Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

These technical amendments clarify matters in relation to the charging order and its release. Amendment No. 13 clarifies the authority of the Health Service Executive to make charging orders. Amendment No. 14 clarifies the responsibility of the Property Registration Authority to register charging orders submitted to it by the HSE. These amendments are being proposed on foot of observations by a stakeholder to the effect that the authority of the HSE and the responsibility of the PRA in relation to charging orders should be explicitly, rather than implicitly, provided for. Amendment No. 15 which proposes to include a new section 17(8) in the Bill has been proposed on the advice of the Office of the Attorney General. Section 17(8) currently provides that ancillary State support paid by the HSE and secured by mortgage may be recovered as a contract debt. The amendment provides that such moneys may be recovered irrespective of whether they are secured by a mortgage. This acknowledges that the moneys will have been paid by the HSE even if the mortgage is subsequently declared invalid for some technical reason.

Amendments Nos. 16 and 23 shall be read together. Currently, section 7(14) refers to both charging orders and the release of charging orders. However, the more appropriate location for the issue of the release of charging orders is section 28. Amendment No. 16 therefore removes the reference to release of charging orders from subsection (14) while amendment No. 23 ensures the relevant reference is reflected instead in section 28.

Finally, amendment No. 22 amends section 28(4) to ensure the format of receipts as well as applications may be prescribed by regulation. I ask Senators to support these amendments.