Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

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paragraphs: —(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—
“the Act of 1964” means the Health (Homes for Incapacitated Persons) Act, 1964 ;
“dependent person” means a person who requires assistance with the activities of daily living such as dressing, eating, walking, washing and bathing by reason of—
(a) physical infirmity or a physical injury, defect or disease, or
(b) mental infirmity,
and “dependency” shall be construed accordingly;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;
“register” means a register of nursing homes established under section 4 and, in relation to a particular health board, means the register so established by that board and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;
“registered proprietor”, in relation to a registered nursing home, means the person whose name is entered in the register concerned as the person carrying on the home;
“the regulations” means the regulations under section 6 , and the regulations referred to in subsection (6) of that section, for the time being in force.
(2) In this Act—
(a) a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act,
(b) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,
(c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
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paragraphs: —(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, “nursing home”, subject to subsection (2), means an institution for the care and maintenance of more than two dependent persons excluding—
(a) an institution managed by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government or a health board,
(b) an institution in which a majority of the persons being maintained are being treated for acute illnesses,
(c) a maternity home carried on by a person who is registered under the Registration of Maternity Homes Act, 1934 ,
(d) a mental institution within the meaning of the Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1966,
(e) an institution for the care and maintenance of mentally handicapped persons operated otherwise than for profit and to which grants are paid by the Minister or a health board,
(f) premises in which children are maintained in pursuance of an arrangement with a health board,
(g) an institution operated otherwise than for profit—
(i) that is for the care and maintenance of physically handicapped persons a majority of whom do not receive whole-time nursing care in the institution,
(ii) in the management of which representatives of the Minister or a health board and representatives of the persons being maintained in the institution participate with other persons,
(iii) to which grants are paid by the Minister or a health board, and
(iv) to which paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 333 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1967, apply, and
(h) premises in which a majority of the persons being maintained are members of a religious order or priests of any religion (other than premises in relation to which a payment has been made under section 7 ), but maintenance by a person of his spouse or of a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, grandchild, brother, step-brother, sister, step-sister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew of the person or of his spouse shall, for the purposes of this definition, be disregarded.
(2) If the Minister becomes of opinion that this Act ought to apply to a class of institution for the care and maintenance of persons that it does not apply to, he may by regulations amend the definition of “nursing home” accordingly and that definition shall have effect in accordance with any regulations for the time being in force under this subsection.
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paragraphs: —(1) A person shall not carry on a nursing home unless the home is registered and the person is the registered proprietor thereof.
(2) A person shall not be in charge of a nursing home unless the home is registered.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply during the period of one year beginning on the commencement of this Act to a person who is carrying on or in charge of a nursing home in any premises if, immediately before such commencement, a nursing home was being carried on in those premises.
(4) A person shall not, whether by advertisement or otherwise, hold out a nursing home as being registered unless it is registered.
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paragraphs: —(1) Each health board shall establish and maintain a register of nursing homes in its functional area (referred to subsequently in this Act as “a register”).
(2) (a) There shall be entered in a register in respect of each nursing home registered therein the name of the person by whom it is carried on, the name of the person who is in charge of it, the address of the premises in which it is carried on, a statement of the number of patients who can be accommodated in the home, the date on which the registration is to take effect (referred to subsequently in this section as “the date of registration”) and such other (if any) particulars as may be prescribed.
(b) A register maintained under this section shall be made available for inspection free of charge by members of the public at all reasonable times.
(3) (a) A health board may, on application to it in that behalf by a person who proposes to carry on a nursing home in its functional area, register or refuse to register the home.
(b) Subject to the provisions of this section, the period of a registration shall be 3 years from the date of registration.
(c) Where a health board registers a nursing home, it shall issue to the registered proprietor thereof a certificate of registration in the prescribed form.
(4) (a) A person who proposes to carry on a nursing home may, before making an application under subsection (3) for the registration of the home, apply to the health board in whose functional area the home will be situated for a declaration by it that he is a suitable person to carry on a nursing home and, if he does so and pays the prescribed fee to the board, the board shall, unless the person has been convicted of an offence under this Act or the Act of 1964 or of any other offence that is such as to render the person unfit to carry on a nursing home, give to the person a statement by it in writing declaring that he is a suitable person to carry on a nursing home.
(b) An application to a health board for registration made by a person to whom a declaration under paragraph (a) has been given by the board shall not be refused for a reason specified in subparagraph (ii) of subsection (6) (b) and relating to the person unless the person has been convicted of an offence specified in the said subparagraph after the making of the application for the declaration and the board was not aware of the conviction when it gave the declaration.
(c) A health board may refuse to give a declaration under paragraph (a) to a person who fails or refuses to furnish the board with information requested by it pursuant to subsection (10) in relation to the application for the declaration and may refuse to give a declaration, or may revoke a declaration given, to a person who, in relation to the application, has furnished the board with information that is false or misleading in a material particular.
(5) A health board may remove a nursing home from the register.
(6) A health board shall not—
(a) refuse to register a nursing home in relation to which an application for its registration has been duly made, or
(b) remove a nursing home from the register,
unless—
(i) it is of opinion that—
(I) the premises to which the application or, as the case may be, the registration relates do not comply with the regulations, or
(II) the carrying on of the home will not be or is not in compliance with the regulations,
(ii) the applicant or the registered proprietor, as the case may be, or the person in charge or, as the case may be, proposed to be in charge of the home has been convicted of an offence under this Act or the Act of 1964 or of any other offence that is such as to render the person unfit to carry on or, as the case may be, to be in charge of the home, or
(iii) the applicant or the registered proprietor, as the case may be, has failed or refused to furnish the board with information requested by it pursuant to subsection (10) or has furnished the board with information that is false or misleading in a material particular, or
(iv) the registered proprietor has, not more than one year before the date from which the registration or removal from the register would take effect, contravened a condition under subsection (8).
(7) (a) A health board may refrain from registering a nursing home in relation to which an application for its registration has been duly made until the prescribed fee in respect of the application has been paid to the board.
(b) A health board may refrain from giving a declaration under subsection (4) until the prescribed fee in respect of the application has been paid to the board.
(8) (a) A health board may—
(i) at the time of registration or subsequently attach to the registration conditions in relation to the carrying on of the nursing home concerned and such other matters as it considers appropriate having regard to its functions under this Act,
(ii) attach different conditions to the registration of different nursing homes, and
(iii) amend or revoke a condition of registration.
(b) Conditions imposed under this subsection or amendments and revocations under this subsection shall be stated in the certificate of registration concerned or notified in writing to the registered proprietor of the nursing home concerned.
(9) An application for registration or for a declaration under subsection (4) shall be in the prescribed form or in a form to the like effect and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(10) (a) A health board may request an applicant for registration or, as the case may be, a registered proprietor or an applicant for a declaration under subsection (4) to furnish it with such information as it considers necessary for the purposes of its functions under this Act.
(b) A person who, whether in pursuance of a request or otherwise, furnishes information to a health board for the purposes of this Act that is false or misleading in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence unless he shows that, at the time the information was furnished to the board he was not aware that it was false or misleading in a material particular.
(11) The registered proprietor of a nursing home who proposes to carry on the home immediately after the expiration of the period of registration of the home may apply under subsection (3) to the health board concerned not less than 2 months before such expiration for the registration of the home and, if the board does not notify him before such expiration that it proposes to refuse to register the home, it shall register the home and its date of registration shall be the day following the day of such expiration.
(12) (a) Where a registered nursing home commences to be carried on by a person other than the registered proprietor—
(i) the home shall thereupon cease to be registered,
(ii) the person shall (if he has not done so before such commencement) apply not later than 4 weeks after it, to the health board concerned for the registration of the home, and, if the application is granted, the date of registration of the home shall be that of the day following the day of the cesser aforesaid,
(iii) if the application aforesaid is duly made, and is not refused then, during the period from the commencement aforesaid until the home is registered it shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 3 , to be registered and there shall be deemed to be attached to the registration any conditions attached to the previous registration.
(b) A person who contravenes paragraph (a) (ii) shall be guilty of an offence.
(13) (a) Where a health board proposes to refuse to register a nursing home, to refuse to give a declaration under subsection (4), to revoke such a declaration, to remove a nursing home from the register, to attach a condition to, or amend or revoke a condition attached to, a registration, it shall notify in writing the applicant or the registered proprietor, as the case may be, of its proposal and of the reasons for it.
(b) A person who has been notified of a proposal under paragraph (a) may, within 21 days of the receipt of the notification, make representations in writing to the health board, concerned and the board shall—
(i) before deciding the matter, take into consideration any representations duly made to it under this paragraph in relation to the proposal, and
(ii) notify the person in writing of its decision and of the reasons for it.
(14) A notification of a proposal of a health board under subsection (13) shall include a statement that the person concerned may make representations to the board within 21 days of the receipt by him of the notification and a notification of a decision of a health board under subsection (13) shall include a statement that the person concerned may appeal to the District Court under section 5 against the decision within 21 days from the receipt by him of the notification.
(15) Where, in relation to a nursing home, there is a contravention of a condition of registration, the registered proprietor and the person in charge of the home shall be guilty of an offence.
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paragraphs: —(1) A person, being the registered proprietor or, as the case may be, the person intending to be the registered proprietor, of a nursing home, may appeal to the District Court against a decision of a health board to refuse to register the home, to refuse to give, or to revoke, a declaration under section 4 (4), to remove the home from the register or to attach a condition, or to amend or revoke a condition attached, to the registration of the home and such an appeal shall be brought within 21 days of the receipt by the person of the notification of the decision under section 4 and that court may, as it thinks proper, confirm the decision or direct the health board, as may be appropriate, to register, or to restore the registration of, the home, to give, or to withdraw the revocation of, a declaration under section 4 (4), to withdraw the condition or the amendment to or revocation of a condition, to attach a specified condition to the registration or to make a specified amendment to a condition of the registration.
(2) The jurisdiction conferred on the District Court by this section shall be exercised by the justice of the District Court for the time being assigned to the District Court district in which the nursing home concerned is situated.
(3) A decision of the District Court under this section on a question of fact shall be final.
(4) Where a notification of a decision specified in subsection (1) (other than a decision to refuse to register a nursing home which was not registered or deemed to be registered at the time of the relevant application for registration) is given under section 4 , then—
(a) during such period from such notification (not being less than 21 days) as the health board concerned considers reasonable and specifies in the notification, the nursing home shall be treated as if the decision had not been made and, if the decision was to refuse an application under paragraph (a) of section 4 (12) for registration, be treated as if it had been registered and the registration had attached to it any conditions attached to the relevant registration that had ceased by virtue of subparagraph (i) of the said paragraph (a), and
(b) if an appeal against the decision is brought under this section, during—
(i) the period from the end of the period aforesaid until the determination or withdrawal of the appeal or any appeal therefrom or from any such appeal, and
(ii) such further period (if any) as the Court concerned considers reasonable and specifies in its decision,
the nursing home shall—
(I) be treated for the purposes of section 3 as if the appeal had been upheld, and
(II) if the appeal was against a decision of the health board to refuse an application under paragraph (a) of section 4 (12) for registration, be treated as if the registration had attached to it any conditions attached to the relevant registration that had ceased by virtue of subparagraph (i) of the said paragraph (a).
(5) The health board concerned shall be given notice of an appeal under this section and shall be entitled to appear, be heard and adduce evidence on the hearing of the appeal.
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paragraphs: —(1) The Minister shall, for the purpose of ensuring proper standards in relation to nursing homes, including adequate and suitable accommodation, food and care for dependent persons while being maintained in nursing homes, and the proper conduct of nursing homes, make such regulations as he thinks appropriate in relation to nursing homes.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may—
(a) prescribe requirements as to the maintenance, care, welfare and well-being of dependent persons while being maintained in nursing homes,
(b) prescribe requirements as to the numbers, qualifications and availability of members of the staffs (including the medical staffs) of nursing homes,
(c) prescribe requirements as to the design, maintenance, repair, cleaning and cleanliness, ventilation, heating and lighting of nursing homes,
(d) prescribe requirements as to the accommodation (including the amount of space in bedrooms and wards, the washing facilities and the sanitary conveniences) provided in nursing homes,
(e) prescribe requirements as to the food provided for dependent persons while being maintained in nursing homes,
(f) prescribe requirements as to the description of nursing homes in written communications by or on behalf of the registered proprietors or the persons in charge of the homes and the display in nursing homes of specified notices,
(g) prescribe requirements as to the records to be kept in nursing homes and for the examination and copying of any such records or of extracts therefrom by officers of health boards,
(h) provide for the effecting by the registered proprietors of nursing homes of contracts of insurance against injury to dependent persons being maintained in the homes while in the homes,
(i) provide for the holding and conduct of—
(i) interviews (including interviews in private) and examinations of dependent persons while being maintained in nursing homes, and
(ii) interviews (including interviews in private) of persons employed in nursing homes,
where the health board concerned has reasonable cause to believe that such dependent persons are not receiving proper maintenance or care or medical or other treatment,
(j) provide for the inspection of premises in which nursing homes are being carried on or are proposed to be carried on or that are reasonably believed by a health board to be premises in which a nursing home is being carried on and otherwise for the enforcement and execution of the regulations by the appropriate health boards and their officers,
(k) authorise the provision by the appropriate health boards of training for members of the staffs of nursing homes upon such terms and conditions and to such extent as the health boards may determine,
(l) require the provision by the registered owners of nursing homes or, at the option of such owners, by the health boards concerned of specified health services for dependent persons while being maintained in nursing homes,
(m) provide—
(i) for the consideration and investigation by the health board concerned of a complaint made to it in writing by or on behalf of a dependent person being maintained in a nursing home in relation to any matter concerning the home or the maintenance, care, welfare or well-being of the person while being so maintained or any specified related matter, and
(ii) in case a complaint under subparagraph (i) is upheld by a health board, for the issue by the board to the registered proprietor of the nursing home concerned, if the board considers it appropriate to do so, of a direction requiring the taking by such proprietor of specified action in relation to the matter complained of,
(n) authorise the provision by or on behalf of the appropriate health boards to nursing homes of such services (being services of a kind provided by or on behalf of health boards for the purposes of their functions), upon such terms and conditions and to such extent as the health boards may determine, and
(o) require the provision of specified information to interested persons by the registered owners or the persons in charge of nursing homes in relation to the homes and the accommodation, services and facilities provided for registered persons while being maintained therein.
(3) (a) Where, in relation to a nursing home, there is a contravention of a provision of the regulations the registered proprietor and the person in charge of the home shall be guilty of an offence.
(b) A person who fails or refuses to comply with a requirement of a direction under the regulations shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) (a) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the Circuit Court may, on the application of the health board concerned, brought not more than six months after the conviction or, in the case of an appeal against the conviction, the final determination of it or of any further appeal (if it is a determination affirming the conviction) or the withdrawal of any such appeal therefrom, by order declare that the person shall be disqualified during such period as may be specified in the order for carrying on, being in charge, or concerned with the management, of the nursing home to which the conviction related or, at the discretion of that Court, any nursing home.
(b) A person in respect of whom an order is made under this subsection shall not during the period specified in the order carry on, be in charge, or concerned with the management, of the nursing home specified in the order or, if the order so specifies, of any nursing home.
(c) A person who contravenes paragraph (b) shall be guilty of an offence.
(d) Notice of an application under this subsection shall be given to the person convicted of the offence concerned and he shall be entitled to appear, be heard and adduce evidence on the hearing of the application.
(e) The jurisdiction conferred on the Circuit Court by this subsection shall be exercised by the judge of the Circuit Court for the time being assigned to the circuit in which the premises concerned are situated.
(5) A person who wilfully obstructs or interferes with a health board or an officer of a health board in the performance of functions under the regulations or who fails or refuses to comply with a requirement of a health board or an officer of a health board under such regulations shall be guilty of an offence.
(6) Regulations under section 2 of the Health (Homes for Incapacitated Persons) Act, 1964 , in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall continue in force after such commencement, and may be amended or revoked, as if made under this section.
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paragraphs: —(1) (a) Where, following an assessment by a health board of the dependency of a dependent person and of his means and circumstances, the health board is of opinion that the person is in need of maintenance in a nursing home and is unable to pay any or part of its costs, it may, if the person enters or is in a nursing home, and subject to compliance by the home with any requirements made by the board for the purpose of its functions under this section, pay to the home such amount in respect of such maintenance as it considers appropriate having regard to the degree of the dependency and to the means and circumstances of the person.
(b) In paragraph (a) “nursing home” includes an institution referred to in section 2 (1) (h)
(2) The Minister may by regulations prescribe the amounts that may be paid by health boards under this section and such amounts may be specified by reference to specified degrees of dependency, specified means or circumstances of dependent persons or such other matters as the Minister considers appropriate.
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paragraphs: —(1) (a) A person who applies to a health board for registration or for a declaration under section 4 (4) shall pay to the board in respect of the application a fee of such amount as may stand prescribed for the time being and different fees may be prescribed in respect of applications for registration and applications for such a declaration as aforesaid.
(b) If a health board refuses an application referred to in paragraph (a), it shall not repay the fee concerned to the person who made the application.
(2) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees paid under this Act.
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paragraphs: —(1) (a) Where a health board is of opinion that, in relation to a nursing home in its functional area, there is a failure to comply with the regulations, it may, with the consent of the registered proprietor of the home or in pursuance of an order of the District Court under subsection (2), take charge of and manage the home and may, for that purpose appoint a person to take charge of and manage the home on its behalf during such period as the health board or the District Court, as may be appropriate, may determine.
(b) A person appointed under paragraph (a) shall have all such powers as are reasonably required for the purposes of his functions under that paragraph.
(c) The registered proprietor of a nursing home and any person in charge of or managing it shall not be in charge of or take part in the management of the home during a period in which a health board or a person appointed by it, is in charge of and managing the home under this section.
(d) The amount paid by a health board to a person appointed by it under paragraph (a) in respect of the salary of the person payable by the board under the terms of the appointment may, if the board so thinks fit, be recovered by the board from the registered proprietor of the nursing home concerned as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) (a) Where, on application to it in that behalf by a health board, the District Court is satisfied that, in relation to a nursing home in the functional area of the board, there is a failure to comply with the regulations, that Court may make an order (in this subsection referred to subsequently as “a management order”) authorising the health board to take charge of and manage the home, and, for that purpose, to appoint such person as the board may determine to manage and take charge of the home on its behalf, during such period, not exceeding three months, as may be specified in the order.
(b) An application under paragraph (a) may be made either on notice to the registered proprietor of the nursing home concerned or ex parte, but the period specified in a management order made pursuant to an application made ex parte shall not exceed two weeks.
(c) A management order may be made from time to time in respect of a particular nursing home.
(d) The jurisdiction conferred on the District Court by this subsection shall be exercised by the justice of the District Court for the time being assigned to the District Court district in which the nursing home concerned is situated.
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paragraphs: —(1) A health board may in accordance with regulations under this section make and carry out an arrangement for the boarding out in a private dwelling, whether situated within or outside the functional area of the board, of a person to whom this section applies and the arrangement may provide for the payment of all or part of the costs of the boarding out by the board.
(2) (a) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section and the regulations may, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, provide for—
(i) the inspection of dwellings used or proposed to be used for boarding out persons under this section, and otherwise for the enforcement and execution of the regulations, by the health boards concerned and their officers,
(ii) the supervision by the health boards concerned and their officers of the maintenance, care and welfare of persons boarded out under this section,
(iii) the making of payments, and the amounts thereof, by health boards to persons in respect of the boarding out with them of persons under this section,
(iv) the fixing of the maximum number of persons who may be boarded out in a single dwelling under this section, and
(v) the holding and conduct of interviews (including interviews in private) of persons in a dwelling (including any persons employed in the dwelling) if the health board concerned has reasonable cause to believe that a person boarded out by it under this section in the dwelling is not receiving proper maintenance or care or that due consideration for his welfare is not being given by the person in whose dwelling he is being boarded out.
(b) A person who wilfully obstructs or interferes with a health board or an officer of a health board in the performance of functions under regulations under this section or who fails or refuses to comply with a requirement of a health board or an officer of a health board under such regulations shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) A dependent person shall not be cared for or maintained for profit in a dwelling in which a person is boarded out under this section.
(4) This section is without prejudice to the powers of a health board under section 209 of the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 .
(5) In this section “person to whom this section applies”, in relation to a health board, means a person whose usual place of residence is in the functional area of the board and who, in the opinion of the board, ought, having regard to his means and circumstances, to be boarded out under this section and who consents to be so boarded out.
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paragraphs: —A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both,
(b) on conviction on indictment of an offence under section 3 , to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
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paragraphs: —(1) Proceedings for a summary offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the health board in whose functional area the nursing home to which the offence relates is situated or, as the case may be, the health board by which the arrangement for the boarding out to which the offence relates was made and carried out.
(2) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted within 12 months from the date of the offence.
(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.
(4) The functions conferred by subsection (1) shall be functions of the chief executive officers of the health boards concerned and of persons acting as deputy chief executive officers of those boards in accordance with section 13 of the Health Act, 1970 .
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paragraphs: —Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorising the reception and care of a person where such reception and care would contravene any provision of the Mental Treatments Acts, 1945 to 1966.
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paragraphs: —Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
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paragraphs: —(1) The Act of 1964 and, subject to subsection (2), section 54 of the Health Act, 1970 , are hereby repealed.
(2) The repeal of the said section 54 shall not apply in relation to persons (including children) for whom services were being provided pursuant to an arrangement under that section immediately before the commencement of this Act.
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paragraphs: —The expenses of the Minister under this Act, shall, to such extent as may be specified by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.
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paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990.
(2) The Health Acts, 1947 to 1986, the Health (Amendment) Act, 1987 , and this Act shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Health Acts, 1947 to 1990.
(3) This Act shall come into operations on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.