Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Act, 2002

Amendment of section 29 of Principal Act.

7.—Section 29 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting the following for paragraph (a):

“(a) that a person, who is not otherwise entitled to registration, is or intends to be in the State temporarily for the purposes of employment and further training in the practice of medicine in a hospital, institution, clinic or general medical practice or in a prescribed health service setting, and”;

(b) by substituting the following for subsection (2):

“(2) The Council may extend a period determined under subsection (1) of this section for a prescribed period or periods but, subject to subsection (3) of this section, the total of all periods of temporary registration must not exceed seven years.”;

(c) by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(3) Where a person makes an application for full registration before his temporary registration expires, his period of temporary registration is, subject to section 46 of this Act, extended until a final decision is made in relation to that application.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, a decision is final where no appeal lies against the decision or where an appeal lies within a period that has expired without an appeal having been brought.

(5) In accordance with the prescribed procedures, the Council may temporarily register a person who comes within a prescribed category if the Council is satisfied that the person—

(a) holds a degree, diploma or other qualification that, in the opinion of the Council, affords sufficient guarantee that the person has the requisite knowledge and skill for the efficient practice of medicine,

(b) has passed an examination appropriate for obtaining such a degree, diploma or other qualification, and

(c) possesses a certificate considered by the Council to be equivalent to a certificate of experience.

(6) Applications for temporary registration under subsection (5) of this section must be made in accordance with the prescribed procedures.

(7) For the purpose of ensuring that a person referred to in subsection (5) of this section is temporarily registered under this Act before practising medicine in the State, the Council may prescribe duties to be performed and conditions to be met by persons proposing to retain the services of a person referred to in that subsection.”.