PART I

Preliminary and General

1. —This Act may be cited as the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978.

2.—In this Act—

“the Board” means An Bord Míochaine agus Déidliachta Iarchéime or the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Board established by this Act;

“certificate of experience” means a certificate granted to a person who has complied with the provisions of section 28 of this Act;

“the Council” means Comhairle na nDochtúirí Leighis or the Medical Council established by this Act;

“the Dental Board” means the Dental Board constituted under the Dentists Act, 1928 ;

“employment in a residential medical capacity” has the meaning specified in section 28 of this Act;

“establishment day” means the day appointed to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act under section 4 of this Act;

“Fitness to Practise Committee” means the committee to be established by the Council under section 13 (2) (b) of this Act;

“formal qualification” means a primary qualification together with a certificate of experience;

“full registration” means registration other than provisional registration or temporary registration and “fully registered” shall be construed accordingly;

“the Medical Registration Council” means the Medical Registration Council established under the Medical Practitioners Act, 1927;

“Member State” means a state other than the State which is a member of the European Economic Community;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“practice of medicine” includes practice of surgery, midwifery and other disciplines of medicine and “medical practitioner” shall be construed accordingly;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulations;

“primary qualification” means a qualification specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Act;

“provisional registration” means registration by virtue of section 28 of this Act, and “provisionally registered” shall be construed accordingly;

“the register” means the General Register of Medical Practitioners established under section 26 of this Act;

“registered dentist” means a person whose name is entered in the Register of Dentists maintained under the Dentists Act, 1928 ;

“registered medical practitioner” means a person whose name is entered in the register;

“Register of Medical Specialists” means the register referred to in section 30 of this Act;

“the Registrar” means the chief officer of the Council;

“retention fee” means a fee payable by a person entitled to be registered in any register maintained by the Council for the retention of his name in that register;

“temporary registration” means registration by virtue of section 29 of this Act and “temporarily registered” shall be construed accordingly.

3. —This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

4. —The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

5. —The enactments specified in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed.