S.I. No. 391/1980 - European Communities (Recognition of Qualifications in Veterinary Medicine) Regulations, 1980.

S.I. No. 391 of 1980.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS IN VETERINARY MEDICINE) REGULATIONS, 1980.

I, RAY MacSHARRY, Minister for Agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 78/1026/EEC of 18 December, 1978¹, and Council Directive No. 78/1027/EEC of the said 18 December² hereby make the following regulations:

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L.362. 23 December, 1978.

⁽²⁾O.J. No. L.362. 23 December, 1978.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Recognition of Qualifications in Veterinary Medicine) Regulations, 1980.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 21st day of December, 1980.

3. In these Regulations—

"the Act" means the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1931 (No. 36 of 1931);

"another Member State" means a Member State other than the State, which is a member of the European Economic Community and " other Member State" shall be construed accordingly;

"an application to which these Regulations apply" means an application for registration in the register and made pursuant to paragraph (c) or (d) (inserted by Regulation 4 (1) (a) of these Regulations) of section 31 (1) of the Act;

"Directive No. 78/1026/EEC" means the Council Directive so numbered of 18 December, 1978¹;

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L.362. 23 December, 1978.

"Directive No. 78/1027/EEC" means the Council Directive so numbered of 18 December, 1978²;

⁽²⁾O.J. No. L.362. 23 December, 1978.

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture;

"the register" means the Register of Veterinary Surgeons for Ireland.

4. (1) Section 31 of the Act is hereby amended by—

( a ) the addition of the following paragraphs to subsection (1):

"( c ) every person who, being a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community at the time of such application, holds a diploma or a certificate or as regards whom there is other evidence of formal qualification referred to in Article 1 of Directive No. 78/1027/EEC or Article 2 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC, and

( d ) every person who, being such a national, at the time of such application holds a diploma or certificate or as regards whom there is evidence of formal qualification referred to in Article 4 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC."; and

( b ) the addition of the following subsection to the section:

"(4) In this section—

'Directive No. 78/1026/EEC' means the Directive so numbered which was adopted by the Council of the European Communities on the 18th day of December, 1978, and which was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities Volume 21 No. L362 dated 23 December, 1978;

'Directive No. 78/1027/EEC' means the Directive so numbered which was adopted by the Council of the European Communities on the 18th day of December, 1978, and which was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities Volume 21 No. L362 dated 23 December, 1978;".

(2) Section 27 of the Act and section 31 (1) thereof, as amended by paragraph (1) of this Regulation, shall be construed and have effect subject to Regulation 5 (1) of these Regulations.

5. (1) Where an application to which these Regulations apply is received by the Veterinary Council (which body is in these Regulations subsequently referred to as "the Council"), the following provisions (in addition to those of the Act, as amended by these Regulations) shall apply:

( a ) subject to Regulation 7 (1) (a) of these Regulations, the Council shall determine the application as soon as possible and in any event within the period of three months after all the documents necessary for the application have been received by the Council,

( b ) the Council may register the applicant in the register subject to a condition requiring him, when using any academic title or status or other qualification specified by the Council, being an academic title or status or other qualification which is relevant to the application, to indicate by whom it was conferred or awarded,

( c ) in case the application is made by virtue of paragraph (d) (inserted by Regulation 4 of these Regulations) of section 31 (1) of the Act, the application shall be accompanied by a certificate issued by an authority which in the opinion of the Council is competent so to do and certifying that the applicant has been effectively and lawfully engaged in the activities referred to in Article 4 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC during the period specified in that Article,

( d ) in case the application is accompanied by—

(i) a certificate referred to in the second indent of Article 12.3 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC and issued, not more than one year prior to the day on which the application is received, by an authority which in the opinion of the Council is competent so to do, and

(ii) a certificate referred to in the third indent of the said Article 12.3 issued within such period by an authority which is so competent, then no fee shall be payable as regards the application and neither section 45 nor 46 of the Act shall be construed as applying in relation to the provision by the applicant, during the period beginning on the day on which the application is received and ending on the day on which the application is determined, of any veterinary medical or veterinary surgical service, and

( e ) the Council may require the authority by whom any diploma, certificate or other document received with the application was awarded, given or issued to—

(i) confirm the document,

(ii) confirm that the applicant has fulfilled any training requirement specified in Directive No. 78/1027/EEC.

(2) In case the Council is of opinion that the academic title or other qualification or status to which any diploma, certificate or other document on which an application is grounded relates is capable of being understood as indicating that a person entitled to use such title, qualification or status has pursued a course of study or undergone a course of training other than that or those which he has in fact pursued or undergone, the Council may refer the matter to the Minister who, if he is satisfied that such a misunderstanding could arise, may direct the Council, as regards every applicant who holds such title, qualification or status, to register him in the register subject to a condition requiring him, when using the title, qualification or status, to describe it in a manner specified in the direction.

(3) Where a condition is attached by the Council under this Regulation or pursuant to and in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under this Regulation and there is a failure by the person to whom the condition relates to comply with the condition, the Council may, if it thinks fit—

( a ) direct that, during such period as shall be specified in the direction, registration of his name in the register shall not have effect, or

( b ) erase the name of the person from the register.

(4) Where the Council exercises a power conferred on it by this Regulation, subsections (4) to (12) of section 36 (inserted by section 2 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1960 (No. 34 of 1960)), section 38 and section 39 ( other than subsection (3)) of the Act shall with the appropriate modifications apply as regards the exercise.

6. (1) For so long as applicants for registration are required by the Council to make a declaration prior to being registered in the register, then the Council shall as regards such declaration comply with the requirements of Article 11 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC.

(2) The Council shall ensure that the requirements of Article 14.3 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC are complied with.

7. (1) Where pursuant to Article 6 (3) or 7 (2) of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC another Member State is given information by the Council, the following provisions shall apply:

( a ) the period referred to in Regulation 5 (1) (a) of these Regulations shall be extended by—

(i) a period equal to the period beginning on the day on which the information is given to the other Member State and ending on the day on which that other Member State gives its reply, or

(ii) three months,

whichever is the shorter, and

( b ) where the other Member State does not give its reply within the period specified in Article 10.2 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC, and the information relates to an application to which these Regulations apply, then if, having regard to, and only to, the information given by it, the Council is of the opinion that the applicant has been guilty of conduct disgraceful to him in a professional respect, the application shall be refused.

(2) Where a certificate described in the second indent of Article 12.3 of Directive No. 78/1026/EEC is issued by the Council and the name of the person to whom it relates is, within the period of six months beginning on the day on which the certificate was issued, erased from the register, the Council shall forthwith inform of the erasure each Authority which for the purposes of the said Directive is in any Member State (other than that State) the competent authority.

8. Subject to Regulation 5 (1) (d) of these Regulations, the Council may charge such fees as it shall determine, with the approval of the Minister, in relation to the performance of any function assigned to it by, or by virtue of, these Regulations.

9. The University of Dublin or the National University of Ireland, as may be appropriate, shall satisfy themselves that the requirements of Article 1 of Directive No. 78/1027/EEC have been complied with by any person on or to whom they propose to confer or award the degree of Bachelor in Veterinary Medicine or Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 19th day of December, 1980.

RAY MacSHARRY,

Minister for Agriculture.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Regulations implement Directives Nos. 78/1026/EEC and 78/1027/EEC relating to the qualifications of veterinary surgeons. They provide for the amendment of Section 31 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act. 1931, so as to include nationals of other EEC Member States who satisfy the conditions of the Directives in the categories of persons eligible for registration in the Veterinary Register kept pursuant to that Act. Such registration is required by the Act for the practice of veterinary medicine. The Regulations also set out certain requirements in regard to applications for registration and the procedures to be followed in connection therewith. In addition, they require the University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland to satisfy themselves that candidates for the award of degrees in veterinary medicine have complied with the training requirements of Directive No. 78/1027/EEC.