Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

These are essentially technical amendments. I am proposing amendments to the sections of the Nurses and Midwives Act and the Medical Practitioners Act which enable the relevant bodies to make rules.

The Bill as passed by the Dáil inserts a new subsection (15)(c) into section 20 of the 2007 Act. Section 20 of that Act deals with membership functions and procedures of the committee and council and sub-committees of the council. The new subsection provides that sub-committees of the fitness to practise committee may perform any of the functions of the committee as if they were the fitness to practise committee.

Section 11 of the Act sets out the powers of the council to make rules. I am concerned that the rule-making power of the council does not reflect the breadth of functions intended by subsection (15)(c). I propose replacing the wording "into different groups founding a complaint" with the wording "into complaints referred to that committee". I am also making an identical amendment to the Nurses and Midwives Act. These are essentially technical amendments.