Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1.

In page 5, line 4, to delete “subsection (7)” and substitute “subsection (3)”.

Section 7 amendments section 45 of the Principal Act to introduce a new subsection (1A) after subsection (1). Subsection (1A) (a) requires a medical practitioner to provide evidence in the manner in which the Medical Council may specify in rules of the minimum level of indemnity which applies to his or her practice. The Medical Council will provide all relevant information to registrants and prospective registrants on its website to assist them in complying with the legislation.

Subsection (1A)(b) requires a medical practitioners who is not engaged in medical practice and therefore who would not fall into a class of medical practitioners who must have medical indemnity to provide evidence that he or she is not engaged in practice, again in accordance with rules, which may be set out by the Medical Council.

Subsection (1)(b) of the Bill had introduced a new subsection (8) after subsection (7) of section 45 of the Principal Act to specify that the Medical Council cannot register a medical practitioner who falls within a class of medical practitioner, which requires indemnity, unless the medical practitioner has provided evidence of his or her minimum level of indemnity cover as may be set out in rules under section 11(2)(va). However, a minor amendment to that text is required for the following reason, which is that the Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2014 was passed by the Seanad on 4 November 2015, but section 45 of the Principal Act was amended by regulation 95 of the transposing regulations of the European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulation 2017, SI 8 of 2017 and was signed into law on 17 January 2017 by the Minister for Education and Skills. These regulations transposed EU directive 2013/55/eu of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on the recognition of professional qualifications. In this transposition subsections (4), (5) and (6) of section 45 were deleted by regulation 95.1(e) and an amendment is therefore required to the text of the current Bill to state that subsection (7) in section 45 of the Principal Act has now become subsection (3).

This is the effect of amendment No. 1 in the name of the Minister. Following on from that the next subsection, that is subsection (8) will become subsection (4). This is the effect of amendment No. 2 in the name of the Minister.