PART I

Preliminary

1. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Health (Mental Services) Act, 1981.

(2) The Health Acts, 1947 to 1979, and this Act may be cited together as the Health Acts, 1947 to 1981.

(3) The Health Acts, 1947 to 1979, and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

2. —This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

3. —In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“authorised medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner holding an appointment or providing services as a consultant psychiatrist in a psychiatric centre;

“authorised officer” means an officer of a health board who is of a class designated by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;

“district psychiatric centre” means a hospital or unit designated as such a centre under section 9 ;

“medical officer in charge” means an authorised medical practitioner who is—

(a) in relation to a district psychiatric centre, the chief psychiatrist of the centre,

(b) in relation to a registered psychiatric centre, the chief medical officer of the centre, or

(c) for the time being acting on behalf of such chief psychiatrist or chief medical officer;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;

“psychiatric centre” means a district psychiatric centre or a registered psychiatric centre;

“registered medical practitioner” means a person whose name is entered in the General Register of Medical Practitioners established under section 26 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978 ;

“registered psychiatric centre” means a hospital, unit, institution or premises registered or deemed to be registered as such a centre under section 10 ;

“registered psychiatric home” has the meaning assigned by section 12 ;

“review board” means a psychiatric review board under section 37 ;

“special psychiatric centre” means a special psychiatric centre under section 30 .

4. —For the purposes of this Act, a person of no fixed residence shall be regarded as being ordinarily resident at the place where he is for the time being.

5. —The Minister may make regulations in relation to any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed or as being the subject of regulations.

6. —Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which it has sat after the regulation is so laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

7. —The enactments mentioned in the Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of the Schedule.

8. —(1) A person who does anything which is declared by section 10 (1), 12 (1), 17 (1) or 44 (2) to be unlawful shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(2) A Justice of the District Court shall have jurisdiction to try summarily an offence to which subsection (1) relates if—

(a) the Justice is of opinion that the facts proved or alleged against a defendant charged with such an offence constitute a minor offence fit to be tried summarily,

(b) the Director of Public Prosecutions consents, and

(c) the defendant (on being informed by the Justice of his right to be tried by a jury) does not object to being tried summarily,

and, upon conviction under this subsection, the said defendant shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(3) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall apply in relation to an offence to which subsection (1) relates as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) of the said section, there were specified therein the penalties provided for in subsection (2) of this section, and the reference in subsection (2) (a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for in the said subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(4) A person who fails to comply with a duty imposed on him by section 10 (3), 12 (5), 36 (3) or 45 or who obstructs or impedes any other person in the exercise of a power conferred on that other person under any section of this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.