Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2012
50. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Health the progress that has been made on introducing regulations for psychotherapists and counsellors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56887/12]
View answerThe Health and Social Care Professionals Council (the Council) and the 12 registration boards to be established under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (the Act) are responsible for protecting the public by regulating health and social care professionals. The Council 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.
Currently, the following twelve health and social care professions are designated under the Act: clinical biochemists, dietitians, medical scientists, occupational therapists, orthoptists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, radiographers, social care workers, social workers and speech and language therapists. In addition, the proposed rationalisation of the Opticians Board into the Council will see another two professions, optometrists and dispensing opticians, being regulated under the Act towards the end of next year or early 2014.
Under the Act, the Minister for Health may designate other health and social care professions if he considers that it is in the public interest to do so and if the specified criteria have been met. While my immediate priority is to proceed with the establishment of the registration boards for the professions currently designated under the 2005 legislation, I am committed to bringing counsellors and psychotherapists within the ambit of the Act as soon as possible.
There are a number of issues still to be clarified, however. These include decisions on whether one or two professions are to be regulated, on the title or titles of the profession or professions, and on the minimum qualifications to be required of counsellors and psychotherapists. A report from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is due next year and will establish standards of knowledge, skills and competence to be acquired by students of counselling and psychotherapy. This will allow for the regulation of education courses for the future. In addition, CORU will need to assess the adequacy of the wide range of qualifications held by existing practitioners to establish their eligibility for registration.
