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42 2004

Health Act 2004

SCHEDULE 5

Savings and Transitional Provisions

Section 74. .

Continuation of authority to perform delegated functions

1. (1) Subject to subparagraph (2), a person who is transferred to the Executive on the establishment day and who immediately before that day had, pursuant to a delegation or subdelegation made or deemed to have been made under an enactment, authority to perform a relevant function continues on and after that day to have authority to perform the function within the area to which it relates as though the function had been delegated or subdelegated under section 19 .

(2) Sections 19, 76 and 77 apply, with the necessary modifications, in relation to a delegation or subdelegation continued under subparagraph (1).

(3) Nothing in this Schedule prevents the Executive or an employee of the Executive from performing the functions that immediately before the establishment day were, under any enactment, the functions of a specified body.

(4) In this paragraph—

“relevant function” means a function that—

(a) before the establishment day was a function of a specified body, and

(b) on the establishment day becomes a function of the Executive;

“specified body” has the same meaning as in Part 10.

Continuation of appointments of authorised officers and other officers

2. A person who is transferred to the Executive on the establishment day and who immediately before that day held an appointment to perform functions on behalf of a health board, an Area Health Board or the Eastern Regional Health Authority as—

(a) an authorised officer under—

(i) the Poisons Act 1961 ,

(ii) the European Communities Act 1972 ,

(iii) the Tobacco Products (Control of Advertising, Sponsorship and Sales Promotion) Act 1978 ,

(iv) the Tobacco (Health Promotion and Protection) Act 1988 ,

(v) the Domestic Violence Act 1996 ,

(vi) the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998 ,

(vii) the National Beef Assurance Scheme Act 2000 , or

(viii) the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004,

(b) a designated officer under the Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998,

(c) an investigation or appeals officer under the Social Welfare Acts,

(d) a liaison officer under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 ,

(e) an inspector under the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs Act 1987 ,

(f) an authorised person or officer, or a designated person or officer, under the Child Care Acts 1991 and 2001,

(g) a family welfare conference coordinator or a person authorised to perform functions under Part 2 of the Children Act 2001 ,

(h) an authorised officer or a person authorised to perform functions under the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1998,

(i) an authorised officer or person holding office under the Births and Deaths Registration Acts 1863 to 1996 and the Registration of Marriages (Ireland) Act 1863,

(j) a designated officer or other person authorised to carry out inspections, hear appeals or perform other functions under the Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990 ,

(k) a person authorised to perform functions under the Mental Health Acts 1945 to 2001, or

(l) an officer, however described, whose functions under any of the Acts referred to in clauses (a) to (k) or any enactment referred to in Schedule 3 are analogous to those of an officer, inspector, coordinator or other person referred to in any of those clauses,

continues to hold that appointment until it is revoked or amended by the Executive.

Transitional provision relating to inquiries and requests under section 24 of Health Act 1970

3. (1) If, before the repeal of section 24 of the Health Act 1970 by this Act, a committee was appointed under that section to perform functions relating to the proposed removal from office of an officer of a health board, the Eastern Regional Health Authority or an Area Health Board and the committee has not made a recommendation under section 24(5) of that Act before that repeal—

(a) the committee may, until it makes a recommendation, continue to perform its functions in relation to the matter as if section 24 of that Act had not been repealed, and

(b) section 24 of that Act continues to apply in respect of all matters relating to the removal of the officer until those matters are concluded, except that—

(i) the committee shall make its recommendation to the Executive,

(ii) any request made to the Minister under section 24(10) of that Act relating to the committee's recommendation is deemed to be a request to issue a direction to the chief executive officer of the Executive, and

(iii) any direction by the Minister under section 24(11) of that Act relating to the request shall be given to the chief executive officer of the Executive.

(2) If, before the repeal of section 24 of the Health Act 1970 by this Act, a request was made to the Minister under section 24(10) of that Act and the Minister has not given a direction under section 24(11) of that Act before that repeal, section 24 of that Act continues to apply in respect of all matters relating to the request until those matters are concluded, except that the Minister's direction shall be given to the chief executive officer of the Executive.

Continuation of authority to perform functions of medical officers

4. (1) Any function under the Health Acts 1947 to 1953 of a medical officer of health may be performed on and after the establishment day by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner who is an employee of the Executive and is designated in writing by it to perform such function.

(2) Any function under the Health Acts 1947 to 1953 of a chief medical officer may be performed on and after the establishment day by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner who is an employee of the Executive and is designated in writing by it to perform such function.

(3) Any function under an enactment of the Director of Community Care and Medical Officer of Health may be performed on and after the establishment day by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner who is an employee of the Executive and is designated in writing by it to perform such function.

Transitional provisions relating to net expenditure determinations

5. If, before the establishment day, the Minister determines pursuant to the Act of 1996 the maximum amount of net expenditure that may be incurred by the Eastern Regional Health Authority or by a health board in respect of a financial year or other period beginning before but ending after the establishment day the determination ceases to have effect on that day.

Transitional provision relating to option to use existing service plan or plans

6. (1) If, before the establishment day, the Minister has approved a service plan submitted in accordance with the Act of 1996 by—

(a) a health board or the chief executive officer of a health board, or

(b) the Eastern Regional Health Authority or the Regional Chief Executive of that Authority,

in respect of a period beginning before but ending after the establishment day, the Minister may, after consulting the Executive, decide that such service plan or a combination of such service plans constitutes the service plan of the Executive for the remainder of that period.

(2) If the Minister decides in accordance with this paragraph that a service plan submitted and approved before the establishment day or a combination of such plans constitutes the service plan of the Executive for the remainder of the period concerned, the requirements of this Act, and in particular section 31 , in relation to the adoption and submission of a service plan by the Executive are fulfilled for that period.

(3) Section 32 (amendment of approved service plan) and section 33 (implementation of approved service plan) apply with the necessary modifications in relation to a service plan of the Executive constituted in accordance with this section.

Transitional provision relating to funding for the year 2005

7. (1) On the establishment day, there shall be established a Vote for the Executive, to be known as the Health Service Executive Vote, which shall be Vote 40.

(2) The Vote shall read “Estimate of the amount required in the year ending 31 December 2005 for the salaries and expenses of the Health Service Executive and certain other services administered by the Executive, including miscellaneous grants”.

(3) For the purpose of establishing a Vote under subparagraph (1), an amount not exceeding €7 billion shall be allocated to the Vote.

(4) This section ceases to have effect on the approval by the Dáil of a financial resolution in respect of the funding of the Executive in 2005.

Transitional provision relating to complaints under Ombudsman for Children Act 2002

8. (1) An action that, before the establishment day, was taken by or on behalf of a health board, an Area Health Board or the Eastern Regional Health Authority and that, but for the dissolution by section 58 of the body that took that action, could have been the subject of an investigation or complaint under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 is deemed to have been taken by or on behalf of the Executive.

(2) An action that—

(a) before the establishment day, was taken by—

(i) a voluntary hospital within the meaning of the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act 1999 in connection with the provision by it of services (within the meaning of that Act) in accordance with an arrangement made under section 10 of that Act with the Eastern Regional Health Authority or an Area Health Board, or

(ii) a specified voluntary hospital in connection with the provision by it of services under the Health Acts 1947 to 2001 for persons eligible for such services in accordance with an arrangement made by it under section 26 of the Health Act 1970 with a health board,

and

(b) but for the dissolution by section 58 of the Eastern Regional Health Authority, the Area Health Board or the health board concerned could have been the subject of an investigation or complaint under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 ,

is deemed to have been taken by the voluntary hospital concerned in accordance with an arrangement under section 38 .

(3) In this paragraph, “specified voluntary hospital” means a voluntary hospital that was specified in Schedule 2 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 before the amendment of that Act by section 75 of this Act.

Transitional provision relating to complaints under Ombudsman Act 1980

9. An action that, before the establishment day, was taken by or on behalf of a health board, an Area Health Board or the Eastern Regional Health Authority and that, but for the dissolution by section 58 of the body that took the action, could have been the subject of an investigation or complaint under the Ombudsman Act 1980 is deemed to have been taken by or on behalf of the Executive.

Transitional provision relating to records of dissolved health boards

10. (1) Any right of access, under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003, to records that before the establishment day of the Executive were held by a health board, an Area Health Board or the Eastern Regional Health Authority and that are transferred to the Executive under section 65 (4) is not affected by the transfer of those records.

(2) For the purpose of section 18 of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 , any act done by a health board before the establishment day of the Executive is deemed to have been done by the Executive.