Written answers

Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Department of Health

Departmental Bodies

Photo of John McGuinnessJohn McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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460. To ask the Minister for Health the timeframe within which CORU is expected to validate and register persons who qualified as radiographers outside of Ireland and are seeking the validation due to the fact they have been offered employment with the HSE; if those persons who have applied and are waiting for the validation will be fast-tracked; if there is a backlog in this process; and if so, the action he will take to speed up the process. [2832/17]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Directive 2005/36/EC applies to all European Economic Area (EEA) nationals with EEA qualifications who wish to practise a regulated profession in an EEA Member State other than that in which they obtained their professional qualifications. Its intention is to make it easier for such professionals to practise their professions in EEA countries other than their own but due safeguards are provided in the assessment of the qualification for public health and safety and consumer protection.

The General System of the Directive, into which professions such as the profession of radiographer fall, provides for an assessment on a case-by-case basis of the formal qualifications and professional experience of an individual applicant against the qualifications required to practise in the host Member State and for a final decision to be communicated to the applicant within 4 months of submission of a complete application.

In Ireland, the Radiographers Registration Board at CORU is the competent authority under the Directive for the recognition of non-Irish radiography qualifications for the purposes of registration under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. A similar system for recognising foreign professional qualifications outside the scope of the Directive is also in place under the Act.

As the outcome of a particular application cannot be guaranteed, and given the time lines involved due to the individual nature of each application, CORU’s website advises applicants not to make any travel or employment arrangements which depend on their qualifications being recognised. Likewise, the Health Service Executive (HSE) does not offer any post until candidates are registered with CORU and strongly recommends that anyone interested in pursuing a career in radiography with the HSE commences the validation/registration procedure as early as possible.

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