428. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Health if she will review whether the current qualification recognition standards used for recruitment of clinical psychologists within the Health Service Executive and the equivalence assessment processes applied by the Department of Health are aligned with the provisions and intent of Directive 2005/36/EC, particularly in circumstances where applicants with postgraduate doctoral training in clinical psychology, recognised professional registration in another jurisdiction, and substantial supervised clinical experience are deemed not to meet the criteria required for equivalence in Ireland (details supplied). [21013/26]

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 psychology qualifications who wish to practise their profession in the publicly funded health sector in Ireland. Officials in the Validation Unit of my Department administer 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 to assess applications and make recommendations on the equivalence of qualifications. On receiving the advice of the PSI, the Validation Unit issue a decision letter to the applicant.

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).

All qualifications, professional experience and lifelong learning of the applicant is considered when carrying out a comparative examination between the qualifications of the applicant and those required to practise in Ireland. If there are substantial differences identified between the training of the applicant, and the training required in Ireland, which cannot be compensated by the applicant’s professional experience or lifelong learning, compensation measures can be required.

Where an applicant is dissatisfied with the decision, they have the option of both a review and an informal appeal so that further information can be supplied and considered. I understand that this application is currently with the PSI for review and that a decision will be communicated to the applicant in due course.