We have received apologies from Deputy Cairns and Senators Clonan, O'Loughlin and Seery Kearney. Before we begin today's discussion I wish to read a statement on behalf of the committee. Following the airing of the "RTÉ Investigates" programme on 6 March 2023 on Ireland's unregulated psychologists, the committee wishes to highlight its concern regarding the situation where unqualified individuals can practice as psychologists and carry out diagnostic assessments on children and individuals. The committee is aware the statutory regulatory body CORU ensures each individual member of a profession is recognised by a specific body as being competent to practise his or her profession under formal mechanisms and this is provided for by law. However, psychology services and psychologists remain unregulated in Ireland.
In this committee's recent report on the alignment of disability services with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, we highlighted how a crisis of culture, recruitment and retention exists in children's disability services and how parents experience significant distress watching their children suffer and struggle because of lengthy waiting lists and a lack of diagnosis and early intervention services for their children. The committee recommends that the Government undertakes crisis talks to address the issue adequately. The committee also recommends that the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People model must be developed to fully align with the UNCRPD and deliver early intervention and quality-of-life outcomes for children. The committee believes the issue of unqualified psychologists providing diagnostic assessments on children is symptomatic of the crisis and calls for urgent action by the Government and the Department of Health in conjunction with CORU to regulate the profession.