Vol. 397 No. 6
157 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Health if he is allocating any finance towards investigating the possible uses of alternative medicine and the research into the development of alternative medicine; and if he will outline his policy regarding same.
I am aware of the growing interest in a wide range of complementary and alternative therapies. My Department maintain contact with the representative bodies for those engaged in these activities. Many of the therapies are employed by registered medical practitioners, registered nurses and other professionals with a training in the conventional areas of health care, as well as by persons without any such mainstream training. I have no proposals to regulate this area of activity at the present time.
The question of the appropriate use of such therapies is primarily a matter for clinical judgment and, while I have no proposals to initiate research in this area, appropriate research projects could be considered for funding by the Health Research Board on the same basis as other research projects in the field of health research.
