that exceeds an amount prescribed for the purpose of this subparagraph, or

(c) is a service provider under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013;]

F5["special care unit" has the meaning assigned to it by Part IVA (as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011) of the Child Care Act 1991; ]

F6["specialist community-based disability services functions" has the same meaning as it has in the Health Act 2004;]

“superannuation benefit” means a pension, gratuity or other allowance payable on resignation, retirement or death.

(2) For the purposes of the definition of designated centre in subsection (1), “institution” means a home, F7[unit,] centre or institution or part of a home, F7[unit,] centre or institution.

F8[(2A) For the purposes of the definition of designated centre (as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011) in subsection (1) and construing references to persons resident in, residents of, and persons who can be accommodated in, a designated centre, such references shall be construed as including children detained in a special care unit in accordance with the Child Care Act 1991 (as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011). ]

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Inserted (1.01.2014) by Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (40/2013), s. 97 and sch. 2, part 20 item 1(a), S.I. No. 502 of 2013.

F2

Substituted (1.01.2014) by Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (40/2013), s. 97 and sch. 2, part 20 item 1(b), S.I. No. 502 of 2013.

F3

Substituted (21.07.2009) by Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (25/2009), s. 64(1), commenced on enactment.

F4

Substituted (1.01.2014) by Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (40/2013), s. 97 and sch. 2, part 20 item 1(c), S.I. No. 502 of 2013.

F5

Substituted (31.12.2017) by Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 (19/2011), s. 36(1)(b), S.I. No. 637 of 2017.

F6

Inserted (1.03.2023) by Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (6/2022), s. 52, S.I. No. 666 of 2022.

F7

Inserted (31.12.2017) by Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 (19/2011), s. 36(1)(c), S.I. No. 637 of 2017.

F8

Inserted (31.12.2017) by Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 (19/2011), s. 36(1)(d), S.I. No. 637 of 2018.

F9

Inserted by Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 (10/2023), s. 62(a), not commenced as of date of revision.

F10

Substituted by Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 (10/2023), s. 62(b), not commenced as of date of revision.

Modifications (not altering text):

C4

Prospective affecting provision: definitions inserted by subs. (1) by Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 (10/2023), s. 62(a), not commenced as of date of revision.

F9["Act of 2004" means the Health Act 2004;]

F9["cancer screening service" has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023;]

F9["complainant" shall be construed in accordance with section 41A(5);]

F9["health service" means the provision of clinical care or any ancillary service to a person for—

(a) the screening (other than screening carried out by a cancer screening service), preservation or improvement of the health of the person,

(b) the prevention, diagnosis, treatment or care of an illness, injury or health condition of the person,

(c) the performance or surgery, or a surgical intervention, in respect of aesthetic purposes, or other non-medical purposes, that involves instruments or equipment being inserted into the body of the person, or

(d) without prejudice to paragraph (a), a cancer screening service;]

F9["medical speciality" means a medical speciality recognised by the Medical Council under section 89 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;]

F9["patient" has the meaning assigned to it by section 41A(10);]

F9["prescribed private health service" means a health service that is prescribed under section 101A;]

F9["private hospital" means a hospital under the management or control of a person (other than the Executive)—

(a) at which—

(i) medical or surgical treatment for illness, injury, disability, palliative, obstetric or gynaecological care, or

(ii) a health service,

is provided to a person which provision of treatment is under the direction of registered medical practitioners from at least 3 different medical specialities who are registered in the Specialist Division of the register of medical practitioners, and

(b) which is capable of accommodating one or more persons in that hospital when providing the treatment under paragraph (a), for a minimum period of 24 hours, but does not include—

(i) a designated centre,

(ii) a centre registered by the Mental Health Commission,

(iii) a service provider to which paragraph (a) of the definition of service provider applies, or

(iv) a hospital which is in receipt of assistance under section 39 of the Act of 2004;]

F9["register of medical practitioners" has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;]

F9["registered medical practitioner" has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;]

F9["Specialist Division" has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.]

C5

Prospective affecting provision: subs. (1), definition of "service provider" substituted by Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023 (10/2023), s. 62(b), not commenced as of date of revision.

F10["service provider" means—

(a) a person who enters into an arrangement under section 38 of the Act of 2004 to provide a health or personal social service on behalf of the Executive,

(b) a person who is in receipt of assistance under section 39 of the Act of 2004 in an amount that exceeds an amount prescribed for the purpose of this subparagraph,

(c) a service provider under the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, or

(d) a private hospital;]

C6

Functions transferred and reference construed (1.03.2023) by Specialist Community-Based Disability Services (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 688 of 2022), arts. 2, 3, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 5-9.

2. In this Order, “relevant function” means – ...

(b) any function transferred to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth by –

(i) the Health Act 2004 (No. 42 of 2004),

(ii) the Disability Act 2005 (No. 14 of 2005),

(iii) the Health Act 2007 (No. 23 of 2007),

in so far only as the function consists of, or is connected with, specialist community-based disability services, within the meaning of the Health Act 2004 , or any such other function otherwise assigned to that Minister by any of those Acts.

3. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any relevant function are transferred to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

(2) References to the Department of Health contained in any Act or any instrument made under such Act and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) of this Article shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

...

C7

"Minister" construed under certain circumstances (1.03.2023) by Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (6/2022), s. 65, S.I. No. 666 of 2023.

Cesser

65.— Where, before the commencement of this section, the functions of the Minister for Health under the Principal Act, the Act of 2005 or the Act of 2007 included a function in relation to a specialist community-based disability services function, the Minister for Health shall cease to have any such function to the extent that that function has been conferred on the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth by virtue of the amendments to the Principal Act, the Act of 2005 or the Act of 2007 effected by this Act or transferred (whether before or after the coming into operation of this section) by an order under section 6 (1) of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939.

Editorial Notes:

E1

Previous affecting provision: definition of “designated centre” amended by Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011 (19/2011), s. 36(1)(a), not commenced; definition substituted as per F-note above.