S.I. No. 322/2021 - Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 2) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 6th July, 2021.

I, STEPHEN DONNELLY, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 5 and 31A (inserted by section 10 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1 of 2020)) of the Health Act 1947 (No. 28 of 1947) and -

(a) having regard to the immediate, exceptional and manifest risk posed to human life and public health by the spread of Covid-19 and to the matters specified in subsection (2) of section 31A,

and

(b) having consulted with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Minister for Transport, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media,

hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 2) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2021.

2. In these Regulations, “Principal Regulations” means the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 ( S.I. No. 217 of 2021 ).

3. Regulation 13 of the Principal Regulations is amended -

(a) by the substitution, in paragraph (1)(b)(ii), of the following subclause for subclause (I):

“(I) members of the public are not permitted, or otherwise granted, access to a part of a relevant premises that is indoors, or permitted to remain in an indoor part of such premises, other than for as long as is strictly required for the purposes of -

(A) accessing an indoor toilet facility,

(B) ordering or collecting, or both, food or beverages for consumption off such premises,

(C) paying for goods sold or services provided, or both, at the premises,

(D) accessing an outdoor seating area or smoking area, or

(E) accessing, for unavoidable reasons of an emergency nature, indoor parts of the premises to protect a person’s health or welfare,”,

(b) by the substitution, in paragraph (1)(b)(ii), of the following subclause for subclause (II):

“(II) members of the public other than relevant guests are not permitted, or otherwise granted, access to a part of a relevant accommodation premises that is indoors, or permitted to remain in an indoor part of such premises, other than for as long as is strictly required for the purposes of -

(A) accessing an indoor toilet facility,

(B) ordering or collecting, or both, food or beverages for consumption off such premises,

(C) paying for goods sold or services provided, or both, at the premises,

(D) accessing an outdoor seating area or smoking area, or

(E) accessing, for unavoidable reasons of an emergency nature, indoor parts of the premises to protect a person’s health or welfare,”, and

(c) in paragraph (5), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (a):

“(a) A specified person shall ensure that members of the public are not, during the specified period -

(i) permitted, or otherwise granted, access to a specified premises, or

(ii) permitted to remain on a specified premises,

other than for as long as is strictly required for the purposes of -

(I) accessing an indoor toilet facility,

(II) ordering or collecting, or both, food or beverages for consumption off such premises,

(III) paying for goods sold or services provided, or both, at the premises, or

(IV) accessing, for unavoidable reasons of an emergency nature, indoor parts of the premises to protect a person’s health or welfare.”.

4. The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution of the Schedule to these Regulations for Schedule 3 to those Regulations.

SCHEDULE

“SCHEDULE 3

Regulation 3A

”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

1 July, 2021.

STEPHEN DONNELLY,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 ( S.I. No. 217 of 2021 ) to make amendments to the list of “Scheduled Events”, and to allow for indoor access to relevant premises, specified premises and relevant accommodation premises for use of toilet facilities and for other specific and limited reasons.