Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

The wider issues raised by the Deputy are hugely important. The Bill shows the way forward by establishing a framework for the statutory registration of health and social care professionals. However, the 12 professions listed in section 4 (1) were selected because they are long-established providers of health and social care within the health service and have in most cases experience of self-regulation. In addition the qualifications of the majority of these professions are currently regulated within the public health service by being declared by the Minister under the Health Act 1970. This is not the case for chiropractors as they are not a public health service grade.

As Deputies are aware section 4 also provides for the inclusion, by regulation, of additional professions in the proposed system of statutory registration. This section sets out the criteria to which the Minister shall have regard in considering the designation of further professions under this legislation. These include the degree of risk to health, safety or welfare from the incompetent, mythical or impaired practice of the professions. They also include the extent to which a profession has a defined scope of practice and applies a distinct body of knowledge, and the extent to which the profession has established itself, requiring at least one professional body representing a significant proportion of the profession's practitioners. In addition, it includes the existence of defined routes of entry into the profession and of independently assessed entry qualifications. The future inclusion of any profession is dependent on its meeting these criteria.

The framework established by this Bill offers greatly enhanced protection for the public. The Tánaiste has made it clear she favours the programmed and orderly inclusion of additional health and social care professionals in the new statutory framework and she will consider the case for chiropractors in this light. I cannot accept this amendment.

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