A special group has been established by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to advise him on the best way to regulate the activities of complementary and alternative medicine practitioners in the State. Chaired by broadcaster and educationalist Ms Teri Garvey, it is due to have its first meeting in January.
The setting up of the group was among the main recommendations of a report published yesterday on the regulation of complementary and alternative medicine in Ireland. Compiled by the health services development unit of the Institute of Public Administration, the report was commissioned by the Department of Health in line with a commitment given in the national health strategy a year ago.
The report said there was no uniform approach to regulation of the industry elsewhere but it found self-regulation in a number of countries and recommended that in line with such trends, self-regulation "should be developed rapidly" here "as a first step in the regulation process". This would involve individual therapies developing their own codes of ethics and competency standards.