Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2012
623. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Health if the new annual fee for Health and Social Care Professionals to commence from 31 May 2013 can be reduced; if he will acknowledge that the set annual registration fee of €295 is significantly higher than the fees required of similarly paid and qualified professionals, that the registration fee would be a significant burden on social care staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52208/12]
View answer665. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Health his views on the proposed annual fee of €295 which all social workers will have to pay from next May to register in order to continue practising in the State; if it is his intention to reduce this fee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52579/12]
View answer678. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if he will review the proposed annual fee for the registration of social workers with a view to settling on a more affordable fee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52745/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 623, 665 and 678 together.
The Health and Social Care Professionals Council (HSCPC) and the 12 registration boards to be established under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 are responsible for protecting the public by regulating health and social care professionals. The Council (also known as CORU) was established in March 2007 and is working to put in place the necessary structures for registration, education and fitness to practise for the 12 health and social care professions designated under the Act.
The first registration board to be established, the Social Workers Registration Board, was established in August 2010, and the associated Social Workers Register opened for receipt and processing of applications on 31st May, 2011. A second registration board, the Radiographers Registration Board, was established on 16th December, 2011 and its register is expected to be established in the near future. Three further registration boards, the Dietitians Registration Board, the Occupational Therapists Registration Board, and the Speech and Language Therapists Registration Board have been established with effect from 1st November 2012. It is also proposed to establish the Physiotherapists Registration Board in early 2013.
All the registration boards and their registers for the remaining designated professions should be established by 2015. Under the provisions of the 2005 Act, there is a two-year transitional period from the date on which the register of the members of that profession is established, during which existing practitioners may apply for registration. The Council which is an independent statutory body is responsible for setting the level of fees. The current fee structure is as follows: A registration fee of €100 for new graduates, who have obtained recognised professional qualifications within two years of applying for registration; An annual retention fee of €295 for registrants, including those who paid the lower rate on graduation, is payable on the annual renewal date.
All health regulators are self funding by way of annual fee income with operational costs being determined by the complexity and breadth of statutory functions specified in its legislation. The greater the registrant base the lower the annual fee charged. Given the enormous registrant base in teaching and nursing, for example, the annual fee charged amounts to less than €100 per annum. Health regulators are single profession regulators whereas the HSCPC is charged with regulating twelve disparate professions, which can add significantly to operating costs. The twelve designated professions to be registered by the Council range in number from under 50 in the case of Clinical Biochemists to a high of 3,000 approximately for Medical Scientists and 5,550 for Social Care Workers, only amount to about 20,000 registrants in total across all professions. is is an extremely low registrant base when compared to a registrant base of well in excess of 60,000 for nurses.
The HSCPC is charged with extensive statutory functions under the 2005 Act, registration being only one, and the annual fee of €295 being charged is considered the minimum required to enable the Council to operate. The fee charged by the Council, which is mindful of the requirement to become self funding by end 2015, is on a par with that charged by other health regulators and less than some in certain cases. It is calculated approximately on the basis of the overall projected costs of the agency when fully operational divided by the total number of registrants and then further reduced to €295 to take account of the Council's phased establishment. The State is currently funding the HSCPC in its establishment phase (€1.937 million in 2012) to offset the current shortfall in income from registration fees and will continue to do so on a reducing basis for the next 3 years.
In response to concerns about the level of fee, the HSCPC has reviewed the regulatory structure to establish what scope exists for controlling registration fees and operational costs and has adopted the following measures: Where an existing practitioner with the necessary experience and recognised professional qualifications, or equivalent, pays the registration fee of €295 and is granted registration during the transitional period, also known as grandparenting, the application fee will cover them for the remainder of the grandparenting period and one full year of retention of registration after expiration of grandparenting. This concession will only apply to existing practitioners availing of the transitional provisions set out in the Act; the Council has requested the HSE to put in place arrangements for the deduction of the registration fee from monthly salary thereby spreading the cost throughout the year; Finally, the Council has proposed significant restructuring of the way in which the designated professions will be registered and regulated to provide a more cost effective operating system. This will require the enactment of primary legislation in due course.
