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Amendment of section 9 of Act of 2007
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64. Section 9 of the Act of 2007 is amended—
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(a) in subsection (1)—
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(i) by the substitution of “Subject to subsection (1A), the Authority may undertake an investigation as to the safety, quality and standards of any of the services described in section 8(1)(b) or (1)(ba)” for “The Authority may undertake an investigation as to the safety, quality and standards of the services described in section 8(1)(b)”,
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(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):
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“(a) there may be a serious risk—
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(i) to the health or welfare of a person receiving those services, or
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(ii) of a failure to comply with the provisions of the Act of 2013,
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notwithstanding that such a risk may also exist elsewhere in those services,”,
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and
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(iii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):
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“(b) the risk may be the result of any act, failure to act or negligence on the part of—
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(i) the Executive,
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(ii) the Agency,
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(iii) a service provider to which paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of service provider applies,
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(iv) a service provider to which paragraph (c) of the definition of service provider applies,
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(iva) a service provider to which paragraph (d) of the definition of service provider applies,
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(v) the registered provider of a designated centre to which paragraph (a)(ii), (iii) or (c) of the definition of designated centre applies,
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(vi) the registered provider of a designated centre to which paragraph (a)(i) or (b) of the definition of designated centre applies,
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(vii) the person in charge of a designated centre referred to in subparagraph (v), if other than its registered provider,
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(viii) the person in charge of a designated centre referred to in subparagraph (vi), if other than its registered provider, or
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(ix) a person carrying on the business of providing a prescribed private health service, and”,
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and
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(iv) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):
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“(c) an investigation may be in the interests of—
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(i) improving the safety, quality and standards of the services described in section 8(1)(b) or (1)(ba) which are the subject of the investigation, or
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(ii) the provision of health and personal social services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public.”,
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(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):
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“(1A) The Authority shall notify the Minister in writing before undertaking an investigation under subsection (1).”,
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(c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):
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“(2) The Minister may, if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that—
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(a) there may be a serious risk of the kind mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1), notwithstanding that such a risk may also exist elsewhere in those services,
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(b) the risk may be the result of any act, failure to act or negligence of the kind mentioned in paragraph (b)(i), (iii), (iva), (v), (vii) or (ix) of subsection (1), and
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(c) an investigation may be in the interests of—
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(i) improving the safety, quality and standards of the services described in section 8(1)(b) or (1)(ba) which are the subject of the investigation, or
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(ii) the provision of health and personal social services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public,
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require the Authority to undertake an investigation in accordance with this section.”,
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(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2A):
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“(2A) The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs may, if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that—
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(a) there may be a serious risk of the kind mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) of subsection (1), notwithstanding that such a risk may also exist elsewhere in those services,
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(b) the risk may be the result of any act, failure to act or negligence mentioned in paragraph (b)(ii), (iv), (vi) or (viii) of subsection (1), and
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(c) an investigation may be in the interests of—
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(i) improving the safety, quality and standards of the services described in section 8(1)(b) or (1)(ba) which are the subject of the investigation, or
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(ii) the provision of health and personal social services for the benefit of the health and welfare of the public,
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require the Authority to undertake an investigation in accordance with this section.”,
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(e) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):
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“(3A) Where an investigation under this section is being undertaken in respect of the services specified in section 8(1)(b) or (1)(ba), the Authority shall—
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(a) give notice in writing to the relevant person of the matters to which the investigation relates, and
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(b) give the relevant person a copy of any document which in the reasonable opinion of the Authority is relevant to the investigation.”,
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and
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(f) in subsection (6), by the insertion of the following definition:
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“ ‘relevant person’ means a person or body referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (ix) of subsection (1)(b) ;”.
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