Vol. 559 No. 2
157 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the proposed directive on the recognition of professional qualifications which will allow doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists to practise here without registration. [26047/02]
The Government welcomes the joint request to the European Commission from the European Parliament and European Council to consolidate and simplify the directives dealing with the recognition of professional qualifications in order to facilitate the freedom of movement of professionals within the Union. The European Commission launched its proposal for a consolidated directive in March of this year.
As the proposal deals with the recognition of qualifications across a wide range of professions the Department of Education and Science is the lead Department in these negotiations and the Government is represented by the Tánaiste at council level regarding the matter. Since the launch of the Commission's proposal, officials of my Department have been in close contact with the regulatory bodies in the health sector in relation to this directive.
My Department has raised a number of concerns regarding the proposal, both through the Department of Education and Science and directly with the Commission. The Deputy should be aware that other member states have expressed concerns similar to our own. My officials arranged a bilateral meeting with the Commission, at which the Medical Council was represented, in order to discuss concerns regarding the regulation of health professionals, mainly arising from questions of registration, and the implications of the Commission's proposed directive on such regulation. My Department was also represented at the European Parliament's hearing on the proposal.
