Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020

Amendment of section 35 of Act of 2007

61. Section 35 of the Act of 2007 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) —

(i) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (eb):

“(ec) a failure to comply, in his or her capacity as a registered pharmacist, with a provision of an Act or statutory instrument referred to in section 7(1)(e)(ii),

(ed) the imposition on the pharmacist of—

(i) a prohibition against him or her providing one or more than one kind of health or social care in the State or another jurisdiction, or

(ii) a restriction on his or her ability to provide one or more than one kind of health or social care in the State or another jurisdiction,”,

and

(ii) in paragraph (f), by the deletion of “or rules made by the Council under this Act”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection before subsection (4):

“(3B) (a) The registrar may, in relation to a complaint heard, being heard or to be heard by a committee of inquiry, whenever he or she considers it necessary to do so, request in writing the Garda Síochána to give to him or her information concerning the criminal record of the registered pharmacist the subject of the complaint that the committee may reasonably require for the performance of its functions.

(b) The Garda Síochána shall, subject to section 55 of the Data Protection Act 2018 , comply with a request under paragraph (a) as soon as is practicable after receiving the request.

(c) The registrar may, whenever he or she considers it necessary to do so, request in writing that the registrar or clerk of a court which has convicted a registered pharmacist of an offence in the State to give to him or her a certificate of conviction (or, in the case of the District Court, a certified copy of the order concerned made by the Court), or a certified copy of the judgment, or both, in respect of the offence that the registrar or Council (including any committee thereof), or both, may reasonably require for the performance of his or her or its functions under this Act in relation to that pharmacist.

(d) The registrar or clerk of the court concerned the subject of a request under paragraph (c) shall comply with the request as soon as is practicable after receiving the request.

(e) In this subsection, ‘criminal record’, in relation to a registered pharmacist, means a record of the previous convictions (other than spent convictions within the meaning of section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 ) of the pharmacist for offences (if any).”.