S.I. No. 288/1976 - The European Communities (Recognition of Medical Qualifications) Regulations, 1976.

S.I. No. 288 of 1976.

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (RECOGNITION OF MEDICAL QUALIFICATIONS) REGULATIONS, 1976.

The Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Recognition of Medical Qualifications) Regulations, 1976.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 19th day of December, 1976.

3. (1) In these Regulations—

"Directive No. 75/362/EEC" means the Directive so numbered adopted by the Council of the European Communities on 16th June 1975 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities Volume 18 No. L 167 dated 30 June 1975;

"Directive No. 75/363/EEC" means the Directive so numbered adopted by the Council of the European Communities on 16th June 1975 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities Volume 18 No. L 167 dated 30 June 1975;

"The Council" means the Medical Registration Council established under section 3 of the Medical Practitioners Act 1927 (No. 25 of 1927).

(2) In these Regulations, words and phrases shall have the same meaning as in the directives referred to in paragraph (1).

4. These Regulations shall apply to nationals of Member States of the European Communities who possess diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in medicine awarded in a Member State and to such nationals who possess diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine awarded in a Member State.

5. The Medical Practitioners Act, 1927 , is hereby amended—

( a ) by the addition to section 1 of the following definitions—

"the expression "Directive No. 75/362/EEC" means the Directive so numbered adopted by the Council of the European Communities on 16 June 1975 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities Volume 18 No. L 167 dated 30 June 1975;

the expression "Directive No. 75/363/EEC" means the Directive so numbered adopted by the Council of the European Communities on 16 June 1975 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities Volume 18 No. L 167 dated 30 June 1975; "

( b ) by the addition of the following paragraphs to subsection (1) of section 25—

"(c) every person, being a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community, who at the time of such application holds a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualification in medicine awarded in accordance with Article 1 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC and referred to in Articles 2 and 3 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC, and

( d ) every person, being a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community, who at the time of such application holds a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualification in medicine referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 9 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC and in respect of whom a certificate has been issued by a competent authority designated in accordance with Article 23 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC, stating that he has effectively and lawfully been engaged in the activities of a doctor for at least three consecutive years during the five years prior to the date of issue of the certificate."

6. The bodies listed in the Second Schedule to the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927 , are hereby designated, pursuant to Article 23 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC to be the competent examining bodies in the State for the purposes of paragraph (e) of Article 3 of that Directive and; in granting primary qualifications, these bodies shall satisfy themselves that the requirements for such qualifications set out in Article 1 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC have been complied with.

7. The Council is hereby designated, in accordance with Article 23 of Directive No 75/362/EEC, to be the competent authority or body in the State for the following purposes of that Directive—

( a ) to issue certificates of specialist doctor, in respect of titles used in the State and listed in paragraph 3 of Article 5 of that Directive, awarded by the Council in accordance with Articles 2, 3, 4 and 8 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC;

( b ) to issue certificates of specialist doctor, in respect of designations used in the State and listed in paragraph 2 of Article 7 of that Directive, awarded by the Council in accordance with Articles 2, 3, 5 and 8 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC;

( c ) to receive diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine, in respect of titles used in the State and listed in paragraph 3 of Article 5 of that Directive, awarded in accordance with Articles 2, 3, 4 and 8 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC by the competent authorities or bodies designated for this purpose by the other Member States;

( d ) to receive diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine, in respect of designations used in the State and listed in paragraph 2 of Article 7 of that Directive, awarded in accordance with Articles 2, 3, 5 and 8 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC by the competent authorities or bodies designated for this purpose by the other Member States;

( e ) to issue and receive—

(i) information under paragraph 3 of Article 8;

(ii) certificates under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 9;

(iii) certificates under paragraph 1 of Article 11;

(iv) documents under paragraph 2 of Article 11;

(v) information under paragraph 3 of Article 11;

(vi) information under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 12;

(vii) certificates under Article 13;

(viii) information under paragraph 1 of Article 16;

(ix) declarations under paragraph 2 of Article 16;

(x) certificates under paragraph 3 of Article 16;

(xi) information under Article 22.

8. The Council—

( a ) shall be the competent authority in the State to carry out appraisals of matters under paragraph 3 of Article 11 and under paragraph 2 of Article 12 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC;

( b ) shall ensure the confidentiality of any information issued or received under Articles 11 and 12 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC.

9. The Council is hereby designated, pursuant to paragraph 3 of Article 2 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC, to be the competent authority in the State to issue diplomas, certificates or other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine referred to in paragraph 1 of that Article and in issuing such diplomas, qualifications or other evidence, the Council shall satisfy itself that the requirements of Articles 2, 4 and 5 of that Directive have been complied with.

10. The Council, acting as the competent authority for the purposes of Articles 5 and 7 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC—

( a ) shall record particulars of the certificates of specialist doctor issued by the Council and of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine, issued by the other Member States and received by the Council, and

( b ) shall make such record available for public inspection at all reasonable times.

11. In the case of nationals of Member States whose diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine do not satisfy the minimum training requirements under Articles 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC, the Council shall recognise as sufficient proof the diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine awarded by the Member States before 19 December 1976 where such diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications are accompanied by a certificate issued by the competent authorities or bodies of the Member State of origin or of the Member State from which the foreign national comes, stating that he has been engaged in the activity in question as a specialist for a period equal to twice the difference between the length of specialised training of the Member State of origin or of the Member State from which the foreign national comes and the minimum training period referred to in Directive No. 75/363/EEC where these periods are not equal to the minimum training periods laid down in Articles 4 and 5 of Directive No. 75/363/EEC. In the case of nationals of the Member States whose diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in specialised medicine, awarded by a Member State before 19 December 1976, do not conform with the qualifications or designations set out in Articles 5 and 7 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC, the Council shall recognise the diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications awarded by those Member States, together with a certificate of equivalence signed by the competent authorities or bodies, as sufficient proof.

12. In the case of the provision of services in the State pursuant to Article 16 of Directive No. 75/362/EEC by a national of a Member State who, while not established in medical practice in the State, is so established in another Member State and possesses a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualification in medicine referred to in Article 2 of that Directive, the following provisions shall apply—

( a ) the person concerned—

(i) shall be exempt from the requirement to be registered in the Register of Medical Practitioners established under section 21 of the Medical Practitioners Act 1927 as a condition for the carrying out of functions restricted to registered medical practitioners by that Act, and

(ii) shall, for the purposes of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1934 , (No. 1 of 1934) and any Regulations made thereunder, the Midwives Act, 1944 , (No. 10 of 1944) and the Opticians Act, 1956 , (No. 17 of 1956), be regarded as a registered medical practitioner;

( b ) the Council shall require the person concerned to make a prior declaration to the Council in the form to be determined by the Council, concerning the provision of his services where they involve a temporary stay in the State; in urgent cases this declaration may be made as soon as possible after the services have been provided;

( c ) the Council shall require the person concerned to supply to it one or more documents, which shall have been issued within the previous twelve months, containing the following particulars:

(i) the declaration referred to at (b);

(ii) a certificate stating that the person concerned is lawfully pursuing the activities in question in the Member State where he is established, and

(iii) a certificate that the person concerned holds one or other of the diplomas, certificates or other evidence of formal qualifications appropriate for the provision of the services in question and referred to in that Directive;

( d ) where the Council deprives a national of the State or a national of another Member State established in the State of the right to pursue an activity referred to in Article 1 of the Directive, the Council shall ensure the withdrawal of any certificate of the kind referred to at (ii) of paragraph (c) issued by it in respect of that national.

13. The Council may require of the competent authorities of another Member State confirmation of the authenticity of the diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications issued in that other Member State and referred to in Chapters II to V of Directive No. 75/362/EEC, and also confirmation of the fact that the person concerned has fulfilled all the training requirements laid down in Directive No. 75/362/EEC.

14. The Council may charge such fees as it shall determine from time to time, with the approval of the Minister for Health, for services rendered in its capacity as the designated competent authority or body under Article 7 of these Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Health this 8th

day of December, 1976.

BRENDAN CORISH,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

Two Directives relating to the medical profession were adopted by the Council of the European Communities on 16 June 1975. The Directives require Member States to bring into force measures necessary to comply with their provisions within eighteen months of their notification to each Member State, i.e. by 19 December 1976. This is the purpose of the Regulations.

The first Directive (No. 75/362/EEC) concerns the mutual recognition of medical qualifications awarded in the Member States to nationals of the Member States and includes measures to facilitate the exercise ofthe right of persons holding such qualifications to establish themselves and to provide services anywhere in the Community.

The second Directive (No. 75/363/EEC) is concerned with setting and maintaining specified minimum standards of medical training.

Articles 1 to 4 of the Regulations deal with definitions and other technical matters.

Article 5 adapts the provisions of section 25 of the Medical Practitioners Act 1927 so as to give effect to the requirements of Article 2 of the first Directive which obliges the State to recognise the primary medical qualifications awarded by other Member States to nationals of Member States.

Article 6 designates the bodies to be the examining bodies responsible in respect of basic medical qualifications and the associated standards of training.

Articles 7 and 8 designate the Medical Registration Council to be the competent authority or body in the State for the purposes of the functions listed in that Article.

Article 9 designates the Council to be the competent body to issue certificates in specialised medicine and to be responsible for seeing that the minimum standards specified in the Directives have been complied with.

Article 11 provides for transitional obligations in respect of certain qualifications awarded in Member States prior to the coming into operation of the Directives.

Article 12 deals with the requirements applicable where a doctor who is established in practice in a Member State goes to another Member State to provide a service; it is essentially a practical issue only in certain border areas on the European mainland but provision must be made in case it should happen here.

Article 13 provides a means for the resolution of doubts about qualifications.