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Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2021

Thursday, 1 July 2021

Questions (374)

Johnny Guirke

Question:

374. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Health the current turnaround time for applications for physiotherapist registration to an agency (details supplied); the average turnaround time in each of the years 2010 to 2020, in tabular form; the plan to reduce this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28507/21]

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Written answers

CORU has provided data in tabular form on timeframes for both the recognition of non-Irish physiotherapy qualifications and the timeframe for decisions on physiotherapy registration applications.

Table 1 shows the average times for the recognition of non-Irish physiotherapy qualifications, from when a completed application is received to when a decision is made. The data starts in 2017 as non-Irish qualifications were not considered in any volume until 2017.

Table 2 shows the average timeframe from when a registration application has begun to when a decision is made beginning with the opening of the register in 2016. A registration application can only be made by those who have one of the approved Irish qualifications or a non-Irish qualification that has already been recognised.

CORU records applications for registration from the date that the initial application was received. Table 2 includes those applications that were incomplete and required the applicant to provide further information. Consequently, the period required to process completed applications is less than that presented in Table 2. Significant outliers in which an applicant has not provided information for a significant period negatively skew the dataset.

I met with the Chairperson and CEO of CORU earlier this year and discussed the issues that the current time required to process registration and recognition application pose for applicants and the health service. Following our discussion, a variety of measures have been initiated by CORU in order to reduce timeframes, including a programme for increased frequency of regulatory decision making, additional temporary staff resources, and the recruitment of additional assessors and the development of parallel processing. I anticipate a reduction in the period required to process both recognition and registration applications.

Table 1: Average number of days to reach a decision on the recognition of non-Irish qualifications from the day a complete file is submitted.

Recognition of Physiotherapy Applications (excluding EPC*)

Number of decisions

Average Days to issuance of a decision

2017

76

67

2018

155

77

2019

145

70

2020

104

70

* the extremely short timeframe for reporting means that data for physiotherapy applicants who come through the European Professional Card or “EPC” process has not been included in this response. The EPC process, which applies to EU/EEA applicants and involves a maximum timeframe for decision making of two months, delivers shorter decision-making timeframes so inclusion of that data would reduce these averages.

Table 2: Registration of Physiotherapy Application: Average processing time from receipt of an application to issuance of a decision.

Registration of Physiotherapy Applications

Average Number of Days from receipt to issuance of a decision *

2016

461

2017

130

2018

129

2019

70

2020

75

2021

60

* This data reflects standard applications and does not include a number of outstanding grandparenting applications as the grandparenting period is now closed. CORU is currently prioritising these complex applications, the majority of which are incomplete and need to provide further documentation before they can be registered.

CORU, as Ireland's multi-profession health and social care regulator protects the public by regulating entry to designated health and social care professions. Applicants are admitted to a CORU register when they have demonstrated that they are suitably qualified, have committed to adhere to their profession’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics, and are a fit and proper person to engage in the profession, which requires being vetted by the National Vetting Bureau. In addition, those who have received their qualifications outside the State are required to have their qualifications recognised before they apply for registration.

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