Poisons Act, 1961

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Regulations in relation to poisons generally.

14.—(1) In this section—

“health authority” has the meaning assigned to it by virtue of the Health Act, 1947 , and the Health Authorities Act, 1960 ;

“sale” includes sale by wholesale and sale by retail, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

“supply” includes giving without payment, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) The Minister may, after consultation with or on the recommendation of the Council, make regulations—

(a) declaring substances to be poisons for the purposes of the regulations made under this section or of any provision of those regulations, and references in the subsequent provisions of this section to poisons are references to substances which are the subject of such declarations,

(b) with respect to the storage, transport, distribution, supply, sale and offering and keeping for sale of poisons, and

(c) with respect to the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations containing poisons.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) of this section, regulations under this section may—

(a) prohibit the distributing, supplying, selling or offering or keeping for sale of poisons or particular poisons or classes of poisons by persons or classes of persons other than the persons or classes of persons specified in the regulations or otherwise than subject to the conditions and limitations specified in the regulations,

(b) specify persons or classes of persons by whom and the conditions and limitations subject to which poisons or particular poisons or classes of poisons may be distributed, supplied, sold or offered or kept for sale,

(c) provide that section 30 of the Pharmacy Act (Ireland), 1875, and sections 15 and 17 of the Pharmacy Act (Ireland), 1875 Amendment Act, 1890, shall not apply in relation to the sale or the keeping of open shop for the selling, retailing, dispensing, mixing or compounding of poisons by any person or class of persons specified in the regulations where the sale or the keeping of open shop is in accordance with the provisions of the regulations,

(d) prohibit, limit or regulate the manufacture of particular pharmaceutical preparations containing poisons or pharmaceutical preparations containing particular poisons,

(e) provide for licensing or registering by health authorities of persons (other than registered medical practitioners, pharmaceutical chemists, dispensing chemists and druggists and registered druggists) engaged in selling or offering or keeping for sale poisons and of premises in which poisons are sold or offered or kept for sale (otherwise than by registered medical practitioners, pharmaceutical chemists, dispensing chemists and druggists or registered druggists) and for the description of premises so licensed or registered,

(f) provide for the charging of fees by health authorities for such licensing or registering,

(g) provide for the cancellation, suspension or restoration by health authorities of licences or registrations issued or made by them under the regulations,

(h) provide for an appeal to the Minister by the person affected from the decision of a health authority to refuse an application for, or to cancel or suspend, a licence or registration and that where an appeal is successful, the health authority shall allow the application or shall not cancel or suspend the licence or registration, as the case may be,

(i) provide for the labelling of containers of poisons in such manner and with such particulars as may be specified,

(j) provide for the enforcement and execution of the provisions of the regulations—

(i) by officers of the Minister,

(ii) with the consent of the Minister for Agriculture; by officers of that Minister,

(iii) by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and its officers, and

(iv) by health authorities and their officers,

(k) provide for the prosecution of offences under section 17 of this Act in relation to the regulations by the Minister, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland or health authorities, and

(l) provide for matters ancillary to the foregoing matters.

(4) Where regulations under this section include provision for the keeping of registers by health authorities—

(a) any register kept pursuant to the regulations by a health authority shall be deemed to be in proper custody when in the custody of an officer of the health authority authorised in that behalf by the health authority and shall be admissible in evidence without further proof on production from the proper custody,

(b) prima facie evidence of any entry in any register kept pursuant to the regulations by a health authority may be given in any court or any legal proceedings by the production of a copy of such entry purporting to be certified to be a true copy by an officer of the health authority authorised in that behalf, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such officer, or that he was in fact such officer or was so authorised,

(c) a certificate purporting to be under the hand of an officer of a health authority authorised in that behalf that a specified person or premises was not, during a specified period, registered in a specified register kept pursuant to the regulations by the health authority shall be accepted in any court or any legal proceedings as prima facie evidence of the facts so certified, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such officer, or that he was in fact such officer or was so authorised.

(5) Neither section 13 of the County Management Act, 1940 , nor section 17 of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955 , shall apply in respect of any power, function or duty relating to licensing or registering of persons or premises under regulations under subsection (3) of this section.