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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 7 Mar 1963

Vol. 200 No. 6

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Recognition of College of Surgical Chiropody.

15.

asked the Minister for Health whether the training afforded by a body in Cork, described as the College of Surgical Chiropody, is officially recognised.

I understand that the title "the College of Surgical Chiropody" is the business name in which a business in Cork which advertises a course of training in chiropody is registered under the Registration of Business Names Act, 1916. It will be appreciated that it would be illegal for any person, not a company, to conduct any such business without registration under the Act mentioned and that such registration does not imply that any form of official recognition is accorded to or that any official responsibility is taken for the activities of the business.

Neither should the fact that the proprietor of this business quotes in his prospectus a letter which he addressed to my Department or the fact that, in a statement which he issued recently to a Sunday newspaper, he claimed that "he was in regular touch" with my Department and the Department of Education be taken as an indication that any person whose sole qualification in chiropody is that he has completed the course advertised by this institution would be accepted for appointment to any post in the health services involving duties in chiropody.

In order to make the position quite clear, I think it is desirable that I should put on record that a certificate that a person had undertaken this training (which consists of a correspondence course requiring, according to the prospectus, an hour's study daily for six months, followed by a fortnight's practical instruction) is not accepted as having any value in relation to any public appointment in this country at present and, further, that it is extremely unlikely that it will have any such value at any future date. I feel that I should also say further that, to the extent to which the statements of the proprietor of this business might be taken at their face value, they are calculated to mislead the public and can only tend to discredit our national reputation in the matter of professional training generally.

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