Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I am glad to have the opportunity to say a few words on a Bill that is about setting clear standards for various professionals and ensuring that the description of a service relates in some measure to its quality. That is a theme I wish to develop following a point raised by Deputy Stanton on qualified professionals in the health service. It is vital to ensure that they are not only qualified but experienced enough when functioning in an emergency to provide the counselling or advice required by a vulnerable person or group of people. Professionals must be able to ensure that the way in which they handle a subject is the best possible. I am sure every Member can cite instances in which that has not happened, which is not a criticism of any profession but of the way in which professions have been integrated in the mainstream and of the in-service training they receive.

The list of designated professions, which I note is not yet complete, should be much more extensive than currently drafted. I do not know why the opportunity has not been taken to take that course of action. To take up another point raised by Deputy Stanton, we have all heard of a particular case involving a person practising alternative medicine. While I am not opposed to alternative medicine, which has a great deal of merit and needs to be supported, certain standards should prevail. That the integrity of the entire practice can be severely damaged by one or two cases in which the highest standards have not been applied became extremely obvious in the instance of a particular case which came to public notice. Deputy Stanton was correct to note that when a vulnerable person believes he or she has a serious illness and is informed that a person or group is capable of alleviating the problem and restoring the patient to full health, he or she will tend to pay again and again for a service.

It is of considerable importance, therefore, to provide for some degree of transparency and accountability in such circumstances. No consumer or patient should be left open to exploitation by any group, professional or otherwise, but the degree to which the Department can impose standards remains to be seen. It is obviously not happening to the extent that it should. I have great respect for those who practice alternative medicine having been a beneficiary of their activities from time to time. I would not be able to walk around as I do without the services of chiropractors. While many people have a deep suspicion of all alternative medicine practitioners, there are those who have a knowledge of anatomy, especially spinologists, which others do not specialise in. It is, therefore, important to ensure high standards and a quality end service. As with every profession, there will be some practitioners who are not as good as others and who are not perfectionists.

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