Mental Treatment Act, 1961

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 7/1961
• Year: 1961

Number 7 of 1961.
MENTAL TREATMENT ACT, 1961.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Interpretation. 2. Amendment of section 108 of Principal Act. 3. Insertion of section after section 109 of Principal Act. 4. Amendment of section 128 of Principal Act. 5. Amendment of section 150 of Principal Act. 6. Amendment of section 162 of Principal Act. 7. Amendment of section 163 of Principal Act. 8. Amendment of section 164 of Principal Act. 9. Amendment of section 165 of Principal Act. 10. Amendment of section 166 of Principal Act. 11. Amendment of section 167 of Principal Act. 12. Amendment of section 169 of Principal Act. 13. Amendment of section 171 of Principal Act. 14. Amendment of section 176 of Principal Act. 15. Amendment of section 178 of Principal Act. 16. Amendment of section 184 of Principal Act. 17. Amendment of section 185 of Principal Act. 18. Amendment of section 189 of Principal Act. 19. Amendment of section 190 of Principal Act. 20. Amendment of section 191 of Principal Act. 21. Amendment of section 192 of Principal Act. 22. Amendment of section 203 of Principal Act. 23. Amendment of section 204 of Principal Act. 24. Insertion of section after section 204 of Principal Act. 25. Amendment of section 207 of Principal Act. 26. Amendment of section 215 of Principal Act. 27. Amendment of section 217 of Principal Act. 28. Amendment of section 218 of Principal Act. 29. Amendment of section 219 of Principal Act. 30. Amendment of section 220 of Principal Act. 31. Insertion of section after section 222 of Principal Act. 32. Amendment of section 229 of Principal Act. 33. Amendment of section 237 of Principal Act. 34. Amendment of section 244 of Principal Act. 35. Amendment of section 253 of Principal Act. 36. Amendment of section 266 of Principal Act. 37. Amendment of section 274 of Principal Act. 38. Application of Principal Act in relation to certain persons. 39. The Central Mental Hospital. 40. Certain service to be regarded as service in Civil Service. 41. Superannuation. 42. Repeals. 43. Short title, commencement and collective citation.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Amendments of Local Government (Superannuation) act, 1956.
SECOND SCHEDULE
Enactments Repealed
Acts Referred to Mental Treatment Act, 1945 1945, No. 19 Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) Act, 1875 1875, c. 67 Central Criminal Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) Act, 1845 1845, c. 107 Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 1956, No. 10 Health Act, 1947 1947, No. 28 Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1948 1948, No. 4 Asylum Officers' Superannuation Act, 1909 1909, c. 48
Number 7 of 1961.
MENTAL TREATMENT ACT, 1961.
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE MENTAL TREATMENT ACTS, 1945 TO 1958. [28th March, 1961.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS :—
	Interpretation.	1.—(1) In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Mental Treatment Act, 1945 .
	(2) The Mental Treatment Acts, 1945 to 1958, and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.
	Amendment of section 108 of Principal Act.	2.—The following sentence is hereby added to subsection (1) of section 108 of the Principal Act: “Where a patient in a district mental hospital or other institution maintained by a mental hospital authority, having been received therein otherwise than as a chargeable patient, becomes a chargeable patient, such authority shall, if another mental hospital authority are the mental hospital authority for the mental hospital district in which such person ordinarily resides, give notice of his having become a chargeable patient to the other mental hospital authority.”
	Insertion of section after section 109 of Principal Act.	3.—The following section is hereby inserted after section 109 of the Principal Act:
	“109A. The Minister may by regulations authorise and regulate the making by all or one or more mental hospital authorities of payments to patients in respect of work done.”
	Amendment of section 128 of Principal Act.	4.—The following sentence is hereby added to section 128 of the Principal Act: “In the case of a private institution which is an approved institution, temporary patients and voluntary patients shall, when any enumeration of persons is being made for the purposes of this section, be included in the reckoning.”
	Amendment of section 150 of Principal Act.	5.—The following sentence is hereby added to section 150 of the Principal Act: “In the case of a private charitable institution which is an approved institution, temporary patients and voluntary patients shall, when any enumeration of persons is being made for the purposes of this section, be included in the reckoning.”
	Amendment of section 162 of Principal Act.	6.—(1) In subsection (1) of section 162 of the Principal Act “a” is hereby substituted for “the” where the latter word occurs before “district mental hospital” and “a registered medical practitioner (not being a registered medical practitioner disqualified in relation to such person)” is hereby substituted for “the authorised medical officer”.
	(2) The following subsection is hereby added to section 162 of the Principal Act:
	“(6) A registered medical practitioner shall, for the purposes of this section; be disqualified in relation to a person—
	(a) if such practitioner is interested in the payments (if any) to be made on account of the taking care of the person,
	(b) if such practitioner is the husband or wife, father, step-father or father-in-law, mother, step-mother or mother-in-law, son, step-son or son-in-law, daughter, step-daughter or daughter-in-law, brother, step-brother or brother-in-law, sister, step-sister or sister-in-law, or guardian or trustee of the person, or
	(c) if such practitioner is a medical officer of a district mental hospital.”
	Amendment of section 163 of Principal Act.	7.—(1) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (1) of section 163 of the Principal Act:
	“(1) Where application is made for a recommendation for reception—
	(a) in case the registered medical practitioner to whom the application is made has visited and examined the person to whom the application relates within twenty-four hours before receipt of the application, either—
	(i) if he is satisfied that it is proper to make the recommendation and is of opinion that the person to whom the application relates will, if received, be a chargeable patient, he shall make the recommendation in the prescribed form, or
	(ii) in any other case, he shall refuse the application,
	(b) in any other case—
	(i) the registered medical practitioner to whom the application is made may (or, if he is the authorised medical officer, shall) within twenty-four hours after receipt of the application visit and examine the person to whom the application relates, and
	(ii) after such examination, either—
	(I) if he is satisfied that it is proper to make the recommendation and is of opinion that the person to whom the application relates will, if received, be a chargeable patient, he shall make the recommendation in the prescribed form, or
	(II) in any other case, he shall refuse the application.”
	(2) In paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 163 of the Principal Act “registered medical practitioner” is hereby substituted for “authorised medical officer” and “either, in case the examination was made before the date of receipt of the application for the recommendation, on the date of such receipt or, in any other case,” is hereby inserted before “on the date of such examination”.
	(3) In paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 163 of the Principal Act “registered medical practitioner” is hereby substituted for “authorised medical officer”.
	Amendment of section 164 of Principal Act.	8.—In subsection (1) of section 164 of the Principal Act “registered medical practitioner to whom the application is made” is hereby substituted for “authorised medical officer”.
	Amendment of section 165 of Principal Act.	9.—(1) The following sentence is hereby added to subsection (1) of section 165 of the Principal Act: “The member of the Garda Síochána shall, for the purposes of this section, have a right of entry into any house or other premises provided that he has reasonable grounds for believing that the person believed to be of unsound mind is for the time being therein”.
	(2) In subsection (2) of section 165 of the Principal Act “a registered medical practitioner (not being a registered medical practitioner disqualified in relation to the person)” is hereby substituted for “the authorised medical officer” and “a” is hereby substituted for “the” where the latter word occurs before “district mental hospital”.
	(3) In subsection (3) of section 165 of the Principal Act “a registered medical practitioner for a recommendation for reception, such practitioner may (or, if he is the authorised medical officer, shall)” is hereby substituted for “the authorised medical officer for a recommendation for reception, such officer shall”.
	(4) The following subsection is hereby added to section 165 of the Principal Act:
	“(5) A registered medical practitioner shall, for the purposes of this section, be disqualified in relation to a person—
	(a) if such practitioner is interested in the payments (if any) to be made on account of the taking care of the person,
	(b) if such practitioner is the husband or wife, father, step-father or father-in-law, mother...