James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The person will have to achieve a standard that allows him or her to be listed on the register. Where the person does not achieve the standard he or she will be able to get on the register and there ends the matter. Section 7(a) and New Section 38(1) provide that a person returning to practice must satisfy the registration board that he or she meets the criteria and fulfils the conditions in this regard. In other words, the person will have to again prove his or her competence.

With regard to fees, I spent a great deal of time on this issue. When the matter first came across my desk the proposed fee was €380. With no disrespect to the people concerned I wondered if it was about empire building. The €295 fee is a reduced fee. Looking at the economics of this, the fee should be closer to €380. As to the reason the fee is higher in some areas than it is for teachers and nurses, the answer is obvious. There are 60,000 nurses and tens of thousands of teachers. Running an organisation requires payment of fixed overheads. The medical registration fees are in excess of €1,000. The level of fee comes down to the volume of work, etc. Another factor is the amount of litigation which a body would be required to handle. It is akin to a quasi-judicial process.