Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

815. To ask the Minister for Health the reason no proportionality assessment was carried out in respect of changes to the CORU standards and criteria for counsellors and psychotherapists; and if the implementation of these standards will be delayed to facilitate a proportionality assessment. [54652/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As the Deputy will be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multiprofession health and social care regulator. With extensive experience in introducing regulation to health and social care professions for the first time, CORU has already established twelve registers for a range of professions. CORU’s work ensures the protection of the public by regulating the work of over 30,000 health and social care professionals.

Counsellors and psychotherapists perform a vital role, providing therapeutic care to often vulnerable people. Regulation is being introduced to these professions to protect the public, ensuring that care provided is of a consistently high standard and always by suitably qualified individuals.

The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) was established in 2019 and since that time has been working to progress regulation of both professions.

Following its establishment, the board proceeded to undertake extensive research, analysis, and public consultation to introduce regulation of each profession for the first time.

CORU has now published two distinct sets of regulatory documents, recognising the differences between the professions of counselling and psychotherapy.

For each profession there is:

• Standards of Proficiency, which set out the minimum knowledge and skills required for entry to the Register.

• Criteria for Education and Training Programmes, which set the requirements for how professional training programmes are designed and managed to ensure graduates consistently meet the Standards of Proficiency.

These requirements set out the level of education and clinical training needed to practise safely and effectively. Ireland is now the first country in the world to establish distinct regulatory standards for entry to both professions. Setting these standards has now laid the foundations so education programmes can be designed to ensure consistency of education and training and the standards for entry into practice for both professions.

Under EU Directive 2018/958, and the transposing Irish legislation (S.I. No. 413 of 2022), a proportionality assessment is required prior to the introduction of regulation of a profession (and this includes both new and amended requirements which restrict access to a regulated profession). The setting of Standards and Criteria is one component of this broader regulatory process and does not itself constitute the regulatory provision.

Throughout its work to introduce regulation of both professions, CORU has ensured compliance with the Directive, including assessing the proportionality of the Standards and Criteria. As CORU progresses this works further, other aspects will also be proportionality tested, including registration requirements, the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics, and CPD requirements. CORU will submit the results of the proportionality tests to my Department, and subsequently, to the European Commission.

As part of this work to ensure compliance with the Directive, the 2023 public consultation explicitly sought stakeholder feedback on the proportionality of the proposed Standards and Criteria before these were finalised by the Board. CORU continues to work directly with my Department to ensure compliance with EU requirement and remains committed to transparent, fair, and proportionate regulation that protects the public and supports practitioners.

I am assured that CORU will continue to engage closely with education providers, professional bodies, and other stakeholders as the regulatory process advances, keeping public protection at the centre of this work.

I am eager to see this work progressed so that two very important professions are finally regulated, in the interest of public protection.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

816. To ask the Minister for Health the reason an organisation (details supplied) was not consulted after 2023 as part of the development of the 2025 CORU standards and criteria for counsellors and psychotherapists despite the professional expertise available in the organisation. [54653/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As the Deputy will be aware, CORU is Ireland’s multiprofession health and social care regulator. With extensive experience in introducing regulation to health and social care professions for the first time, CORU has already established twelve registers for a range of professions.

CORU’s work ensures the protection of the public by regulating the work of over 30,000 health and social care professionals.

Counsellors and psychotherapists perform a vital role, providing therapeutic care to often vulnerable people. Regulation is being introduced to these professions to protect the public, ensuring that care provided is of a consistently high standard and always by suitably qualified individuals.

The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) was established in 2019 and since that time has been working to progress regulation of both professions.

The CPRB is appointed through the Public Appointments Service process. Its membership includes counsellors, psychotherapists, academics, and lay representatives, each bringing extensive professional and public experience to the Board’s deliberations and decision-making.

Following the establishment of the CPRB, the board proceeded to undertake extensive research, analysis, and public consultation to introduce regulation of each profession for the first time.

The consultation process followed by CORU was fully consistent with its established policy and with the Government’s Consultation Principles and Guidance. Specifically:

• Draft documents were published for public consultation;

• Stakeholders, including the IACP, were formally invited to make submissions;

• All feedback was comprehensively reviewed, and the Standards and Criteria were revised in light of that review before final publication.

The consultation also followed a clear and transparent four-stage process and more detailed is provided below:

1. Publication of draft documents;

2. Public consultation;

3. Review and revision;

4. Publication of final Standards and Criteria.

In 2023, CORU conducted an extended 12-week public consultation on the draft Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training for both professions, counsellors and psychotherapists. The consultation was launched by a live webinar, with a recorded version made available on CORU’s website to ensure broad accessibility. The process was further supported by bespoke e-book resources and comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) designed to assist stakeholders in engaging fully with the material.

To maximise participation and awareness, the consultation was advertised through print and social media, on CORU’s website, and by direct email to a wide range of stakeholders, including professional representative bodies, patient advocacy organisations, employers, education providers, and relevant Government Departments. Reminders also issued throughout the 12 week consultation process.

This extensive consultation generated almost 700 submissions from across the sector - including practitioners, representative bodies, education providers, service users, and members of the public. Among these was a submission from the Irish Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

In line with the CPRB’s statutory responsibility to assess, balance and consider all perspectives before reaching a final evidence-based decision, the Board carefully considered every submission received and determined the final Standards and Criteria that now underpin entry to the registers for both counsellors and psychotherapists. This open, structured and inclusive process demonstrates CORU’s clear commitment to transparency, accountability, evidence-based decision-making, and, above all, the protection of the public.

Throughout the process, CORU provided regular updates on its progress via its website.

Meeting individually with one representative body, to the exclusion of others, would not have been appropriate given the diversity and volume of stakeholders who participated in the consultation. While professional representative bodies play an important role in articulating the views of their members, CORU’s statutory remit is to regulate in the public interest. Its decisions are made independently, guided by evidence and grounded in its primary duty to protect the public.

A comprehensive consultation report has been published by CORU, setting out the process followed, the key themes raised in submissions, and the rationale for the final decisions taken by the Board and is accessible at www.coru.ie/public-protection/publications/consultation-reports/counsellors-psychotherapists-registration-board/

I am assured that CORU will continue to engage closely with education providers, professional bodies, and other stakeholders as the regulatory process advances, keeping public protection at the centre of this work.

I am eager to see this work progressed so that two very important professions are finally regulated, in the interest of public protection.