Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 4) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 18th September, 2020.

The Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 and 31A (inserted by section 10 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1 of 2020)) of the Health Act 1947 (No. 28 of 1947) and -

(a) having regard to the immediate, exceptional and manifest risk posed to human life and public health by the spread of Covid-19 and to the matters specified in subsection (2) of section 31A, and

(b) having consulted with the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation,

hereby makes the following regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 4) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 16th day of September 2020.

Operation of Regulations

2. These Regulations shall remain in operation until the 5th day of October 2020.

Amendment of Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 4) Regulations 2020

3. The Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 326 of 2020) are amended –

(a) in Regulation 4 -

(i) by the insertion of the following definitions:

“ ‘Act of 2001’ means the Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37 of 2001);

‘county’ has the same meaning as it has in section 10 (amended by section 12 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1 of 2014)) of the Act of 2001, being a Local Government Area that is listed as a County in Schedule 5 to that Act;

‘County of Dublin’ shall be interpreted in accordance with Regulation 4A;

‘relevant county’ means a county that is –

(a) listed in the Schedule, and

(b) located in a relevant geographical location;”, and

(ii) by the deletion of the definition of “relevant venue”,

(b) by the insertion of the following Regulation after Regulation 4:

“Local Government Areas for purposes of Regulations

4A. In these Regulations, “County of Dublin” means the following Local Government Areas within the meaning of the Act of 2001:

(a) Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown;

(b) Fingal;

(c) South Dublin;

(d) Dublin City,

and the said Local Government Areas shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be deemed to be a single county.”,

(c) by the substitution of the following Regulation for Regulation 5:

“Restriction on events in private dwellings

5. (1) Subject to Regulation 5A, a person shall not organise, or cause to be organised, an event to be held in a private dwelling other than in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) A person may organise, or cause to be organised, an event to be held in a private dwelling for social or recreational reasons where the person takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the persons attending, or proposed to attend, the event (for whatever reason) -

(a) reside in no more than 3 different households, not including the private dwelling and, subject to paragraph (3), do not exceed 6 in number, or

(b) reside in no more than one other household, not including the private dwelling.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), in reckoning the number of households in which persons at an event in a private dwelling reside -

(a) subject to subparagraph (b), an applicable person whose place of residence is the private dwelling shall be excluded,

(b) a person who is not ordinarily resident in the State, regardless of his or her place of residence, shall be included, and

(c) where the event is attended by –

(i) a person who has not attained the age of 18 years (in this paragraph referred to as a “child”), and

(ii) a parent or guardian of such a child, who does not ordinarily reside with that child,

the parent or guardian, as the case may be, and the child shall be deemed to reside in the same household.”,

(d) by the insertion of the following Regulation after Regulation 5:

“Restriction on events in private dwellings where dwellings located in relevant county

5A. (1) A person shall not organise, or cause to be organised, an event to be held in a private dwelling that is located in a relevant county other than in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) A person may organise, or cause to be organised, an event to be held in a private dwelling for social or recreational reasons where the person takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the persons attending, or proposed to attend, the event (for whatever reason) reside in no more than one other household, not including the private dwelling.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), in reckoning the number of households in which persons at an event in a private dwelling reside -

(a) subject to subparagraph (b), an applicable person whose place of residence is the private dwelling shall be excluded,

(b) a person who is not ordinarily resident in the State, regardless of his or her place of residence, shall be included, and

(c) where the event is attended by –

(i) a person who has not attained the age of 18 years (in this paragraph referred to as a “child”), and

(ii) a parent or guardian of such a child, who does not ordinarily reside with that child,

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