Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, CORU is Ireland's multi-profession health regulator with responsibility for regulating health and social care professionals. CORU’s role is to protect the public by regulating the health and social care professions designated under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended), including setting the standards that health and social care professionals must meet to be eligible for registration and maintaining registers of persons who meet those standards.

There are two forms of application to CORU: applications for the recognition of qualifications received outside the State and applications for registration. Professional qualifications awarded outside the State are assessed through a process of “recognition” which involves expert assessment of a qualification’s alignment with the standards of proficiency required in Ireland, and assessment of professional experience and lifelong learning where required.

This involves an assessment which is undertaken on a case-by-case basis by academic and professional assessors which seeks to determine the alignment between an applicant’s qualification and the standards of proficiency required in Ireland. If deficiencies in the qualification are identified, an applicant’s post-qualification training and professional work experience will be considered. If deficits remain, an applicant will be offered a choice between compensation measures: a period of adaptation or an aptitude test.

In total CORU have received 27 applications for recognition of physiotherapy qualifications from applicants who have studied in the Netherlands since 2017. Of these, 18 applicants have had their qualifications recognised by the Physiotherapists Registration Board and have progressed to application for statutory registration by the Physiotherapists Registration Board at CORU.

The breakdown of applicants per year is as follows:

Year	Number of Applicants
2017	4
2018	2
2019	2
2020	4
2021	4
2022	1
2023	1
Total	18

Below is a table of applicants who were required to complete a compensation measure, of which 6 have successfully completed the period of adaptation and have moved onto registration.

Year	Compensation Measure	Recognised post Compensation Measure
2017	1	1
2018	1	0
2019	3	1
2020	2	2
2021	3	1
2022	4	1
2023	1	0
Total	15	6

If substantial deficits are identified against the standards of proficiency (i.e. the minimum standards required for entry to the register of physiotherapists) in any area (for example, cardiorespiratory), a compensation measure will be required. Hours required are decided by the Registration Board based on consideration of all relevant information, including the number of hours required for a professional to be competent to safely practice in that area.

This information is available publicly on the international qualifications section of the CORU website and any professional who wishes to complete or has completed a qualification outside the State should ensure they read the requirements for recognition to ensure they are aware of the standards of proficiency, and what standards they will need to meet if they wish to return to and work in the State.

Applicants who are required to undertake a compensation measure have the option to:

• Complete the period of adaptation required;
• Undertake an aptitude test to address the deficits identified;
• Appeal the Physiotherapist Registration Board Decision;
• Reapply for recognition with further information provided.

Whilst it is not within CORU’s remit to secure adaptation periods for applicants, CORU is in the process of developing an initiative with health care providers to develop supports for applicants undertaking adaptation periods. This initiative is in the final stages of development and CORU expect to commence this support for applicants in the coming months.