Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 9, line 20, after "(1)," to insert the following:

"and in particular shall, within the period of 12 months from the passing of this Act, so designate the profession of counsellor or therapist,".

Will the Minister of State accept this amendment? I am sure he is aware that thousands of people attend counsellors, therapists and psychotherapists for a range of issues and needs. Some people have been in therapy for many years. Many are vulnerable, perhaps going through crises in their lives and need expert and professional support, for which they turn to counsellors or therapists. Regrettably, it is easy for a person to set up as a counsellor in Ireland. There is a wide range of standards in terms of the type of counsellors people go to.

When the Ferns report was published, I was struck by the fact that one of the criticisms made of the health board was that it did not provide counselling for the little girls of Monageer national school. The board should have provided it but the question in the context of this Bill is what guarantee have we that counselling to such a vulnerable group of children is of the proper standard if there is no formal regulation? This question must be answered. People may have degrees in psychology, which is at least some level of professional standard, but not every psychologist is a good or appropriate therapist while there are many excellent therapists who are not psychologists. We need regulation of this area.

We could argue about people with bad feet or bunions getting professional treatment, which should be the case, but we have a duty to protect an abuse victim with a damaged psyche from meddling by people who guide and direct in a way they believe is appropriate simply because they have set themselves up as counsellors and therapists, done courses or may have strange ideas about what a counsellor or therapist is. It is a central and essential discipline. If we ignore it, we are leaving many people at risk. I would have believed that the Minister of State, who is not listening to a word I am saying, would consider this a primary duty.

It is interesting that the Minister for State at the Department of Education and Science with special responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, is also here tonight, for is this not a matter for him? I will not start all over again. In terms of counselling and therapy for young people and adults and when we are dealing with emotional needs as opposed to physical needs, do we not need to ensure standards are set and regulations are in place for this area of treatment and professionalism or absent professionalism?

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