Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 18 is concerned with the power of a registration board to make or forward complaints to the council and, under section 52(3), a complaint to the council may be made on behalf of any person or by a registration board. On that basis, the issue raised in the Deputy's amendment is already provided for under the Bill.

Amendment No. 19 concerns the accreditation and inspection of training course providers and the monitoring of trends and performances in health services. The education and training courses, rather than the providers of courses, should be accredited. Under section 48, a registration board may approve a training programme if it is satisfied that it is suitable for the education and training of candidates for registration or may refuse to approve the programme if it is not so satisfied. A registration board may issue guidelines concerning the requirements for its approval of education and training programmes. Section 49(1)(a) requires the registration board to satisfy itself as to the suitability of the education training, assessment and examination provided by any education and training programme approved by the board. Section 49(1)(b) requires the registration board to satisfy itself as to the clinical experience provided in any education and training programme approved by the board. Therefore, while the courses providers are not accredited, their courses are.

With regard to research, under section 27(4), registration boards may, with the council's approval, engage in research into education and training relating to the practice of a designated profession, including the formulation of experimental curricula and the evaluation of existing programmes and examination and assessment procedures. The registration board may also maintain statistical records and make those records available for research and planning.

The carrying out of research to monitor trends and performance outside the education field seems to be a function more proper to other bodies, such as the Health Service Executive, and it would not be appropriate to charge registration boards with this duty. I do not, therefore, propose to accept these amendments.

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