Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
1684. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the process by which professions who are currently unregulated by CORU can apply for recognition of their field; if there is a means by which representative bodies can formally request consideration of their profession for regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2183/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, CORU is the multi profession health and social care regulator in the State.
There are 17 health and social care professions designated for regulation by CORU under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 and currently there are registers open for 10 professions. Section 4 of the Act provides that, following a consultation process and with the approval of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Minister can make regulations designating a health or social care profession not already designated.
More than twenty unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. The issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex. In light of the various issues to be considered, and in line with ongoing work in my Department, the Health Research Board were requested to carry out research on behalf of the Department to assist in policy development in this area. The report, “National Approaches to Regulating Health and Social Care Professions”, examines the approaches to the regulation of health and social care professionals internationally and is publicly available on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea62b-national-approaches-to-regulating-health-and-social-care-professions/).
My officials are in the process of drawing from this report and other relevant sources in the development of policy for the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. In the meantime, CORU continues the complex work of preparing for regulation under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 those professions already designated.
It should be noted that as part of the development of policy proposals in this regard, my Department will need to consider the requirements arising from the transposition into Irish law of the EU Proportionality Test Directive (EU) 2018/958, (S.I. No. 413/2022 - European Union (Regulated Professions Proportionality Assessment) Regulations 2022), a proportionality assessment will need to be carried out before the adoption of any new regulated profession. Its intention is to prevent disproportionate regulatory measures by introducing objective proportionality assessments and increasing stakeholder involvement.
