Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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554. To ask the Minister for Health if he will seek to address the lengthy delays in the process of accreditation of psychologists who trained and qualified overseas and who wish to work in Ireland; what steps he may take to this end; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32029/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Under the EU Professional Qualifications Directive (Directive 2005/36/EC), I, as Minister for Health, am the competent authority for several health and social care professions. This includes those with clinical, counselling or educational psychology qualifications who wish to practise their profession in the publicly funded health sector in Ireland.

The Department of Health, through the Validation Unit, administers the process on my behalf. The assessment processes of the Directive are also applied to qualifications which are outside the Directive’s scope (i.e. non-EEA qualifications or EEA qualifications of non-EEA nationals). The Department is advised in the process by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). The PSI has established an Expert Validation Committee (EVC) to assess applications and make recommendations to the Department.

Under the general system of the EU Professional Qualifications Directive, applications must be acknowledged within one month of receipt and applicants notified of any missing documents. Decisions on applications falling under the Directive should be made within 4 months of the date a completed application is acknowledged. Decisions on applications which are outside the scope of the Directive are issued within 6 months .

In many cases, decisions can be made more quickly than the Directive timelines. However, in some instances, timelines are paused where it is necessary to seek clarifications from applicants in relation to their qualifications and experience. It should however be noted that this is not only to maximise public safety but also in an effort to ensure a complete and accurate application so as to reduce the likelihood of a negative decision or a requirement for compensation measures to be completed where this is not warranted.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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555. To ask the Minister for Health the rationale for working off a clinical-population based framework of accreditation for psychologists who have trained overseas rather than a competencies-based framework, as is preferred in other countries; if he sees this as a barrier to the efficient accreditation of those psychologists who could take up positions in the Irish health system but who are prevented from doing so through not having had clinical placement experience with a particular care group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32030/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Under the EU Professional Qualifications Directive (Directive 2005/36/EC), I, as Minister for Health, am the competent authority for several health and social care professions. This includes those with clinical, counselling or educational psychology qualifications who wish to practise their profession in the publicly funded health sector in Ireland.

The Department of Health, through the Validation Unit, administers the process on my behalf. The assessment processes of the Directive are also applied to qualifications which are outside the Directive’s scope (i.e. non-EEA qualifications or EEA qualifications of non-EEA nationals).

The Department is advised in the process by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). The PSI has established an Expert Validation Committee (EVC) to assess applications and make recommendations to the Department.

The general system of the EU Professional Qualifications Directive provides for an assessment, on a case-by-case basis, of the qualifications of an applicant against those required to practise in the host member state (i.e. Ireland). This assessment examines whether an applicant’s qualifications have ensured they have developed the required clinical/counselling/educational psychology competencies.

If the activities covered by the profession in the home and the host member state are not comparable, then the qualifications cannot be recognised. If the activities are comparable but deficits in the qualifications are identified, subsequent post-qualification professional experience of the applicant must be considered. If deficits still remain, the host country (Ireland) may require an applicant to complete a compensation measure.