Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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502. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to legislate to ensure that qualified audiologists fit and prescribe hearing aids, given that, at present, it is open to persons to set up anywhere and sell hearing aids, often costing up to €4,000 to €6,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29854/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Health and Social Care Professionals Council and the registration boards, also known by the umbrella name CORU, established under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 are responsible for protecting the public. They do so by promoting high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence amongst registrants of the professions designated under the Act.

The 14 professions currently designated under the Act do not include that of audiologist. However, the Act provides that the Minister for Health may, under section 4(2), designate a health and social care profession not already designated if he or she considers that it is in the public interest to do so but only if and when specified criteria have been met.

My priority is to establish the registration boards and their registers for the professions currently designated. A total of 8 registration boards have so far been established and it is hoped that the remaining boards will be established before the end of 2016. It is likely that CORU will be requested to risk assess and prioritise in terms of public protection the professions aspiring to be regulated under the Act.