Written answers

Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Department of Health and Children

Health Service Staff

10:00 pm

Photo of Brendan HowlinBrendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on the requirement that applicants for registration with a group (details supplied) must have,[i] inter alia[/i], 250 psycho-special hours of clinical placement; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there is no such requirement in other jurisdictions; if she will take steps to ensure that appropriate professional experience by persons trained in other jurisdictions can be adjudicated for validation purposes in cases in which the 250 hours requirement cannot be satisfied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8375/09]

Photo of Mary HarneyMary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Group to which the Deputy refers is the Association of Occupational Therapists (AOTI), the professional body for occupational therapists in Ireland. At present there is no system of statutory registration of occupational therapists in Ireland. The Health and Social Care Professionals Council (H&SCPC) was established in March 2007, under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, and will provide for the statutory registration of twelve separate health and social care professions including Occupational Therapists. It is currently in start-up mode.

While registration/membership of the AOTI is a matter for the Association itself, the AOTI provides advice to the Department in relation to the recognition of non-Irish qualifications in occupational therapy and I presume that the Deputy is referring to the requirement that occupational therapists with non-Irish qualifications must have, inter alia, completed 250 hours of psycho-social practice education before they can practise in Ireland.

Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications, applies to all EEA nationals wishing to practise a regulated profession in a Member State other than that in which they obtained their professional qualifications, on either a self-employed or employed basis. Its intention is to make it easier for qualified health professionals to practise their professions in European countries other than where they have qualified but due safeguards are provided in the assessment of the qualification for public health and safety and consumer protection.

In relation to professional qualifications in occupational therapy, the Directive is transposed into Irish law by Statutory Instrument No. 139 of 2008 and Statutory Instrument No. 166 of 2008. The Minister for Health and Children is the competent authority for the assessment of these professional qualifications and the process is administered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) (National Validation Office (NVO)). The HSE/Minister for Health and Children is advised in this function by the AOTI.

The assessment process is a detailed one, as prescribed in the Directive, in which, on a case-by-case basis, the qualifications of an applicant are assessed against those required to practise in Ireland. In the case of qualifications in Occupational Therapy, the AOTI has minimum standards for practice education in Ireland which must be met by all occupational therapists qualifying in Ireland and against which non-Irish qualifications are compared. The requirement of 250 hours of psycho-social placement derives from these standards.

If the activities covered by the profession in the home and the host member state are not comparable, then the qualifications cannot be recognised. If the activities are comparable but deficits in the qualifications are identified, subsequent post-qualification professional experience of the applicant must be and is considered by the AOTI. If deficits still remain, the host Member State must offer an applicant a compensation measure, a choice of completing an adaptation period or taking an aptitude test. Accordingly and in line with the Directive, appropriate post-qualification professional experience of applicants is taken into account in the assessment of non-Irish qualifications.

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