Mr. Tony Accardi:

As president of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland I thank the members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health for agreeing to meet us today. While our requests are technically complex, the principle is simple. These regulations, as currently drafted, will place the delivery of evidence-based, patient-centred chiropractic care in Ireland at a serious disadvantage. They will remove the capacity of duly qualified chiropractors to conduct X-ray examinations of patients or to refer patients for X-ray. This regulatory change will have a profoundly negative impact on the safe and competent delivery of care that chiropractors provide to thousands of Irish patients each year. I hand over to my colleague, Mr. James Cosgrave, to explain briefly who we are and what we do.