Introduction to the Registration Process

Currently, individual practitioners do not have to do anything with regard to registration. The registers for counsellors and psychotherapists are not yet open so it is not possible to make an application at this time.

When the Board is in a position to open these registers, this will be communicated directly to all stakeholders and will be supported by an extensive communications campaign providing support and guidance on the registration process. This support and guidance will provide all details to applicants around the paperwork needed.

When the registers open, there will be two pathways which individuals seeking registration can choose from:

• For Existing Practitioners (i.e. those individuals already in practice when the registers open) applications can be made through the Grandparenting Route, known as a Section 91 application. This application route is only available for the first two years immediately following the opening of the registers. This two-year period is known as the Transitional Period.
• For New or Recently Qualified Graduates (i.e. those recently qualified individuals at the time the registers open who would not meet the eligibility criteria for grandparenting) and Internationally Qualified Candidates seeking to enter into practice in Ireland, applications are made through the standard route, known as a Section 38 application. This application route is open for the lifetime of the registers.

Further information on the registration process can be found here on the CORU website.

Please Note: there are different eligibility requirements for each of the registration pathways. The Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes set the Board’s threshold requirements for applicants making a Section 38 application only.

The Standards of Proficiency and Criteria for Education and Training Programmes (and the list of approved qualifications that the Board will publish following its programme approval process) do not apply to existing practitioners making an application through the grandparenting route. It is recognised that those applying under this route may have legacy or historical qualifications that were deemed appropriate for entry to practise of the profession at the time of qualification award. As these are historical qualifications, CORU recognises these may not have been delivered at the same level of qualification that is currently the standard for entry to the professions. There are specific provisions in legislation to facilitate existing practitioners, who hold historical qualifications, to apply for registration.

To qualify for entry to a register through grandparenting provisions under Section 91, a person must:

• have been practising in the profession for a minimum of two years out of the previous five years on the date that the register opens;
• hold the relevant qualifications (as proscribed by regulation by the Minster for Health), hold a sufficiently relevant qualification (assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Board) or have successfully completed a competency test (Assessment of Professional Competency); and
• be deemed fit and proper to practise the profession.

Further information can be found on the CORU website in relation to the registration process and requirements including fit and proper requirements, language requirements, guidance for existing practitioners applying under Section 91, and information on supporting documentation required for registration including employment forms and documentation required by private practitioners. This information is accessible here.

The eligibility requirements for making a Section 91 (grandparenting) application – as detailed under Section 91 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (as amended) refers to an applicant holding one of what are called ‘Schedule 3 qualifications’.

These are qualifications that the Minister for Health recognises as appropriate for the assessment of applications by existing counsellors and psychotherapist practitioners. The Minister for Health is currently confirming the list of Schedule 3 qualifications for opening the registers. Following approval by the Minister, the list of Schedule 3 qualifications, relevant for counsellors and psychotherapists, will be available on the CORU website. 

This is called an Assessment of Professional Competence (AoPC), and it may be required to be completed by an existing practitioner who does not hold a relevant qualification (as proscribed by regulation under the Act) or a qualification that is deemed by the Board to be sufficiently relevant to that profession. However, the applicant meets practice eligibility criteria to apply to register under legislation. The Registration Board has not yet set its requirements for an AoPC. Further information on this will be issued in advance of the registers opening.

The Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board has not yet set its requirements for registration. This will be done in advance of its registers opening. In general, Registration Boards recognise that those involved in management, education and research directly related to the profession are engaged in practice of the profession, alongside those directly involved in the direct delivery of therapeutic engagement with service users.

While requirements for registration will be set and communicated when the Board is in a position to open registers for both professions, it is important – at this stage – to highlight two points:

• It is recognised that currently within both professions of counselling and psychotherapy, new graduates must work pre-accreditation hours, following completion of their education and training, before becoming a fully accredited member of a professional body. For the purposes of statutory registration through the grandparenting route, any individual practising in the profession as an autonomous practitioner will be eligible to apply to the register, regardless of whether their work as an autonomous practitioner was undertaken during pre- or post-accreditation periods.

Yes. The annual registration fee – per register – is €100.

If an individual wishes to use the titles of counsellor and psychotherapist, he or she will be required to register on two separate registers: the Counsellors Register and the Psychotherapists Register. To register on both registers would, therefore, cost an individual €200 per year.  

Only professional qualifications awarded within the Republic of Ireland can apply for programme approval with CORU. International qualifications (i.e. those that are awarded by Awarding Bodies outside Ireland) are assessed to determine their alignment with the Board’s Standards of Proficiency on an individual basis during an individual applicant’s registration process.

More information on the recognition of international qualifications process can be found here on the CORU website.