Mary Henry (Independent)

I regret this very much because I do not believe that the 70% of chiropodists, represented by the body mentioned by the Minister of State, are those with university qualifications in podiatry. As the Minister of State knows, we are enthusiastic supporters of the Bologna process, which tries to ensure reciprocity of degrees across Europe. Some 40 countries now subscribe to this and Ireland was one of the earliest signatories. From the viewpoint of transparency and accuracy, it would be much better to use the internationally known name. "Chiropody" may be more commonly used in Ireland at the moment but the degrees we are looking for are in podiatry. In fact the Minister of State is taking advice from people who, while no doubt worthy, are not those who will be among the wave of people looking after foot care in Ireland in the future.

As the Minister of State knows, with the rise of diabetes, this is becoming more and more important. I regret very much he has not taken these very simple amendments on board because the Bologna process is one of the most excellent processes we have been involved in for many years. I wish that had been the framework, rather than consulting with people who will not be determining the future of this discipline in Ireland.