Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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1408. To ask the Minister for Health the reason clinical audiologists in Ireland do not have a professional registration body such as CORU to monitor and guide professional conduct and standards, given other clinical therapies such as speech and language, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, chiropody and so on, are offered CORU governance; if this is an issue that can be reviewed in order that audiologists can have access and receive guidance from CORU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13327/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health and social care regulator. Seventeen health and social care professions are designated for regulation by CORU under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. There are currently registers open for ten professions and CORU is continuing the substantial work required to open the registers for the remaining professions.

A number of representative bodies for unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. The issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex. In light of the various issues to be considered, and in line with ongoing work in the Department of Health, the Health Research Board was requested to carry out research on behalf of the Department to assist in policy development in this area. The report, “National Approaches to Regulating Health and Social Care Professions”, examines the approaches to the regulation of health and social care professionals internationally and is publicly available on the Department’s website (www.gov.ie/en/publication/ea62b-national-approaches-to-regulating-health-and-social-care-professions/).

My officials are in the process of drawing from this report and other relevant sources to develop a framework to guide policy on the regulation of health and social care professionals into the future. This framework will be informed by an evidence and risk-based approach to regulation in line with requirements set out in the EU Proportionality Test Directive, which was transposed into Irish law on 19 August 2022 (S.I. No. 413/2022). Further information on the Proportionality Test Directive can be found here: single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/services-directive-handbookproportionality-test-directive-guidance-2022-12-22_en