Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

On 26 May 2004 the former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Micheál Martin stated that: "While the proposed amendments to the Medical Practitioners Act will relate to conventional medical practitioners, it must be acknowledged that the public will continue to use the services of alternative and complementary practitioners and alternative and complementary remedies." That suggests the legislation will not include these alternative practitioners who do not purport to be doctors but are natural healers, such as the lady to whom I referred earlier.

There is a need to regulate the treatments people use. Anyone can give out a placebo except a doctor. Doctor Paschal Carmody, with his dubious cancer treatment, was struck off the register but can still continue as an alternative practitioner and give placebos that doctors cannot give. There must be some measure to ensure that someone prescribing tablets is giving something that is evidence-based, that is, that it works, as opposed to tablets that purport to be something but which amount to nothing, such as in the case of homoeopaths. I have nothing against complementary practitioners but I have a problem with alternative practitioners who set themselves up as the alternative to traditional medicine and who endanger people's lives. The Medical Practitioners Act refers to mainstream medical practitioners. My concern is the alternative medical practitioners. Will the Tánaiste re-examine this situation?

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