Vol. 558 No. 4
314 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for Health and Children the legislation in place to evaluate people practising alternative medicines and the implication on these people who inflate their qualifications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24635/02]
There are currently no statutory regulatory requirements for practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine in Ireland. However, the Deputy will be aware that the provision of any service to the public is governed by relevant consumer protection legislation.
As a preliminary step in the process of developing a system of registration for complementary and alternative therapists, I convened a forum in June 2001 to examine and explore the practical issues involved. Arising from the work of the forum, I asked the Institute of Public Administration to prepare a report on proposals for the way forward taking into consideration the views of the representative groups that participated in the forum and also those that subsequently made submissions.
The report, which I launched on 14 November, delivers on action 106 of the health strategy – quality and fairness – and makes a number of recommendations on proposals for the way forward, including the establishment of a working group to examine and consider regulatory issues in Ireland; the continuation and development of a consultation process; and support for individual therapies in developing or strengthening their systems of self-regulation.
At the launch of the report, I announced the establishment of a national working group to progress the agenda set out in the report and to advise me on future measures for the appropriate regulation of complementary therapists.
Question No. 315 answered with Question No. 311.
