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Health and Social Care Professionals

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2019

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Ceisteanna (411)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

411. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the situation regarding the recognition of professional qualifications in a post-Brexit scenario specifically regarding the recognition of nursing qualifications from British universities here and Irish universities in Britain; and if qualifications will be respected and equivalence accepted. [17759/19]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Currently, there is EU legislation, Directive 2005/36/EC, which provides an EEA-wide system for the recognition of professional qualifications and under which Irish and UK citizens have professional qualifications, including those in nursing recognised, should they wish to work in another member state. The continued recognition of professional qualifications is an issue of critical importance for the health system given the number of health care professionals who received their professional training in Ireland and work in the United Kingdom ( UK) or vice versa.

This issue has been considered in the context of the negotiations on the Withdrawal Agreement and on the Framework for the Future Relationship. An EU/UK agreement on the recognition of qualifications, were that to be achieved, would be expected to address the issue in the most comprehensive way possible.

Should the UK leave on the basis of an agreed Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, the current EU Directive will continue to apply to the UK during that time.  The EU and the UK indicated in the Political Declaration setting out the framework of the Future Relationship between the EU and the UK that during negotiations they should develop appropriate arrangements for the recognition of those professional qualifications which are in the Parties' mutual interest.  

Should the UK leave the EU on the basis of a No Deal scenario, Directive 2005/36/EC will no longer apply in the UK, or to UK qualifications, with effect from the withdrawal date.

The Irish health professional regulators each have “third country” recognition routes which apply to qualifications which are obtained in neither the EEA nor in Ireland. They have considered these “third country” recognition routes with the objective of ensuring efficient routes for recognition of UK qualifications, while ensuring that this is done in an objective, evidence-based and non-discriminatory way.  The Irish regulators, including the nurse and midwife regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), are satisfied that they can continue to recognise UK qualifications within approximately the same time frames and the same level of application fee, but under this different legal base. 

These routes provide not only for the recognition of professional qualifications where education and training standards are equivalent in Ireland and in the country of training; but they also provide for the consideration of relevant post-qualification professional experience where, for example, training standards differ or where an applicant may possess an older, foreign qualification which does not meet the current Irish reference standards.

The NMBI has information on the implications of Brexit on its website at www.nmbi.ie/Registration/Brexit.

In relation to the post-Brexit recognition of Irish  health professional qualifications in the UK, the UK has prepared its European Qualifications (Health and Social Care Profession) Regulations 2018 which it is intended to enact in the case of a no-deal Brexit.  This legislation will enable Irish health professional qualifications, including those in nursing, to be recognised in the UK.

It is important to note that decisions on qualification recognition already made under the EU Directive remain valid and professionals can continue to practice in either jurisdiction subject, of course, to compliance with all regulations within that profession.

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