Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The need for a discussion on the regulation of psychologists was precipitated by an RTÉ programme by Barry O'Kelly in recent days which raised serious concerns about what is occurring. There is no regulation or State registration. We set up CORU in 2007 for the regulation of healthcare providers and, unfortunately, psychologists do not at present come in under its remit. Clear evidence was provided in the programme of a person who presented themselves as having a qualification, who was employed by the HSE. The person was also registered with the Psychological Society of Ireland, although they did not have the required qualifications.

This issue goes back as far as 2012 and although we are now ten years on, we still do not have a system for the registration of the people who are supposedly investigating people who have a health issue that needs to be properly assessed and a report presented. We cannot allow this to continue. The issue must be addressed immediately. We must put the regulation in place, but we also need CORU to put in place a system whereby it will review all the qualifications and make sure that people are properly qualified. In the case presented by RTÉ, it was clear the person's paper qualification was fraudulent. The person operated as if they were qualified, but they were not and did not have any qualification. Could the Minister of State confirm to the House that immediate action will be taken to regulate this sector so that people can feel safe when a family member is assessed by someone who is putting themselves forward as being qualified?

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