CORU Publishes Annual Report 2025

CORU has published its Annual Report 2025, highlighting a year of significant growth and regulatory development across Ireland's health and social care professions. By the end of 2025, the number of health and social care professionals registered with CORU had increased by 21% compared to 2024, reaching 36,645 registrants. This figure has since grown to more than 40,000 professionals in 2026.

As Ireland's multi-profession health and social care regulator, CORU protects the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct, education, training and competence. At the end of 2025, CORU regulated professionals across 12 professions and had become the second largest health regulator in Ireland.

Key Developments in 2025

A significant milestone during the year was the introduction of mandatory registration for social care workers. From 1 December 2025, the title social care worker became legally protected and registration became a legal requirement. The Social Care Workers Register grew by 295% during the year and is expected to become CORU's largest Register by the end of 2026.

CORU also published its inaugural State of the Register Report, providing a comprehensive analysis of Ireland's regulated health and social care workforce. Another important development was the launch of the Physiotherapist Referrer Division, enabling appropriately qualified physiotherapists to refer patients for certain diagnostic radiological procedures.

Supporting Public Protection

Welcoming the publication of the report, Claire O'Cleary, CEO and Registrar of CORU, said:

"2025 was a landmark year for CORU as we continued to expand our role in protecting the public and supporting high standards across the health and social care professions. The significant increase in registrant numbers, the introduction of mandatory registration for social care workers and the publication of our first State of the Register Report reflect the scale of progress achieved throughout the year."

She added:

"As CORU continues to grow, our focus remains clear: ensuring that the public can have confidence that the health and social care professionals they rely on are qualified, competent and accountable."

Regulatory Activity

Public protection continued to be at the centre of CORU's work throughout 2025. During the year, CORU received 73 new fitness to practise complaints, held 15 inquiries and concluded 25 cases. The organisation also carried out Continuing Professional Development (CPD) audits involving 462 registrants, helping to ensure professionals continue to maintain and develop their skills throughout their careers.

The full Annual Report 2025 is available to download here