S.I. No. 9/2026 - Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 20th January, 2026.

I, JENNIFER CARROLL MACNEILL, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 4, 5 (as amended by section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2016 (No. 9 of 2016)), 18 and 38 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (No. 12 of 1977), hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

2. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2025 and these Regulations may be cited together as the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to 2026.

3. The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 173 of 2017) are amended—

(a) in Regulation 2, by the insertion of the following definition:

“ ‘member of garda personnel’ has the same meaning as it has in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 (other than Part 6 of that Act);”

(b) in Regulation 13, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (1)(a):

“(a) a member of garda personnel when acting in the course of his or her duty as such;”, and

(c) in Regulation 27, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) a member of garda personnel when acting in the course of his or her duty as such;”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

14 January, 2026.

JENNIFER CARROLL MACNEILL,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

The purpose of these Regulations is to amend the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to substitute “a member of garda personnel” for “a member of the Garda Síochána” in Regulations 13 and 27 of those Regulations to thereby allow members of garda staff to handle controlled drugs and forged prescriptions in the course of their duties.