Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 20th December, 2022.

I, STEPHEN DONNELLY, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 42 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (No. 34 of 2017), being satisfied that subsection (6) of that section has been complied with; having complied with subsection (9) of that section; having had regard to the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (10) of that section, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Section 42) (Payments to General Practitioners for the Clinical Assessment and Treatment of Patients including Prescription of Covid-19 Antiviral Medication) Regulations 2022.

2. These Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation on 9 December 2022 and shall cease to have effect on 1 April 2023.

3. In these Regulations -

“Covid-19” means a disease caused by infection with the virus SARS-CoV-2 and specified as an infectious disease in accordance with Regulation 6 of, and the Schedule to, the Infectious Diseases Regulations 1981 ( S.I. No. 390 of 1981 ) or any variant of the disease so specified as an infectious disease in those Regulations;

4. These Regulations apply to payments in respect of services rendered by a general practitioner to or on behalf of the Health Service Executive.

5. The amount of the payment specified in column (3) of the Schedule opposite a particular reference number in column (1) thereof is prescribed as the payment to be made to a relevant service provider in respect of the particular service specified in column (2) thereof.

SCHEDULE

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN the Official Seal of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform,

13 December, 2022.

MICHAEL MCGRATH,

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

15 December, 2022.

STEPHEN DONNELLY,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

These Regulations shall apply to payments in respect of services rendered by a general practitioner to or on behalf of the HSE for the clinical assessment and treatment of vulnerable patients including the prescription of Covid-19 antiviral medication.

These Regulations are based on revised public health advice that Covid-19 testing will no longer be recommended for the general population. Testing will only occur based on a clinical assessment where a clinician requires the result to contribute to the diagnosis and management of an individual patient, or where deemed necessary by Public Health in relation to the management of an outbreak or specific public health risk. This revised public health advice was noted by the Government on the 27^th of July 2022.