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28 1947

HEALTH ACT, 1947

PART III.

Mother and Child Service.

Safeguarding of health of women as respects motherhood.

21. —A health authority shall, in accordance with regulations made under section 28 of this Act make arrangements for safeguarding the health of women in respect of motherhood and for their education in that respect.

Attendance to health of children not pupils of schools.

22. —A health authority shall, in accordance with regulations made under section 28 of this Act, do, in respect of children in their functional area who are not pupils of any school, the following things—

(a) safeguard and improve their health and physical condition;

(b) arrange for their medical inspection at schools or other places;

(c) provide for their education in matters relating to health;

(d) provide for treatment of their illnesses and defects;

(e) ascertain cases of mental deficiency.

Attendance to health of pupils of schools.

23. —(1) A health authority shall, in accordance with regulations made under section 28 of this Act, do, in respect of the pupils of every school in their functional area to which this section applies, the following things—

(a) safeguard and improve their health and physical condition;

(b) arrange for their medical inspection at the school or any other place;

(c) provide for their education in matters relating to health;

(d) provide for treatment of their illnesses and defects;

(e) ascertain cases of mental deficiency.

(2) This section shall apply to every national school and also to every school to which an order under subsection (3) of this section relates.

(3) Whenever the Minister is not satisfied that the provision made in any school, other than a national school, for the matters mentioned in subsection (1) of this section is adequate he may by order apply this section to such school.

(4) An order under subsection (3) of this section may exempt the school to which it relates from the liability to repay expenses incurred by a health authority.

(5) (a) This subsection applies to—

(i) a school which is the subject of an order under subsection (3) of this section, and

(ii) a national school which is a certified school.

(b) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, any expenses incurred by a health authority in providing, under subsection (1) of this section, treatment, medicines, preparations or appliances for a pupil of a school to which this subsection applies shall be repaid to the health authority by, in case the school (whether a national school or not) is a certified school, the managers thereof or, in any other case, the school manager, and shall be recoverable by the health authority from the said managers or school manager (as the case may be) as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(6) Subsection (5) of this section shall not apply in relation to—

(a) the pupils of a school the subject of an order under subsection (3) of this section, which exempts, in pursuance of subsection (4) of this section, the school from the liability to repay expenses incurred by a health authority, or

(b) any pupil of a certified school not sent thereto pursuant to an order made by a court under the Children Acts, or

(c) any pupil of a school for whose maintenance the health authority is liable.

(7) Any sum payable by virtue of subsection (5) of this section in respect of pupils of a certified school shall be repaid to the managers thereof by the local authority liable under the Children Acts for the maintenance of those pupils and shall be recoverable by the said managers from that local authority as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(8) In this section—

the expression “the Children Acts” means the Children Acts, 1908 to 1941;

the expressions “certified school” and “the managers” have the same respective meanings as they have in the Children Acts.

Notice of medical inspection of children.

24. —Before holding under section 22 or section 23 of this Act a medical inspection of the children of a particular class in an area or of the pupils of a school, a health authority shall give in the prescribed manner the prescribed notice of the time and place of such inspection.

Obligation to submit children to medical inspection.

25. —(1) This section shall apply and have effect only in any county or county borough as respects which an order made under subsection (2) of this section is for the time being in force.

(2) The Minister may by order declare this section to be in force and have effect in counties or county boroughs generally or in a particular county or county borough.

(3) Where the Minister makes an order under subsection (2) of this section, he shall cause to be published in one or more newspapers circulating in the county or county borough to which the order relates notice of the effect of such order and of the date on which it will come into operation.

(4) Whenever a medical inspection is arranged under this Act for a child, whether at his home or at any other place, and the parent of such child is made aware of the time and place at which such inspection is to be held, the parent shall submit the child to such inspection unless an exemption from the inspection has been granted under subsection (5) of this section and shall be entitled, on request, to be present at such inspection.

(5) The medical officer having charge of the arrangements for a medical inspection provided under this Act shall grant an exemption in the prescribed form from the inspection in respect of any child in relation to whom there is produced to such officer a certificate in the prescribed form signed by a registered medical practitioner stating that he has examined the child within the prescribed period preceding the inspection.

(6) A person who contravenes subsection (4) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding five pounds, or, in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

(7) Every person who in connection with an application for an exemption under subsection (5) of this section makes any statement which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(8) An offence under this section may be prosecuted by the health authority who provided the medical inspection.

Affording of facilities for medical inspection of children at schools.

26. —(1) A health authority intending to arrange for a medical inspection or periodical medical inspections of children at a school, under this Act, may give to the school manager of the school notice in writing of such intention stating the day or days (not being earlier than seven days after the giving of the notice) on which and the time at which the inspection or inspections will be held and requiring the school manager to afford all reasonable facilities for the inspection or inspections.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) of this section may be addressed to “the school manager” and may be given by delivering it to the school manager of the school to which it relates or by sending it by post to the address at which he ordinarily resides.

(3) A copy of every notice under subsection (1) of this section in respect of a medical inspection to be held in a national school shall be either delivered to the principal teacher of such school or sent by post to such teacher at the school.

(4) The school manager of a school to which a notice given under subsection (1) of this section relates shall cause all reasonable facilities (including facilities for obtaining the names and addresses of pupils attending the school) to be given for the holding of a medical inspection or medical inspections in accordance with the notice and on the day or days and at the time mentioned therein and, if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

(5) Without prejudice to the foregoing subsections of this section, a health authority shall consult the school manager of a school before determining the day or days on which and the time at which a medical inspection or medical inspections of children in the school will be held and shall, so far as may be practicable, comply with the wishes of the school manager.

(6) An offence under this section may be prosecuted by the health authority who gave the relevant notice under this section.

Grant for mother and child service.

27. —An amount not exceeding one-half of the expenses certified by the Minister to have been properly incurred in accordance with regulations made under section 28 of this Act, by a health authority in the execution of this Part of this Act shall be paid to the health authority out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Regulations as to exercise by health authorities of their powers under Part III.

28. —The Minister may make regulations applicable to every health authority, every health authority of a particular class or a particular health authority as to the manner in which and the extent to which they are to exercise their powers under this Part of this Act.