Health Authorities Act, 1960

General duty under Part IV of Mental Treatment Act, 1945.

22.—(1) The general duty under Part IV of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 , to provide treatment, maintenance, advice and services for a person suffering from mental illness shall, by virtue of this section, become vested in the health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , in whose functional area such person is ordinarily resident.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall have effect subject to the proviso that the general duty referred to therein shall, in the case of a person ordinarily resident in the county of Wicklow, become vested in the Dublin Health Authority and not in the council of the county of Wicklow.

(3) In any Act passed before the commencement of this subsection, or in any order, regulation or other instrument made before the commencement of this subsection in exercise of a power conferred by any such Act,—

(a) any reference to a mental hospital authority shall be construed as a reference to—

(i) a health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , in their capacity as an authority performing functions under the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, or

(ii) a joint board performing functions under those Acts;

(b) any reference to a mental hospital district shall be construed as a reference to the functional area of a health authority within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , or, in the case of two or more health authorities within that meaning performing their functions jointly, to their functional areas combined;

(c) any reference to a district mental hospital shall be construed as a reference to a health institution within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , designated by the authority maintaining it as a district mental hospital;

(d) any reference to an auxiliary mental hospital shall be construed as a reference to a health institution within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , designated by the authority maintaining it as an auxiliary mental hospital.

(4) (a) The Minister shall, by order under section 45 of the Health Act, 1953 , which shall be expressed to come into operation on the commencement of this section, provide for and authorise joint action by the relevant health authorities in the performance of the relevant functions of each authority as respects the whole of their functional area and for that purpose establish a joint board.

(b) The provisions contained in the Third Schedule to this Act shall have effect in relation to the dissolution, consequent upon the repeal by this Act of section 15 of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 , of a board appointed jointly in pursuance of that section for a specified district and, for that purpose, in that Schedule—

(i) “the board” shall be construed as referring to the dissolved board,

(ii) “the authority” shall be construed as referring to the joint board established by the relevant order made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection

(iii) “the commencement” shall be construed as referring to the commencement of this subsection.

(c) Where, immediately before the establishment of a joint board established by an order made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Local Appointments Commissioners were engaged in the selection of a person or persons to be recommended for appointment to an office of which a holder would be transferred to the joint board pursuant to paragraph 9 of the Third Schedule to this Act, the selection shall be completed in such manner as the Commissioners think proper, and the person or one of the persons so selected and recommended by the Commissioners for appointment shall be appointed by the joint authority as if the selection and recommendation were made on a request made under section 6 of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 , by the joint authority after their establishment.

(d) In this subsection—

“the relevant health authorities” means the health authorities within the meaning of the Health Act, 1947 , for the counties comprised in a specified district;

“specified district” means a district specified at reference number 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 13 or 16 of the Second Schedule to the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 ;

“the relevant functions” means the functions which were vested under subsection (1) of this section.

(5) Every institution which, immediately before the commencement of this subsection, was maintained by the council of a county as a local administrative authority under section 15 of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 , shall, on and after such commencement, be deemed to have been provided by such council under section 10 of the Health Act, 1947 .

(6) Every institution transferred to a health authority established by this Act which, immediately before the transfer, was maintained by a board appointed jointly in accordance with section 16 of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 , shall be deemed to have been provided by that health authority under section 10 of the Health Act, 1947 .

(7) Every institution transferred pursuant to paragraph 1 of the Third Schedule to this Act to a joint board established by an order made pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of this section shall be deemed to have been provided by that joint board under section 10 of the Health Act, 1947 .