Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I listened intently to what Deputies McManus and Neville stated. I met organisations representing counsellors and psychotherapists. Four groups are involved and they hope to meet in the near future to see if they can come to a general consensus on entry criteria. I do not know whether they will be able to do so. The concern of Deputies for the inclusion of counsellors and psychotherapists in the system of statutory registration being established has been made clear throughout the passage of the Bill. We are all conscious that the provision of counselling and psychotherapy services has increased in recent years and agreed on the need for people to be confident that a counsellor or psychotherapist is qualified, competent and fit to practice.

I have already mentioned that section 4 of the Bill provides for the inclusion by regulation of additional professions in the proposed system of statutory registration. This section also sets out the criteria to which the Minister shall have regard in considering the designation of further professions under the legislation. These criteria include the extent to which the profession has a defined scope of practice and applies a distinct body of knowledge; the extent to which the profession is established, including whether at least one professional body represents a significant proportion of the profession's practitioners; and the existence of defined routes of entry into the profession and of independently assessed entry qualifications. The various professional groups representing psychotherapists and counsellors have been encouraged to prepare for statutory registration by working to explore a common understanding on baseline qualifications and scope of practice. I also hope to see a further strengthening of their voluntary regulation arrangements.

As indicated on Committee Stage, a working group was established to examine the role of psychotherapy in the health service in order to assess requirements for the future. The working group's report has been finalised and I expect the next step will be to put in place an action plan for progressing the issues. This will include a further exploration of issues relating to the development of an appropriate model of service. The outcome of this work, together with the work that must be done by the representative professional groups, will form part of the formal process required in line with the provisions for the designation of further professions as set out under section 4. For the reasons outlined, I cannot accept the amendment.

See this speech in context