Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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659. To ask the Minister for Health the registration process for physiotherapists who have achieved qualifications in EU Member States; the cost of registration; the average length of time it takes to register; if there is a standard framework used across all EU Member States for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9119/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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CORU is Ireland's multi-profession health regulator whose role is to protect the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct, education, training and competence through statutory registration of health and social care professionals. Including physiotherapists.

If a person has acquired their qualifications in the EU, and they want to work in Ireland as a physiotherapist, they need have their qualification assessed and ‘recognised’ as part of the registration process before their name can be entered on the register of physiotherapists.

Having a qualification recognised means that the qualification (and, if necessary, any additional postgraduate training and professional experience) is assessed to see if it meets the Irish standards of proficiency for the physiotherapy profession. There is no common standard for the physiotherapy profession in the EU/EEA (unlike the common minimum standards and system of automatic recognition of professional qualifications which applies to several health professions including doctors, general nurses, midwives, dentists and pharmacists). Physiotherapists are therefore assessed under the general system for recognition of professional qualifications as set out in Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications and which is based on the mutual recognition of qualifications.

Within that context, EU physiotherapists have two mechanisms for applying for recognition of their qualifications with CORU. They can use the traditional application method on the CORU website, or they can apply through the Internal Market Information (IMI) system as an EPC (European Professional Card) applicant.

An applicant who applies to CORU directly is asked to provide all the required information for their application to go for assessment and to complete the application via the online portal on the CORU website.

Applicants who apply via the IMI system as an EPC applicant upload the required documentation as set out by the EU member states regulatory requirements. The home member state’s regulatory body/competent authority then verifies the documentation, ensuring they meet the requirements as set by the host member state and then marks the documentation as true and authentic on the IMI system. The home competent authority then sends the application to the host member state’s competent authority i.e. CORU for review. The executive team in CORU verify and upload all of the information that is required for assessment and confirm it has been marked as true and authentic by the home member state’s competent authority. This process allows physiotherapists to have their qualifications recognised more simply and rapidly through this standardised electronic procedure. The EPC is issued in the form of an electronic certificate.

The timelines for the two systems are different. In accordance with the EU Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications, once an applicant has provided all the relevant information for their application to be assessed, and receipt of a complete application is acknowledged, the Physiotherapists Registration Board must provide a decision within four months of the application being deemed ‘file complete’.

For EPC applications, as the verification and due diligence has been completed by the home member state’s competent authority, CORU should receive a ‘file complete’ application. For this system there is a reduced timeline. The applicant must have a decision by the Physiotherapists Registration Board within two months of receipt of an application on the IMI system.

The cost of a recognition application is the same for both application processes, a fee of €410.

Traditional CORU application method via website

CORU moved to a new registration application system in November 2024 and in the future will be able to provide accurate information on the average time it takes for an applicant presenting with an EU qualification to gain entry to the register. As the recognition and registration functions have been distinct up until the introduction of this new system, CORU are not yet able to report on registration timelines using the new system. The table below highlights the number of applications CORU received from EU citizens with EU physiotherapy qualifications for the years 2020 to 2024 (2024 numbers are to 19th November after which the new system launched).

The second table below shows the total number of recognition decisions in respect of applications for recognition of EU physiotherapy qualifications from January 1st,2020 to 19th November, 2024. Of 167 applications that were initiated, there were only 95 decisions as many applicants did not provide the required documentation for the application to be deemed ‘file complete’ and for the assessment process to be undertaken.

The third table below provides information on the average number of days applicants seeking recognition of their EU physiotherapy qualifications were waiting for a decision following the submission of a complete application to CORU. Timeframes rose significantly during the COVID lockdowns when it was often more difficult to source additional information that CORU required.

EPC Application Process

There were 115 EPC decisions between January, 2020 and 19th, November, 2024. Twenty-seven were pre-Brexit UK qualifications which have been removed from the tables below. The 1st table shows that 88 EU physiotherapy qualifications received a recognition decision within the timeframe indicated.

The average wait time for a decision from an EPC application was 41.7 days.

In conclusion, for EU physiotherapy applications through the traditional route on CORU's website, the average wait time for the applicant to receive a decision on their application was 85.9 days in the five years from 2020 to 2024. For applicants who applied as an EPC applicant via the IMI system, the average wait time for a decision on their application was 41.7 days. Which route was chosen was at the applicant’s discretion.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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660. To ask the Minister for Health if she is aware of the number of doctors in HSE consultant posts who are not on the Irish Medical Council specialist register for the specialty they are practising in (details supplied); her views on the potential for patient safety issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9120/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.