Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 9, line 17, after "subsection (1)," to insert "and in particular shall, within the period of 12 months from the passing of this Act, so designate the profession of counsellor or therapist,".

The biggest and potentially most dangerous unregulated profession in the area of social and health care of which I am aware consists of the myriad counsellors and therapists of various kinds. Both formally and informally, the Minister said that the problem was that none of those groups of counsellors and therapists could agree on a common set of qualifications. That there are people in this country with a six-month diploma who can put up a plaque saying that they are psychotherapists or counsellors and, perhaps with no more than one manual at their disposal, probe into people's conscious and subconscious and explore their emotions makes this profoundly dangerous territory. That they do not prescribe pills does not make it any less dangerous. It can create dependency and do harm. It can upset people by making their emotional conditions worse. We are not regulating this area because those practising in this field cannot agree. Amendment No. 3 recommends that within 12 months of the passing of this legislation, the profession of counsellor or therapist should be designated, either by agreement of the representatives of the various practitioners or by a definition that is imposed by the State. Such designation is necessary to protect vulnerable people from what I consider to be nothing less than manipulation in some instances.