Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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642. To ask the Minister for Health if there are plans to include athletic therapy in the CORU regulation process and in the provision of HSE care services; when this will happen; the rationale for its exclusion to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25550/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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A number of representative bodies for unregulated professions have approached the Department seeking to be regulated. It is important in this context to point out the issues to be considered regarding the proportionate degree of regulatory force required to protect the public are complex.

In light of this, 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 (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 also 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

It should be noted that there are no plans in place to progress regulation of individual professions until appropriate risk-assessment and evaluation tools are in place in compliance with best practice, international evidence, and the Proportionality Test Directive.

Statutory regulation forms a part of a system of assurance that the Department utilises to mitigate risk posed to the public by the practice of health and social care professions. The public health service employs a mix of regulated and non-regulated grades. Whether a profession is regulated or not is not a determining factor to employment. For example, among the health and social care professions, audiologists, clinical engineers, clinical measurement physiologists, medical physicists, play therapists and play specialists, and perfusionists are among the non-regulated groups which are currently employed by the HSE.

As demands on the health service evolve, so too will the professions and grades required to deliver services. For a new grade to be established for use by the public health service, the standard way to do this is by way of a strong business case, prepared by the HSE as the employer, in partnership with the DoH line Unit who must be completely supportive of the establishment and introduction of a grade. The business case is then submitted to the Department of Health external HR function for consideration. Professions not employed in the HSE should engage with the HSE and relevant Department of Health line units regarding their potential contribution to the provision of care in Ireland.

My officials met with representatives of the professional body for athletic therapy recently to provide an update on the Department’s work on the future policy framework and to outline the means by which new grades can be established for use by the public health service.