Health Act, 1947

Regulations for preventing the spread of infectious disease.

31.—(1) The Minister may make regulations providing for the prevention of the spread (including the spread outside the State) of an infectious disease or of infectious diseases generally and for the treatment of persons suffering therefrom and the regulations may, in particular, provide for any of the matters mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act.

(2) Regulations under this section may provide for their enforcement and execution by officers of the Minister and by health authorities and their officers and may also—

(a) with the consent of the Minister for Local Government provide for their enforcement and execution by officers of sanitary authorities,

(b) with the consent of the Minister for Finance, provide for their enforcement and execution by officers of Customs and Excise,

(c) with the consent of the Minister for Justice, provide for their enforcement and execution by specified officers of that Minister, and

(d) with the consent of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, provide for their enforcement and execution in any Customs-free airport by specified officers of that Minister.

(3) Regulations under this section may impose duties on officers concerned in the registration of births and deaths.

(4) Regulations under this section may provide for and authorise the making of charges for the purposes of the regulations or for services performed thereunder and may provide for the recovery of such charges.

(5) Regulations under this section may provide for the particulars to be contained in notices to be given under the regulations and for the manner in which such notices may be given.

(6) The Minister shall not make under this section regulations relating to large public service vehicles (as defined in section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 (No. 11 of 1933)), vehicles for the conveyance of passengers by rail, vessels or aircraft save after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

(7) Where regulations under this section require adult persons to submit themselves or the parents of children to submit such children to specified measures in relation to the protection or immunisation of such adult persons or children against a particular infectious disease, such regulations shall contain provision—

(a) for the giving of notice of the time and place at which a person will be required to submit himself or the parent of a child will be required to submit such child to any such specified measures, and

(b) for the giving of information to such person or such parent of the right to exemption under section 32 of this Act.

(8) A person who contravenes a regulation under this section or who wilfully obstructs the execution of a regulation under this section or who gives false or misleading information in purported compliance with a request for information made under a regulation made under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day on which the offence is continued or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine or fines and such imprisonment.

(9) Where a provision of this Part of this Act or any other enactment requires special precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or of any particular infectious disease, such provision shall not be construed as restricting the power of making regulations conferred by this section.