Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am new to understanding the regulatory area more generally, so I ask the witnesses to forgive me. I spent 15 years in the private sector, but mostly abroad. When they talk about the professional bodies regulating a lot of these members, what is the legal status of those professional bodies? Are they privately incorporated as separate legal entities? Are they public agencies? How do they legally function?