Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

My question may be more relevant to the previous group of amendments. Section 4(2) provides that after consulting the council, "the Minister may, by regulation, designate for the purposes of his Act any health or social care profession not already designated under subsection (1)". A profession not included in section 4(1), and therefore not "designated" under the provisions of this Bill, is that of the rehabilitation engineer. Given that a medical device directive has come from the EU and that such engineers are involved in the development and modification of these types of devices, it seems remiss that they will not be governed by the health and social care professionals council because they are not a recognised profession under this legislation. It is unacceptable that the EU should be setting standards for these people while they are excluded from this legislation and, thus, from the governance of the council.

For occupational therapists and speech therapists working in rehabilitative situations, it is generally the rehabilitation engineer who is the prominent professional with overriding responsibility. Unlike the professionals working under his or her direction, however, the rehabilitation engineer is not governed by the council in his or her work. What is the timeframe envisaged in section 4(2) during which the Minister may designate other professions not included within section 4(1)? With advances in assistive and rehabilitative technology, rehabilitation engineers have a major role to play, particularly in the disability sector, and should be covered by the provisions of this Bill.