Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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384. To ask the Minister for Health the provisions he will make for existing physical therapists who are members of the Irish Association of Physical Therapists and who are mainly educated up to level 7 degrees as regulated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland under section 95 (3) of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43821/15]

Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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391. To ask the Minister for Health if he will clarify a situation regarding a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 who is a practising physical therapist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43840/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 384 and 391 together.

The Physiotherapists Registration Board will soon make the necessary bye-laws under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 to allow it to establish its register early next year. The title of physiotherapist will, as a consequence, be protected for the exclusive use of the board's registrants when the register's 2 year transitional period ends in 2018.

I am currently examining the issue of also protecting the title of physical therapist under the Act. In the rest of the English speaking world the titles of physical therapist and physiotherapist are interchangeable and their users are qualified physiotherapists. In Ireland, however, the title is used by a number of practitioners who are not physiotherapists but who are competing with physiotherapists in the private sector in the provision of musculoskeletal therapies.

Earlier this year, having consulted with the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, I wrote to a number of relevant organisations, including the Irish Association of Physical Therapists, regarding my proposal to protect the title of physical therapist as a variant of the title of physiotherapist and invited them to submit their views. The submissions are now being examined and I expect that I will make a decision on the matter before the end of the year that ensures public protection and appropriately addresses the legitimate concerns of all parties.