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17 1956

OPTICIANS ACT, 1956

PART III.

The Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

The Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

23. —(1) As soon as conveniently may be after the establishment day, the Board shall, in accordance with rules, set up and maintain a register to be known as the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

(2) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, publish the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

(3) Any change in the name or address of a registered ophthalmic optician shall be notified by him to the Board.

(4) The Board may, by rules, provide for correcting errors in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians and for correcting names and addresses therein which have been changed.

(5) On setting up the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, the Board shall inform the Minister and the Minister shall by order certify the day of the setting up of that Register.

General provision as to registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

24. —The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who has undergone such courses of training and passed such examinations (being courses of training and examinations under Part V of this Act) as are specified for the purposes of this section in the rules.

Registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians of certain persons trained outside the State.

25. —The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who has undergone such courses of training and passed such examinations (being courses of training and examinations held outside the State) as are specified for the purposes of this section in the rules.

Registration of certain other persons in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

26. —(1) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who satisfies the conditions that prior to the establishment day he had received a qualification approved of by the Board for the purposes of this subsection and that, at the time of his application, he continues to hold that qualification with the approval of the examining body concerned.

(2) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration and who satisfies the condition that his principal means of livelihood during the whole period of seven years ending on the establishment day was the carrying on of the business of ophthalmic optician in the State.

(3) The Board shall, in accordance with rules, register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person who applies for such registration, who has passed an examination held by the Board in the prescribing and dispensing of spectacles and who satisfies the condition that, during the period of five years ending on the establishment day, he engaged to such extent as may be specified in the rules in the prescribing and dispensing of spectacles in the State.

(4) The examination referred to in subsection (3) of this section shall, during the period of two years beginning on the day of the commencement of the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, be held by the Board on so many occasions as may be directed or approved of by the Minister, and shall not be held after the expiration of that period.

Refusal of registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

27. —Notwithstanding sections 24 to 26 of this Act, the Board may refuse to register in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians a person whose name stands removed from the Register of Dispensing Opticians.

Rules for grant, return and cancellation of certificates of registration in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

28. —The Board may by rules make provision with respect to the issue of certificates of registration to persons registered in the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians and with respect to the return and cancellation of such certificates.

Removal of names from the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

29. —(1) The Board may, in accordance with rules, remove the name of a person from the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

(2) Rules made for the purposes of this section shall, in particular, provide that where it is proposed to remove the name of any person (otherwise than on account of his having failed to pay an annual fee in respect of retention on the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians), proceedings in that behalf shall be instituted before the Board and that in those proceedings the defendant shall have the opportunity of answering the allegations made against him and may, if he so desires, be represented by solicitor or by solicitor and counsel.

(3) Rules made for the purposes of this section shall specify the causes for which and the conditions under which a name may be removed, and such causes shall, in particular, include a contravention of section 48 of this Act (excluding a contravention in respect of which prosecution proceedings are instituted but are dismissed on the merits, but, apart from that exclusion, including both a contravention in respect of which prosecution proceedings are instituted and a contravention in respect of which prosecution proceedings are not instituted).

(4) The Board shall notify the Minister of the removal of a name from the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

Appeals from removal from Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, etc.

30. —(1) Where, under this Act, the name of a person has been removed from the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, the person may appeal from the decision of the Board either to the High Court or the Minister (but not to both) within three months after the notification to the person of such removal.

(2) The decision of the High Court or the Minister (as the case may be) on an appeal under this section shall be final.

(3) Where an appeal under this section to the High Court is successful—

(a) the court may award costs against the Board,

(b) the Board shall give notice of the result of the appeal to the Minister,

(c) the Board shall restore the name of the appellant to the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians,

(d) the court may, if satisfied that the Board acted in an unreasonable manner in removing the appellant's name from the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, direct the Board to pay such sum as the court considers reasonable compensation for any loss of practice sustained by the appellant between the decision of the Board and the determination of the appeal and the Board shall pay any such sum to the appellant.

(4) Where an appeal under this section to the Minister is successful—

(a) the Board shall restore the name of the appellant to the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians, and

(b) the Board may, if they so think fit, pay to the appellant such sum as they consider reasonable compensation for any loss of practice sustained by the appellant between the decision of the Board and the determination of the appeal.

Restoration to the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians.

31. —(1) The Board may, in accordance with rules, restore to the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians for any reason which they consider sufficient the name of a person whose name has been removed therefrom and shall inform the Minister of any such restoration.

(2) A person whose name has been removed from the Register of Ophthalmic Opticians shall not be registered therein subsequently save by way of restoration pursuant to this or the immediately preceding section.