Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 25, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 44 of Act of 1985

17. Section 44 of the Act of 1985 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3): “(4) (a) Paragraph (b) applies where—

(i) a registered dentist becomes the subject of an order under subsection (3), and

(ii) the Council has reason to believe that—

(I) the dentist is registered in another jurisdiction as a dentist, or has made an application to be registered as a dentist in another jurisdiction which has not yet been determined, and

(II) that order may not have come to the attention of the body duly authorised to perform functions in that jurisdiction that correspond to the functions of the Council.

(b) The Council shall give notice in writing to that body of that order and may, notwithstanding any provision of Directive 2005/36/EC or of the Regulations of 2017, provide that body with a copy of the order and copies of other documents relevant to that order.”.”.

These amendments address an issue relating to data exchange which my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, indicated on Committee Stage. At present, regulations in European Economic Area or EEA states are automatically notified when a sanction has been imposed on a registrant. In drafting the Bill, it was considered prudent to provide for this for third countries also, particularly in the context of Brexit. The Bill, therefore, provides that a regulator shall notify sanctions to its equivalent body in another jurisdiction if the regulator has reason to believe the registrant is also registered there. All five Acts provide a mechanism for the regulator to apply to the High Court for the immediate suspension of a registrant where this is considered necessary to protect the public. This suspension comes into effect while steps are being taken under the fitness to practise process. As indicated on Committee Stage, it is necessary to provide separately for exchange of data between regulators outside the EEA space in these circumstances. Accordingly, a separate provision in each of the Acts is required to provide for this.

The amendments I am now proposing will provide that the regulators will be able to advise their equivalent body in another jurisdiction of an order of the court under the immediate suspension provision where the regulator has reason to believe the practitioner is registered in that jurisdiction, or has made an application to be registered, and that the regulator in that jurisdiction is not aware of the court order. There is already provision to notify in certain circumstances and we are adding to that a provision to notify under the immediate suspension provisions. This was largely welcomed on Committee stage.

See this speech in context