Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 September 2025
698. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide further details with respect to the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill, listed for priority drafting in the Government’s Autumn Legislative Programme; the proposed main provisions of the Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50426/25]
View answerOfficials in my Department are currently liaising with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to draft a Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill, which is listed for priority drafting in the Autumn Legislative Programme. The Bill proposes amendments to the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 and the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020.
I will now set out the main provisions of the Bill:
In relation to amendments to the Health and Social Care Professionals Act, I intend to provide that CORU’s registration boards will have the power to set standards for and to approve post-registration education and training programmes leading to qualifications to perform certain activities. It is important to state that these are activities that are considered to present a particular risk to the public, and the competence of a practitioner to perform such activities will be signalled to the public through annotation of their registration with CORU. These amendments support a programme of health workforce reform which my Department is currently developing to create greater efficiencies in relation to patient care. One such reform is enabling physiotherapists to refer for radiological procedures and the proposed amendments will strengthen the regulatory infrastructure to support this and future similar initiatives.
• I also intend to remove the requirement that experience in the practice of a health or social care profession for the purposes of grandfathering onto the register must be gained in the State. This amendment arises from legal advice obtained during the drafting of the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2023 which indicates that the current provision in the 2005 Act may give rise to indirect discrimination and must be broadened to include experience gained in an EU Member State or the UK. This amendment is required prior to the regulation of psychologists, which is due to begin in early 2026.
• In relation to amendments to the Medical Practitioners Act and the Nurses and Midwives Act, I am introducing similar reforms to the fitness to practise processes under both Acts. These reforms will reduce the involvement of the Council and Board of the respective regulators in the operational aspect of fitness to practise, in favour of their greater concentration on governance and strategy. They are being driven by the need to create a more efficient and fit for purpose fitness to practise process which appropriately and robustly protects the public.
• Arising from the proportionality testing of the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020, I propose to repeal a provision which creates an obligation on pharmacy owners to make annual declarations in relation to certain matters in the State or other jurisdictions. These matters include any disciplinary or judicial proceedings other than proceedings under the Pharmacy Act. The repeal, supported by the pharmacy regulator, is proposed on the basis that the requirement is not proportionate relative to any potential public protection risk posed by pharmacy owners. The Deputy will be aware that pharmacy owners do not deal directly with the public. The requirement for registered pharmacists to make declarations, which was also introduced by the 2020 Act, will remain and any pharmacy owner who is also a registered pharmacist will be required to make a declaration by virtue of being a pharmacist.
Finally, I am proposing several operational, technical and consequential amendments aimed at improving the overall efficiency of the legislative schemes under which CORU and the Medical Council operate.
I intend to hold a public consultation on the provisions of the 2024 Bill in compliance with the Proportionality Test Directive soon.
