Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005

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Council's power to make rules.

22.—(1) The Council may, subject to subsections (3) to (5), make rules providing for—

(a) the establishment, membership, functions and procedures of committees of the Council or a registration board,

(b) the form and manner in which registration boards are to maintain registers,

(c) the details relating to registrants that, in addition to their names, are to be entered in registers,

(d) the division of registers into specified divisions for different categories of registrants,

(e) the manner in which fees are to be paid and the time limits for payment of annual fees for retention of registration,

(f) the receiving and recording of evidence by committees established under Part 6 ,

(g) the receiving of submissions by committees established under Part 6 , and

(h) any other matter relating to the Council's functions under this Act.

(2) Rules under subsection (1)(f) and (g) may, among other things, specify—

(a) the form in which and the means by which evidence or submissions may be received by committees established under Part 6, and

(b) the conditions subject to which evidence or submissions may be received by those committees by means of a live-video link, a video recording, a sound recording or any other mode of transmission.

(3) The Council shall ensure that—

(a) a draft of any rule that it proposes to make is published in such manner as the Council may determine, and

(b) with the draft is published an invitation to members of the public, any organisation and any other body to comment on the draft before a date specified by the Council in the invitation.

(4) After considering any comments received before the date specified in the invitation, the Council may—

(a) make the rule in the form of the draft as published or with such changes as the Council may determine, or

(b) decide not to make the rule.

(5) Subsections (3) and (4) apply also in relation to a proposed amendment or revocation of a rule.

(6) The Council shall ensure that as soon as practicable after a rule is made it—

(a) is published in such manner as the Council may determine, and

(b) is submitted to the Minister for laying before each House of the Oireachtas.

(7) Instead of exercising the power to make rules providing for the establishment, membership, functions and procedures of committees of a registration board, the Council may, by rule and subject to any limits or conditions it considers appropriate, authorise the board to make bye-laws providing for any or all of those matters.

(8) Subsections (4) to (6) of section 95 apply with the necessary modifications to rules submitted to the Minister in accordance with this section as if they were regulations made by the Minister.