Cecilia Keaveney (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if, further to the setting up of the Health Professionals Council and the recent submission from the Irish Association for Creative Arts Therapies, she is in a position to progress the recognition of the Creative Arts Therapists including music therapy to professional standards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12861/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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In relation to the recommendations contained in the Eleventh Report of the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs — "Defining Music Therapy" — in relation to the recognition of music therapy, the Deputy will appreciate that the development of the human resources of the health service must be dictated by service developments and strongly evidence-based decision making aligned closely to improved patient and client care. The creation of a new health service profession should only be considered in circumstances where there is a clearly identified service requirement for the provision of a new set of skills and competencies, knowledge and expertise which cannot be provided by existing health service staff/professions.

The establishment of new grades within the public health service is a human resource management matter for the Health Service Executive which, under Section 22 of the Health Act 2004, must have the approval of the Minister for Health and Children given with the consent of the Minister for Finance. My Department has advised the HSE that if it wishes to proceed with the establishment of a grade of music therapist in the health service, it must establish a business case for the introduction of the grade on the basis of service need and effective use of resources. My Department has given the HSE some guidance as to what information should be encompassed by such a business case and a response from the HSE is awaited.

The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 provides for the establishment of a system of statutory registration for health and social care professionals. The structure of the system of statutory registration comprises a registration board for each profession to be registered, a Health and Social Care Professionals Council with overall responsibility for the regulatory system and a committee structure to deal with disciplinary matters.

Music therapists or creative arts therapists are not one of the professions to be regulated from the outset. However, Section 4 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act provides for the inclusion by regulation of additional professions in the system of statutory registration. This section also sets out the criteria the Minister for Health and Children must have regard to 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 this criteria.

As the Deputy may be aware, I launched the Health and Social Care Professionals Council on 26 March and the Council held its inaugural meeting on this date. I understand that the Council intends to make a recommendation to the Minister in relation to the establishment of registration boards for the twelve professions to be registered from the outset as soon as practicable. However, the Deputy will appreciate that the Council will need to undertake a considerable amount of work, as detailed in the legislation, before it will be in a position to recommend the establishment of registration boards.