Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to support this amendment to safeguard the title, which is very important. It was only in recent months I learned that one does not need a qualification to use that title. There is a public safety issue involved. In my innocence, I assumed that if a person said he or she was a physical therapist or a physiotherapist, he or she was qualified and had completed the necessary qualification process. Friends of mine have completed many years of study at college in order to be thus qualified.

We need to safeguard the title because there is a public safety issue involved. It is welcome that Ireland will soon hold the presidency of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy. Dr. Emma Stokes, a lecturer and researcher in Trinity College, is the sole candidate for the position. It is remiss, however, to come from a country that does not have protection of title. I hope therefore that the Government will accept this amendment or find a way to bring it forward.