Health Authorities Act, 1960

Performance of certain functions.

7.—(1) A health authority established by this Act shall perform all the functions which, immediately before such establishment were performed by the relevant local authorities under, in relation to the operation of services provided under, or in connection with the administration of, the following enactments:

(a) the Health Acts, 1947 to 1958,

(b) the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958,

(c) the Public Assistance Act, 1939 ,

(d) the Births and Deaths Registration Acts, 1863 to 1952,

(e) the Notification of Births Acts, 1907 and 1915,

(f) the Acts relating to the registration of marriages,

(g) the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1936,

(h) Part I of the Children Act, 1908, and sections 2 and 3 of the Children (Amendment) Act, 1957 ,

(i) the Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919 ,

(j) the Blind Persons Act, 1920 ,

(k) the State Lands (Workhouses) Act, 1930 ,

(l) the Registration of Maternity Homes Act, 1934 ,

(m) the Midwives Act, 1944 , as amended by the Nurses Act, 1950 and section 60 of the Nurses Act, 1950 ,

(n) section 3 of the Housing (Amendment) Act, 1946 ,

(o) the Adoption Act, 1952 .

(2) In subsection (1) of this section “the relevant local authorities” means—

(a) with respect to the Dublin Health Authority—the council of the county of Dublin, the Dublin Corporation, the Dublin Board of Assistance, the Rathdown Board of Assistance, the Balrothery Board of Assistance and the Grangegorman Mental Hospital Board;

(b) with respect to the Cork Health Authority—the council of the county of Cork, the Cork Corporation, the Board of Public Assistance for the South Cork Public Assistance District, the Cork Sanatoria Board and the Cork Mental Hospital Board;

(c) with respect to the Limerick Health Authority—the council of the county of Limerick, the Limerick Corporation and the Limerick Mental Hospital Board;

(d) with respect to the Waterford Health Authority—the council of the county of Waterford, the Waterford Corporation, the Board of Public Assistance for the Waterford Public Assistance District and the Waterford Mental Hospital Board.

(3) Where, with respect to a public general infirmary for a county and a county borough included in the functional area of a health authority established by this Act, there existed, immediately before the establishment of the health authority, any function under statute of a local authority to make any payment to the infirmary, that function shall, on such establishment, become by virtue of this subsection a function of the health authority.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Public Assistance Act, 1939 , the functional area of a health authority established by this Act shall, on such establishment, become a public assistance district for the purposes of that Act and the health authority shall be the public assistance authority for the public assistance district.