S.I. No. 215/1988 - Blood Tests (Parentage) Regulations, 1988.

S.I. No. 215 of 1988.

BLOOD TESTS (PARENTAGE) REGULATIONS, 1988.

I, GERARD COLLINS, Minister for Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 41 of the Status of Children Act, 1987 (No. 26 of 1987), hereby make the following Regulations:

1 Preliminary

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Blood Tests (Parentage) Regulations, 1988.

2 ..

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 5th day of September, 1988.

3 ..

3. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

"the Act" means the Status of Children Act, 1987 (No. 26 of 1987);

"court" means a court which gives a direction for the use of blood tests in pursuance of section 38 (1) of the Act;

"direction" means a direction for the use of blood tests given under section 38 (1) of the Act;

"direction form" means Form 1 in the Schedule to these Regulations;

"photograph", in relation to a subject, means a recent photograph, taken of the full face of the subject without a hat, of the size required for insertion in a passport;

"proper officer of the court" means—

( a ) in relation to the District Court, the District Court Clerk for the District Court area in which that Court gave the direction,

( b ) in relation to the Circuit Court, the County Registrar for the county in which that Court gave the direction, and

( c ) in relation to the High Court, a registrar of that Court;

"report form" means Form 2 in the Schedule to these Regulations;

"sample" means blood taken for the purpose of tests;

"sampler" means a registered medical practitioner or a tester named in a direction form (whether originally or by another sampler) as the person to take blood samples for the purposes of the relevant direction;

"subject" means a person from whom a court directs that blood samples shall be taken;

"tester" means the person under whose control the parties to the proceedings concerned have agreed, or the court concerned has directed, that the tests concerned are to be carried out;

"tests" means any blood tests carried out under Part VII of the Act.

4 Person who cannot give consent to be accompanied

4. A subject to whom section 39 (3) of the Act applies and who attends a sampler for the purpose of the taking of a sample shall be accompanied by a person of full age who shall identify the subject to the sampler.

5 Taking of samples

5. (1) A sampler shall not take a sample from a subject if—

( a ) he has reason to believe that the subject has been transfused with blood within the period of 3 months immediately preceding the day on which the sample is to be taken,

( b ) in his opinion, tests on a sample taken from the subject on the day on which the sample is to be taken could not effectively be carried out for the purposes of and in accordance with the direction, or

( c ) in his opinion, the taking of a sample might have an adverse effect on the health of the subject.

(2) A sampler may take a sample from a subject who has been injected with a blood product or blood plasma if, in his opinion, the value of any tests done on the sample would not be thereby affected, but shall, if he is not the tester, inform the tester that the subject was so injected.

(3) Where arrangements are made for the taking of a sample and the sample is not taken, the sampler shall, unless other arrangements for the taking of the sample have been made, state in Part VIII of the direction form the reason for not having taken the sample and any reason given by the subject, or the person having charge of or control over the subject, for any failure to attend the sampler in accordance with those arrangements and shall return the form as soon as may be to the court.

(4) A subject attending a sampler for the purpose of the taking of a sample may be accompanied by his legal representative.

6 ..

6. (1) A sampler shall not take a sample unless—

( a ) Parts I and II of a direction form relating to the subject concerned have been completed, the said Part I purports to be signed by the proper officer of the court or by some officer acting on his behalf and, where appropriate, the said Part II purports to be signed by the sampler,

( b ) if the subject has attained the age of 12 months on or before the date on which the direction concerned was given, either a photograph of the subject is securely attached to Part III of the direction form or, accompanying the direction form, there is a certificate from a registered medical practitioner stating that the subject is suffering from a mental disorder and that a photograph of him cannot or should not be taken,

( c ) the sampler has completed and signed Part IV of the direction form,

( d ) the declaration in Section A or B, as may be appropriate, of Part V of the direction form and the declaration in Section C of the said Part V have been completed and signed by the subject or (if the subject is a person to whom section 39 (3) of the Act applies) by the person accompanying him in accordance with Regulation 4 of these Regulations and the signing of the said Section C has been done in the presence of the sampler and the sampler has also signed it,

( e ) in case the subject is of full age and is, in the opinion of the court, incapable of understanding the nature and purpose of blood tests, the sampler is in possession of a certificate from a registered medical practitioner stating that the taking of a blood sample from the subject will not be prejudicial to his proper care and treatment, and

( f ) either—

(i) the consent in Part VI of the direction form has been signed by the subject in the presence of the sampler and the sampler has also signed it, or

(ii) if the subject is a person to whom section 39 (3) of the Act applies—

(I) the consent in the said Part VI has been signed by the person having charge of or control over the subject in the presence of the sampler and the sampler has also signed it or

(II) if the subject is not accompanied by the person having charge of or control over him, when attending the sampler, the sampler is in possession of a document, purporting to be signed by that other person, stating that he consents to the sample being taken.

(2) A document referred to in paragraph (1) (f) (ii) (II) of this Regulation shall be affixed to the direction form concerned.

(3) Where a person whose consent to the taking of a sample is provided for by the Act does not give that consent, he may record in the said Part VI his reasons for withholding that consent.

(4) When a sampler has taken a sample, he shall place it in a suitable container and shall affix to the container a label on which are stated the full name and the age and sex of the subject from whom the sample was taken and the date on which the sample was taken; and the label shall be signed by the sampler and the subject or, if the subject is a person to whom section 39 (3) of the Act applies, by the person accompanying the subject when attending the sampler.

(5) A sampler who has taken a sample shall state in Part VII of the relevant direction form the fact that he has done so and the date of so doing and the name and age of, and the means by which he identified, the subject concerned and he shall sign the statement.

7 Dispatch of samples to tester

7. (1) When a sampler has taken a sample, he shall, if he is not himself the tester, forthwith send to the tester by such means as he considers appropriate (other than delivery by the subject or a person who has accompanied the subject when attending the sampler), the relevant direction form and the sample in its container.

(2) When more than one subject is specified in a direction form and the tester concerned takes samples from one or more but not all of the subjects so specified, he shall inform the tester concerned if he intends to take samples from any of the other subjects so specified and, if so, from whom and when.

8 Nomination of substitute sampler

8. Where a sampler who has been requested in a direction form, or nominated under this Regulation, to take a sample is unable to do so—

( a ) he may nominate another registered medical practitioner or the tester concerned to take the sample,

( b ) he shall state in Part II of the direction form that he is unable to take the sample and the name of the person nominated by him to do so and shall sign the statement, and

( c ) the person so nominated shall take the sample.

9 Testing of samples

9. All the samples taken for the purpose of giving effect to a direction shall (so far as is practicable) be tested by the same tester.

10 Report by tester

10. On the completion of tests pursuant to a direction, the tester concerned shall complete and forward to the court a report form and shall also forward to the court the appropriate direction forms.

11 Procedure where tests not made

11. If at any time it appears to a tester that he will be unable to carry out tests in accordance with a direction, he shall inform the court in writing of that fact and the reasons therefor and shall return the direction forms in his possession to the court.

Regulations 3, 6 and 10

SCHEDULE

FORM 1

Direction Form

STATUS OF CHILDREN ACT, 1987

............................................................ ............................................................ ......................................
v.
............................................................ ............................................................ .......................................

	Reference number of direction	............................................................ ....

	Full name and date of birth of subject (i.e. ............................................................ .....
	person to be tested to ............................................................ ........................................
	whom this form relates) ............................................................ .....................................
	............................................................ ............................................................ ...................

Insert title of proceedings.

PART I

NOTIFICATION OF DIRECTION

The ............................................................ ........................................................... (name and address of
court) on .................................................... day of ............................................................ ........ 19
directed that blood tests be carried out in respect of the persons whose names are set out below for the purpose of ascertaining the parentage of ............................................................ ................. (name of person whose parentage is in dispute) and that for that purpose blood samples be taken from the persons named below on or before the date specified in Part II of this form.
The name of the person whose consent is required to the taking of a sample where from ............ ............................ (the subject) who is/not of full age and, in the opinion of the court, is not in the circumstances capable of giving or refusing the necessary consent/of full age and, in the opinion of the court, is incapable of understanding the nature and purpose of blood tests, is ..................................................
	............................................................ .................... (Signed)
	(Proper Officer of the Court)
Name	Address	Age
.....................................................	.....................................................	.....................................................
.....................................................	.....................................................	.....................................................
.....................................................	.....................................................	.....................................................
.....................................................	.....................................................	.....................................................
.....................................................	.....................................................	.....................................................

This paragraph to be deleted where inappropriate.

*Delete as appropriate.

PART II

REQUEST TO SAMPLER TO TAKE SAMPLE

To ............................................................ ............................................................ ..............................................
............................................................ ..................................................... (name and address of sampler).
You are hereby requested to take a blood sample from
............................................................ ............................................................ ............ (the subject) on or
before the .............................................. day of ............................................................ ............. 19 .
You are further requested to send the sample taken to ............................................................ ......... (name and address of tester).
Other samples will be taken as follows:—
Name of person from whom sample will be taken		Name, address and telephone number of sampler
............................................................ ..................		............................................................ ..........................
............................................................ ..................		............................................................ ..........................
		............................................................ ...(Signed)
		(Proper Officer of the Court)
Being unable to comply with the request above, I have arranged for the taking of a blood sample form the said ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................
by ............................................................ ............................................................ ..............................................
of ............................................................ ............................................................ ...............................................
(telephone number ............................................................ .. ), being a registered medical practitioner/the tester
	.........................................................(Signed)
	(Sampler)

Delete if sampler is also tester.

To be completed where all the samples from the parties named in Part I are not to be taken by the same sampler.

To be completed where the sampler to whom the request is addressed is unable to take the sample.

PART III

PHOTOGRAPH

Below is a photograph of ............................................................ .............................................. (the subject) being a person who has attained the age of twelve months.

PART IV

(To be completed by sampler)

I have questioned *............................................................ ................................................. and it appears that
he/she/ ............................................................ ............................................................ ................... (the subject)
has/has not been tranfused with blood in the last three months; has not been injected with a blood product or plasma substitute has been injected with a blood product/blood plasma on or about ............................................................ ....... and that the value of any tests will/will not† be affected thereby.
	............................................................ ........................................(Signed)
	(Sampler)
*Insert name of subject or, where the consent of another is required, of person acompaning the subject.
†Delete as appropriate.

PART V

DECLARATION


Section A.
(To be completed by the subject where the consent of another is not required)
I ............................................................ ............................................................ ................. (insert full name and address of subject) declare that the photograph affixed to Part III of this form is a photograph of me and that I am a person in respect of whom the above-named court gave a direction that blood tests be made.

Section B.
(To be completed by the person accompanying the subject where the consent of another is required)

I ............................................................ ............................................................ .......... (full name and address of person accompanying the subject) declare that the person whom I identify
to ............................................................ ............................................................ ................................................
(insert name of sampler) [*and whose photograph is affixed to Part III of this form] is, to the best of my knowledge and belief ............................................................ ......... (insert full name and address of subject) who is a person in respect of whom the above named court gave a direction that blood tests be made.

Section C.
I understand that it is a serious offence punishable by imprisonment to personate another person for the purpose of providing a blood sample or to proffer another for that purpose.
Date .................................	............................................................ ................................................. (Signed)
	(Subject/Person accompanying subject, where consent of another required)
The above was explained to the declarant who stated that he/she understood it and signed it in my presence.
Date .................................	............................................................ .................................(Signed)
(Sampler)

Complete either Section A or B of this part, as appropriate.

*Delete as appropriate.

Section C applies in all cases.

PART VI

CONSENT/REFUSAL OF CONSENT

I being the person [having charge of and control over the subject] to whom this form relates, consent/do not consent to the taking of a sample.
†I do not consent because ............................................................ ............................................................ ..........
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
Date .................................	............................................................ .....................................(Signed)
	(Subject/Person having charge of and control over the subject)
The above was explained to the declarant who stated that he/she understood it and signed it in my presence.
Date..................................	............................................................ ......................................(Signed)
		(Sampler)

*Delete as appropriate.

†To be completed where the person making the declaration withholds consent and wishes to record the reason for so doing.

PART VII

(To be completed by sampler)

I have today taken a blood sample from ............................................................ ........................................
(the subject) whose [apparent] age is ......................................... years. [I identified him/her from the photograph affixed to this form.]
[He/She was [also] identified to me by ............................................................ .........................................]
Date .................................................	............................................................ ..... (Signed)
	(Sampler)

OBSERVATIONS
(Any observations by the sampler which may assist the tester shall be inserted here)
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................

Delete as appropriate.

PART VIII

(To be completed by sampler)

The subject did not attend for the taking of a blood sample on the date arranged originally [or arranged subsequently by me].
Date ..............................................	............................................................ .................. (Signed)
	(Sampler)

Delete if inappropriate.

To be completed by sampler where subject has not attended for sampling on or before date specified in Part II.

PART IX

(To be completed by tester)
I have today received at ............................................................ ............................................................ ..............
(insert place of receipt) the sample referred to in Part VII of this form.
Date ............................................................ ......	............................................................ . (Signed)
	(Tester)

FORM 2

Report Form

STATUS OF CHILDREN ACT, 1987

Reference number of Proceedings ............................................................ ..................................................

To:— ............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................

............................................................ ............................................................ .........................................

............................................................ ............................................................ ...............................

Insert name of proper officer of court and address of court.

Insert title of proceedings.

PART I

I............................................................ ............................................................ ................................................
being a blood tester under whose control the parties to the parties to the above proceedings agreed, or the above court directed, that blood tests should be carried out under Part VII of the Status of Children Act, 1987 , certify that I have carried out/have had carried out under my supervision tests (the details of which are given in Part II of this Report) of blood samples taken from the persons named in the direction given by the Court, viz.:
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
From the results obtained, ............................................................ ............................................................ .
is excluded/is not excluded from possible parentage of ............................................................ ............
Reasons for conclusion:—. ............................................................ ......................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
Comments on value, if any, of tests in determining whether any person is the parent of the person whose parentage is in dispute:
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
............................................................ ............................................................ ..................................................
	............................................................ ..... Signed
	(Tester)
	............................................................ .....Status
	............................................................ .. Address
	............................................................ ..

PART II

Report of the tests

............................................................ ............................................................ ....................................................

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 29th day of August, 1988.

GERARD COLLINS,

Minister for Justice.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations, which take effect from 5 September 1988, set out the procedure to be followed and the forms to be used where a court gives a direction under Part VII of the Status of Children Act, 1987 , for the use of blood tests in determining parentage in civil proceedings.