Ms Deirdre Walsh:

He could, but to date, successive Ministers have not. Nonetheless, it is the Minister who makes that point.

The second piece on which the board advises the Minister is protection of title. The process is the same, and the same 13 person board is involved. The board may commission research, talk to professional bodies or get additional advice. It regularly sets up sub-committees and can draw on the expertise of those who may not be members of the board. Again, the board will advise the Minister, and it is the Minister who makes the regulations on protection of title.

Then there is a third piece, namely, the desirable qualifications for new graduates into the future. These people will not be grandparented, as it were. These are future qualifications. It is the registration board that makes these regulations. Those are the three processes.

This links back to Deputy O'Reilly's point. Nothing will happen overnight when these regulations are signed. The board is appointed, it starts this period of work and then, at the end of the transition period, which might be 18 months or two years, it establishes its register. It is then open to receive registrants, and there is a two-year period within which people can register. Once someone registers, if he or she decides to register on week one as opposed to six months later, he or she is subject to full fitness-to-practise, as applies to doctors, nurses and so on. It could be that someone has a complaint about someone using the title which is now protected or someone is accused of professional misconduct or poor professional performance, the same as other bodies. It is the same fitness-to-practise process. Preliminary proceedings are held, the committee investigates and the cases go to fitness-to-practise if substantiated.

Going back to the point on-----