I propose to take Questions Nos. 513 to 515, inclusive, together.
CORU is Ireland's multi-profession health regulator for regulating health and social care professionals. CORU’s role is to protect the public by regulating the health and social care professions designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended), including setting the standards that health and social care professionals must meet to be eligible to be registered and maintaining registers of persons who meet those standards There are two forms of application to CORU: applications for the recognition of qualifications received outside the State and applications for registration.
Professional qualifications awarded outside the State are assessed through a process of “recognition” which involves expert assessment of a qualification’s alignment with the standards of proficiency required in Ireland, and assessment of professional experience and lifelong learning where required. Where a health and social care professional qualifies outside the State and applies to register in Ireland, they must apply for the recognition of their qualification. EU/EEA applicants have the right to have their qualifications assessed in accordance with the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, Directive 2005/36/EC on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications and the European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2017 (SI No 8 of 2017). Once a complete file has been submitted to CORU, ie one containing all of the required documentation, a decision must issue within four months. A similar process applies to persons who have qualifications attained outside of the EU/EEA.
Data on the Number of Applications and Related Processing Times
In respect of the Deputy’s request data on the number of applications and their approval response times over the past 24 months, CORU has informed my officials that the average processing time for an application for registration is 9.2 weeks for new applicants entering a profession. This represents an improvement on an average processing time of 14 weeks, which was the case in early 2020.
Please find a table below providing data on timeframes for recognition decisions from 2016-2020.
Table A: Average number of days required to reach a recognition of qualifications decision
Country of Qualification
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
UK incl NI
|
63
|
63
|
73
|
67
|
71
|
EU EEA
|
83
|
72
|
98
|
100
|
89
|
Rest of World
|
75
|
68
|
88
|
80
|
83
|
Total
|
65
|
65
|
79
|
74
|
77
|
Table B: Number of individual decisions made (excluding post compensation measures and European Professional Card)
Country of Qualification
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
UK incl NI
|
219
|
336
|
404
|
343
|
337
|
EU EEA
|
18
|
46
|
49
|
39
|
28
|
Rest of World
|
25
|
116
|
181
|
246
|
268
|
Total
|
262
|
498
|
634
|
628
|
633
|
The average length of time required by equivalent bodies in France, Germany, and Italy is not available to this office.
I met with the Chairperson and CEO of CORU earlier this year and raised the issue of timeframes for the recognition of qualifications and registration applications. Following our discussion, several measures have been initiated by CORU aimed at further reducing timeframes.
Crucially, until this year, applicants were required to complete the recognition process before initiating the registration process unless they had confirmed job offers. All applicants are now invited to initiate an application for registration as soon as they have submitted a complete application file to the Recognition Department.
This is part of a suite of innovations which have been initiated following my discussions with CORU. Further steps underway as part of this programme for change include:
- Continued reorganisation of work processes to respond to the evolving working from home context (this has changed over time requiring step adjustments as the situation develops)
- Full transfer to an online application system
- Increased frequency of regulatory decision making (Registration Board meetings)
- Additional temporary staff resources
- Recruitment of additional expert assessors in ‘under pressure’ professions
In respect of the level of online support offered to applicants CORU’s reliance on email as its primary means of communication with applicants, CORU is aware of the inconvenience that this can cause applicants. Consequently, CORU is testing a new telephone system that will allow for improved engagement with applicants in the context of remote working. This Voice over IP (VoIP) solution is currently being tested for external use having been trialled internally.
My department will continue to support CORU in achieving its strategic vision and improving timeframes for all applicants into the future.
I have forwarded your query regarding a specific applicant to CORU for direct reply. Queries relating to an individual’s entitlement to an income support are a matter for the Department of Social Protection.