Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the issue and giving me the opportunity to update the House on the ongoing regulatory programme being undertaken by the Department of Health, including the regulation of health and social care professionals. The 12 professions currently designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 are clinical biochemists, dietitians, medical scientists, occupational therapists, orthoptists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, radiographers, social care workers, social workers and speech and language therapists. The structure of the system of statutory regulation comprises a registration board for each of the professions to be regulated, and a Health and Social Care Professionals Council with overall responsibility for the regulatory system.

Six registration boards have been established to date and the registration boards and their registers for the remaining designated professions should be established by 2015. The Minister for Health may, under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, designate by regulation a health and social care profession not already designated if he or she considers it is in the public interest to do so and specified criteria have been met.

While the immediate priority is to proceed with the establishment of the registration boards for the 12 professions currently designated under the Act, the Department is committed to bringing counsellors and psychotherapists within the ambit of the Act as soon as possible. A number of counsellor and psychotherapist national groups have come together as the Psychological Therapies Forum to advise as a single voice for the professions in so far as it is possible to do so. A number of issues remain to be clarified, including decisions on whether one or two professions are to be regulated, on the title or titles of the profession or professions and on the minimum qualifications to be required of counsellors and psychotherapists.

Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, the successor to HETAC, has established a standards development group for counselling and psychotherapy which aims to establish standards of knowledge, skills and competence to be acquired by candidates for educational qualifications that will be required for careers in counselling and-or psychotherapy. This is an essential prerequisite to regulation of the profession. In addition, the standards of proficiency to be required of existing practitioners for registration will need to be established and the necessary qualifications prescribed. QQI has produced a draft report to which my Department furnished a response in November 2013. My Department will closely study the final QQI report as soon as it is available and will then engage with relevant stakeholders in order to work through the outstanding issues with a view to achieving regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists as soon as possible in the best interests of the protection of the public. Such regulation is also in the interests of the many fine psychotherapists working here. Their reputation is being damaged by those who are not qualified and will not qualify for registration once the regulations are in place.

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