S.I. No. 463/2020 - Health Services (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 30th October, 2020.

I, STEPHEN DONNELLY, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 59 (as amended by section 3 of the Health (Amendment) Act 2017 (No. 5 of 2017)) of the Health Act 1970 (No. 1 of 1970), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Services (Amendment) Regulations 2020.

(2) The Principal Regulations, the Health Services (Drug Payment Scheme) Regulations 2017 ( S.I. No. 577 of 2017 ) and these Regulations may be cited together as the Health Services Regulations 1972 to 2020.

2. These Regulations come into operation on 1 November 2020.

3. In these Regulations—

“Principal Regulations” means the Health Services Regulations 1972 ( S.I. No. 88 of 1972 );

“Regulations of 2019” means the Health Services (Drug Payment Scheme) Regulation 2017 ( S.I. No. 59 of 2019 ).

4. Regulation 6 (as amended by Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2019) of the Principal Regulations is amended—

(a) in paragraph (1), by substituting “€114” for “€124”, and

(b) in paragraph (2), by substituting “€114” for “€124” in both places where it occurs.

5. The Regulations of 2019 are revoked.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

20 October, 2020.

MICHAEL MCGRATH,

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

27 October, 2020.

STEPHEN DONNELLY,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend Regulation 6 of the Health Service Regulations 1972 (as substituted by Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2017 and subsequently amended by Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 2019), by reducing to the monthly co-payment threshold from €124, to €114 in any calendar month, for approved prescribed medicines or other items supplied under the Drug Payment Scheme.

The Health Services (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ( S.I. No. 59 of 2019 ), which reduced the monthly co-payment from €134 (as provided for under Regulation 4 of 2017), to €124, are revoked and replaced by these Regulations.

These Regulations come into operation on 1 November 2020.