Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 90, to delete lines 8 to 14 and substitute the following: “(2) The Council may, until the 1st anniversary of the commencement of section 94 of the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2019, grant registration in any particular list of the Specialist Division to a medical practitioner who—

(a)is registered, or is able to be registered, in the General Division,

(b)on or before 31 December 2008, both met the qualifying criteria for appointment to a medical post in the State as a consultant and occupied such post, and

(c)satisfies the Council that he or she has sufficient competency such that he or she should be registered as a specialist in that list.”.

This amendment reflects a commitment given on Committee Stage to review and, if necessary, revise a Committee Stage amendment to the Bill. The Committee Stage discussion was very helpful because several Members, principally Deputies O'Reilly and Donnelly, sought greater clarity on eligibility for registration on the specialist division of the Medical Council's register of a small cohort of medical practitioners who were correctly appointed to consultant posts prior to 2008. As we discussed at the committee, a small number of people would have qualified but, for whatever reasons, whether family life or something else, did not avail of the grandfathering clause at that time. I do think any Deputy had a difficulty with this cohort being dealt with. Deputy O'Reilly wanted to check that the provision was specific. I am revising the text, therefore, to bring additional clarity to the scope of the provision, specially regarding the cohort of medical practitioners that it is intended to capture. The amendment specifies that a consultant must have been correctly appointed to his or her post under the terms in operation in 2008 and must satisfy competency requirements for registration. I thank Deputies for their helpful comments on Committee Stage. I trust and hope that the revised wording addresses their concern and I respectfully ask the House to accept my amendment.

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