Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 7th August, 2015.

I, LEO VARADKAR, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 4 (3) of the Health (General Practitioner Service) Act 2015 (No. 19 of 2015), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Health (General Practitioner Service) Act 2015 (Commencement) Order 2015.

2. The 5th day of August 2015 is appointed as the day on which the following provisions of the Health (General Practitioner Service) Act 2015 (No. 19 of 2015) come into operation:

(a) section 1;

(b) section 3, insofar as it applies to persons other than persons who come within a category mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 58(1) of the Act of 1970;

(c) section 4.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

4 August 2015.

LEO VARADKAR,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

This Order commences the following provisions of the Health (General Practitioner Service) Act 2015 (No. 19 of 2015) with effect from 5 August 2015:

• section 1;

• section 3, insofar as it applies to persons other than persons who come within a category mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 58(1) of the Act of 1970; and

• section 4.

The Act amends the Health Act 1970 (as amended) to provide for a universal general practitioner service to be made available without fees to all persons aged 70 years and over. In addition, the Act provides that dependants, including spouses or partners, of a person over 70 years of age will have access to a GP service, without fees, where the existing income qualifying criteria are met.