S.I. No. 452/2022 - Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act 2022 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2022

1. This Order may be cited as the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act 2022 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2022.

2. In this Order, “Act of 2022” means the

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act 2022

(No. 20 of 2022).

3. The 14th day of September 2022 is appointed as the day on which Part 3 of the Act of 2022, in so far as it is not already in operation, shall come into operation.

4. The 21st day of September 2022 is appointed as the day on which the Act of 2022, in so far as it is not already in operation, shall come into operation.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

14 September, 2022.

STEPHEN DONNELLY,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

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

.)

This Order appoints the 14th of September, 2022 as the day on which certain remaining sections of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Act 2022 come into operation. These sections provide for the making available without charge of contraception services to women who have attained the age of 17 years but have not attained the age of 26 years and to provide that the Minister for Health may by Regulations prescribe a further age or further classes, by reference to years of age, of women in respect of whom contraception services shall also be made available.

This Order also appoints the 21

st

of September, 2022 as the day on which the final section of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Act 2022 come into operation. This final section provides for certain exemptions from charges for acute in-patient services, in particular to provide an exemption from such charges for children less than 16 years of age in all public hospitals and for persons who have chosen to avail of private acute in-patient services under

Section 55

of the Health Act 1970 (and who therefore are charged in accordance with the Fourth Schedule of the Act). From the 21

st

of September, 2022, all provisions of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Act 2022, will be in operation.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

16

th September,

2022.

I, STEPHEN DONNELLY, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 1

(3) of the

Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Act 2022

(No. 20 of 2022), hereby order as follows