Health Act, 1970

Limited eligibility.

46.—(1) A person in any of the following categories who is without full eligibility shall have limited eligibility for the services under this Part—

(a) persons insured under the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ,

(b) adult persons whose yearly means are less than £1,200,

(c) adult persons whose yearly means are, in the opinion of the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board, derived wholly or mainly from farming, if the rateable valuation of the farm or farms concerned (including the buildings thereon) is not more than £60,

(d) dependants of persons referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).

(2) Yearly means for the purposes of this section shall be calculated in accordance with Rule 1 of the Rules contained in the Seventh Schedule to the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , and shall include, in relation to any person, the yearly means of a spouse of that person where the spouse is resident with that person.

(3) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by regulations substitute for subsections (1) and (2) other provisions defining in such manner as he thinks fit categories of persons with limited eligibility.

(4) A draft of regulations which it is proposed to make under subsection (3) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House.

(5) Section 5 (5) of the Health Act, 1947 , shall not apply to regulations under this section.

(6) On the commencement of regulations under subsection (3), subsection (1) shall cease to have effect and, if the regulations so provide, subsection (2) shall also cease to have effect.

(7) References in this Part to persons with limited eligibility shall be construed as referring to persons in the categories specified under this section or under regulations made under this section, as may be appropriate.

(8) Any person who is not in any of the categories specified in subsection (1) or in regulations under subsection (3) but who, in relation to a particular service which is available to persons with limited eligibility, is considered by the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board to be unable, without undue hardship, to provide that service for himself or his dependants shall, in relation to that service, be deemed to be a person with limited eligibility.