John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 76: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if the concerns raised in the correspondence (details supplied) regarding the legislation for the chiropractic profession in the Health and Social Care Professional Bill 2004 will be addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32110/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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This Bill shows us the way forward by establishing a framework for the statutory registration of health and social care professionals. The 12 professions selected for inclusion in the Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004 were chosen because they are long established providers of health and social care within the public health service and, in most instances, also have experience of self-regulation. In addition, the qualifications of the majority of these professions are already regulated within the public health service.

Section 4 of the Bill provides for the inclusion by regulation of additional professions in the proposed system of statutory registration. This section also sets out the criteria to which the Minister shall have regard in considering the designation of further professions under the legislation. The Deputy will appreciate that the future inclusion of any profession must be dependent upon its meeting these criteria.

I favour the programmed and orderly inclusion of additional health and social care professionals in this new statutory framework and I will consider the case for chiropractors in that light. By the nature of regulations as opposed to primary legislation, the designation of additional professions by regulation can be progressed speedily, in line with the consultative process set out in section 4 of the Bill and the oversight given by the Houses of the Oireachtas which must pass a resolution approving draft regulations in the matter.