The commencement of the legislative provisions to allow for HIQA to register special care units is governed by the Health Act 2007, with associated provisions in the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011, the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2015 and the Health (Amendment) Act 2016 all being of relevance. The interplay between these bodies of legislation is complex.
The Office of the Attorney General is considering particular functions under Parts 8 and 9 of the Health Act 2007 and as to whether subsequent amendments to provisions over time equate to a repeal and re-enactment of those provisions and if so found, what the effect of such re-enactment is on the proposed commencement order for special care related provisions.
I understand that the relevant advices will be made available to my Department shortly. I intend to sign the commencement order for the registration of special care units as soon as is practicable thereafter. The making of such an order is, of course, entirely dependent on the nature of the advices received from the Office of the Attorney General.
