The Legislation

Statutory Registration is a system whereby each individual member of a profession is registered with the statutory body, in this case, the relevant Registration Board of the Health and Social Care Professionals Council. 

To register, a person must meet registration requirements which will be set by the Registration Board. This takes place under a formal mechanism that is provided for by law.  It is a legal requirement; all persons wishing to use the title protected by law, for example, occupational therapist, must be registered and can be prosecuted for using the title if not registered.

In 2000, the Minister for Health and Children Micheál Martin listed the delivery of statutory registration as one of his key priorities.  Workshops were held with the professions from April to October in 2000, resulting in the publication of the document “Statutory Registration for Health and Social Professions - Proposals for the Way Forward” in October 2000. 

Ongoing consultation took place with the professions, representatives of service users and employers.  This resulted in the publication of a Bill in 2004, leading to the enactment of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act in November 2005.

The Act states that:

“The object of the Council is to protect the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among registrants of the designated professions”