Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006

Amendment of section 24 of Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (powers to inspect and demand production of drugs, books or documents).

9.— Section 24 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) by substituting “writing in that behalf by the Minister or the Irish Medicines Board” for “that behalf by the Minister in writing”,

(ii) in paragraph (a), by adding “or as a practitioner” after “drugs”, and

(iii) in paragraph (c), by inserting “(including any data within the meaning of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003)” after “documents”,

and

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

“(2) For the purposes of enforcing this Act and any statutory instruments made thereunder, and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, a person authorised in writing in that behalf by the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland may at all reasonable times—

(a) enter any building or premises in which a person keeps open shop for the dispensing or compounding of medical prescriptions,

(b) require any such person, or any person employed in connection with keeping such open shop for the dispensing or compounding of medical prescriptions, to produce any controlled drugs which are in his possession or under his control,

(c) require any such person, or any person so employed, to produce any books, records or other documents (including any data within the meaning of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003) which relate to transactions concerning controlled drugs and which are in his possession or under his control, and

(d) inspect any controlled drug, book, record or other document produced in pursuance of a requirement under this section.

(3) Where the Minister or the Irish Medicines Board authorises a person under subsection (1) of this section, then the Minister or the Irish Medicines Board, as the case may be, shall furnish the person with a warrant of his authorisation.

(4) Where the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland authorises a person under subsection (2) of this section, then it shall furnish the person with a warrant of his authorisation.

(5) Where—

(a) a person has been authorised by the Minister under subsection (1) of this section at any time before the commencement of this subsection,

(b) the authorisation is still in force immediately before that commencement, and

(c) either—

(i) the person has, before that commencement, been issued with a certificate of his authorisation, or

(ii) the person has not, before that commencement, been issued with a certificate of his authorisation,

then the Minister shall—

(d) in a case falling within paragraph (c)(i) of this subsection, furnish the person with a warrant of his authorisation upon the surrender of his certificate of authorisation,

(e) in a case falling within paragraph (c)(ii) of this subsection, as soon as reasonably practicable after that commencement, furnish the person with a warrant of his authorisation.

(6) Where a person authorised under subsection (1) or (2) of this section—

(a) claims to exercise a power by virtue of that authorisation, and

(b) is required by a person in relation to whom the power is proposed to be exercised, to produce evidence of that authorisation,

then the person so authorised shall not exercise that power until he has produced the warrant of authorisation furnished under this section to the person in relation to whom the power is proposed to be exercised.

(7) A certificate of authorisation referred to in subsection (5)(c)(i) of this section which has not been surrendered as referred to in subsection (5)(d) of this section shall be deemed to be a warrant of authorisation furnished under this section to the person to whom the certificate of authorisation was furnished, and subsection (6) of this section shall be construed accordingly.”.