Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As previously stated, Sinn Féin supports this Bill, which as indicated now and previously by the Minister of State, is a technical Bill amending the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, which established the Health and Social Care Professionals Council and, following a protracted debate in this House, which Deputy Neville will recall all too well, 12 health and social care professions. While the main purpose of the Bill is to allow the Minister for Health to continue to make appointments to the council because the 12 registration boards have not yet been established and, therefore, are not in a position to make their own nominations.

I ask the Minister of State to update us on this issue. Have there been further developments in terms of the establishment of registration boards across the identified 12 professions?

One of the issues which was the subject of substantial debate on Committee Stage was extending the number of stated professions. I refer specifically to an amendment tabled by Deputy Fitzpatrick on behalf of his colleague, Deputy Neville, in which he proposed adding the role of psychological therapist to the list. I record my support for that proposition which I also supported during the 2005 debate on the principal Act. I would like to see us moving forward speedily in including it and other health care professionals in the accredited list.

I wish to focus once more on the situation that applies across several of the professions mentioned. I will use the example of speech and language therapists to underscore what is a major need, namely, lifting the current recruitment embargo in order that the current demand for specific professional services can be met by the supply. There is no question but that we have significant numbers of highly trained speech and language therapists - as we have across other professions named within the cohort of 12 provided for in the Bill - for whom there are no vacancies or opportunities to perform their specific role in the health service. We are continuing to train a significant number year on year of highly skilled, highly motivated young speech and language therapists, but we are training them for export, for employment overseas. This is really sad because, make no mistake, there is a huge demand for both adult and child speech and language support services across the State. To lose so many unemployed, fully qualified therapists to other countries across the globe is a source of huge regret for every one of us and a terrible reality for graduates, their parents and communities. Again, I take the opportunity on Fifth Stage to make a special appeal on behalf of those who have chosen a particular career path across all of the listed professions provided for and enumerated in the list of those who will have immediate access to roles on the councils. It is not only in their interests, in terms of career opportunities, but also in the interests of those of us who depend on the health service that the recruitment embargo be lifted at the earliest opportunity in a programmatic way, if necessary. It is incumbent on us to open up opportunities for our highly trained young people to remain at home, as well as to seriously address the very significant and identified need that is not being catered for.

I welcome the passage of the Bill and look forward to the time when it can be declared redundant, when the Minister will no longer require these powers and the various representative bodies of the named professions will be able to make their own appointments.

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