HIQA Designated Centres: Person in Charge and Staff Training in Ireland

If you run, work in or plan to open a nursing home or a residential disability service in Ireland, one role matters more than most to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA): the person in charge of a designated centre. This guide explains what a designated centre is, what HIQA and the regulations say about the person in charge, and how staff training fits in. It is a workforce and compliance guide only. It gives no clinical advice, and the law is national, so the position is the same for a provider in Dublin as anywhere else in Ireland.

HIQA looks at the person in charge on inspection, so it helps to know how an inspection works in practice. Our post on HIQA inspections and staff training covers that side, and this article focuses on the role itself.

What is a designated centre?

HIQA's guide What is a designated centre? (June 2022) explains that, under the Health Act 2007 (as amended), the Chief Inspector of Social Services registers and inspects residential centres called designated centres. HIQA describes the definition as broad and says a residential service involves both an accommodation component and a care or support component. The types covered include nursing homes and certain residential services for dependent older people, residential services for children and adults with disabilities (for example campus settings, community housing and respite), and special care units operated by Tusla.

The guide lists exclusions, including centres registered by the Mental Health Commission, institutions managed by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government, and parts of institutions where most people are treated for acute illness or receive palliative care. The guide treats arrangements where people live in their own owned or rented home as outside the definition, but says the provider's real and substantial control over the residential service is a key factor, so the answer depends on the facts. If you are unsure whether your service is covered, HIQA's guide is the place to start, and its registration office can be contacted for advice.

Registration and the person in charge

HIQA's page for providers of older people's services states that all designated centres for older people must be registered with the Chief Inspector. For disability services, HIQA's registration page says registered providers may only operate a centre if registered by the Chief Inspector, that registration lasts three years, and that providers must apply to renew at least six months before it expires. That page shows no last-updated date, so confirm the current position with HIQA before relying on it.

The regulations require a named person in charge for each centre. HIQA's FAQ from its webinar on the role (November 2023, covering centres for people with disabilities) says the registered provider must appoint a person in charge for each designated centre, and that the provider sets the job description and remit, while the regulations specify certain responsibilities that must be included.

Who can be a person in charge: older people's centres

We read the Care and Welfare Regulations for older people's centres (S.I. No. 415 of 2013, as made) and the 2025 amending regulations, S.I. No. 98 of 2025 (made 27 March 2025, operating from 31 March 2025, and revoking S.I. No. 1 of 2025). In summary:

• Each centre must have a person in charge and arrangements for someone to deputise.
• Where the provider is not the person in charge, that person must be a registered nurse with at least three years' experience of nursing older persons within the previous six years.
• A person in charge needs at least three years' experience in a nurse management role.
• A person in charge may oversee up to two centres if the Chief Inspector is satisfied they can govern them effectively.
• Management qualifications are phased in. From 31 March 2028 the instrument requires a post-registration management or leadership certificate at Level 8, or a Level 9 nursing postgraduate qualification with a management module, with exemptions for those already registered or on statutory leave by 31 March 2025, who must still hold a post-registration management qualification.
• The Chief Inspector can waive some of these requirements where no resident needs full-time nursing care.

The consolidated regulations are updated over time, and HIQA's page notes that gov.ie publishes an informal consolidation. Always check the current text before making an appointment.

Who can be a person in charge: disability services

HIQA's FAQ describes the equivalent position for centres for people with disabilities. For appointments on or after 1 November 2016, it says the person in charge needs at least three years' experience in a health or social care management or supervisory role, plus an appropriate qualification in health or social care management. The FAQ says the post shall be full-time, and that a person may be in charge of more than one centre only if the Chief Inspector is satisfied they can ensure effective governance, operational management and administration. The FAQ says it is the responsibility of the registered provider to ensure that persons in charge meet the experience and qualification criteria.

What the person in charge is responsible for

According to HIQA's FAQ for disability centres, the responsibilities named in the regulations include:

• keeping an up-to-date planned and actual staff rota showing day and night staffing;
• obtaining the documents and information specified in the Schedule for all staff;
• starting and carrying out an investigation into any incident, allegation or suspicion of abuse and taking appropriate action;
• notifying the Chief Inspector in writing within three working days of adverse incidents, including any suspected or confirmed allegation of abuse; and
• ensuring, as far as reasonably practicable, that residents can access and control their personal property.

HIQA notes that a person in charge does not have to be involved in every resident's day-to-day care but must have appropriate oversight and effective systems.

Staff training duties

The training duty is expressed in the regulations as a duty on the person in charge. In the older people's regulations as made, Regulation 16 requires the person in charge to ensure staff have access to appropriate training and are appropriately supervised, and are informed of the Act and regulations. HIQA's FAQ for disability centres adds that the person in charge must ensure staff have access to appropriate training, including refresher training, as part of a continuous professional development programme. The FAQ says inspectors ask how training needs are identified and review the systems in place to record and regularly monitor staff training, and that there is no distinction between agency staff and staff employed by the provider.

The 2025 amendments add an express duty on providers to ensure staff receive suitable training on infection prevention and control (Regulation 27 in S.I. No. 98 of 2025). Other training topics do appear in the 2013 text as made: Regulation 8(2) refers to staff training in the detection and prevention of, and responses to, abuse, and Regulation 28(1)(d) refers to staff receiving suitable training in fire prevention and emergency procedures. We did not find a single mandatory course list in the text we read. Providers also have to maintain written policies, which must be reviewed as the Chief Inspector requires and at least every three years, according to Regulation 4 as made.

HIQA also offers an optional eLearning programme for new and existing persons in charge. The older people's page says it takes about 45 minutes and has self-check quizzes. If you also work in health services outside designated centres, our review of HIQA's Safer Better Healthcare standards looks at a separate set of HIQA standards, which are different from the designated centre regulations discussed here.

Fitness: how HIQA assesses the person in charge

HIQA's Guidance on the assessment of fitness for designated centres (version 3.1, May 2025) explains that fitness is assessed for the provider, persons participating in management and the person in charge, on each application to register or renew and on an ongoing basis. The criteria include good character (including satisfactory Garda vetting), competence, honesty and transparency with the regulator, and no disqualifying judgments. HIQA says fitness is not based on a single source of evidence, and a structured interview is conducted with all new applicants and may be part of a renewal. If concerns arise, the person is told and the provider has 10 working days to respond.

The guidance has no dedicated training section. It says that where a person recognises a shortcoming in their competence, they obtain the competence and skills appropriate to the role, which may be through training or experience gained through employment with support from the provider, and that the person assessed should have the necessary processes and systems in place to maintain their competency.

Absences and changes

For disability services, HIQA's registration page says changes of person in charge are notified on forms NF30A to NF30C, with notice periods that vary, for example 10 days for a change of person in charge and one month in advance for an absence over 28 days. For older people's centres, S.I. No. 98 of 2025 replaces "28 days" with "42 days" in Regulation 32 (notice of a person in charge's absence), and substitutes a Regulation 33 under which the notice sets out deputising arrangements for up to a 6 month period, with the provider able to apply to the Chief Inspector for a further extension of up to 6 months where the person in charge is expected to return. Check the forms and current regulations on the day.

A practical approach for providers

These points are our suggestions, not legal requirements:

• Keep a training matrix that shows each staff member, including agency staff, the training they have had and when it is due for refresher.
• Write down who deputises for the person in charge and when.
• Diarise the registration renewal and any required notifications well ahead of time.
• Keep appointment evidence on file showing how the person in charge meets the experience and qualification requirements.
• Before an inspection, read the relevant HIQA assessment framework for your type of centre. For general background on the regulator, see what HIQA is and what it does.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Does every designated centre need a person in charge?

Yes. The regulations we read require a person in charge for each designated centre, appointed by the registered provider.

Can one person manage more than one centre?

Only if the Chief Inspector is satisfied they can govern effectively. S.I. No. 98 of 2025 refers to up to two centres for older people's services.

Who is responsible for staff training?

The regulations we read place the training duty on the person in charge (Regulation 16 in the older people's regulations as made; HIQA's FAQ for disability centres says the same). HIQA's FAQ includes agency staff in the duty.

Where do I check the current rules?

Use HIQA's guidance for providers and the consolidated regulations. The texts we read may have been amended since.

The person in charge role combines registration, fitness, governance and training duties. Keep your evidence organised and check the current text before acting.