Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

As Senators may be aware, the Department of Health and Children engaged in a process of consultation with the relevant professional bodies in 2000. The document that was agreed on foot of that process, which sets out how the system of statutory registration should operate, forms the basis of the legislative proposals under discussion. It recommends that the chairperson of the health and social care professionals council should be independent.

I wish to speak about amendment No. 4. It is not considered appropriate that the chairperson of the council should be a registered practitioner, as the amendment would facilitate, because the independence of the chairperson is considered essential to the council's effective operation. If the chairperson were a registered practitioner, he or she could be perceived as representing the interests of a particular profession to a greater extent than the interests of other professions. The chairperson will be entitled to vote on issues at a meeting and will have a casting vote when a vote is tied. If the chairperson is a member of a particular profession, it could be construed that the profession has an unfair advantage over the other professions which will have just one vote.

I would now like to speak about amendment No. 5. The Bill, as currently drafted, provides that when the Minister appoints the members of the health and social care professionals council, he or she will consult a wide range of organisations, as he or she considers appropriate. As I mentioned on Committee Stage, this section of the Bill would be overly prescriptive if the word "may" were to be replaced by the word "shall".

On this basis I consider it more appropriate to leave this section as it stands because this subsection of the Bill provides for the Minister to consult with any organisation considered appropriate. Therefore, I do not propose to accept the Senator's amendments.