Confidence in care

Each day, people across Ireland depend on the expertise, compassion and care of health and social care professionals, writes Claire O’Cleary, CEO of CORU.

There are now over 32,000 practitioners registered with CORU across 12 professions. The largest of these, with 6,676 registered is physiotherapists, which will soon be surpassed by social care workers who completed their transition to regulation at the end of November 2025.

We also regulate the work of 1,652 dietitians; 3,358 medical scientists; 3,900 occupational therapists; 1,057 optometrists and a further 226 dispensing opticians; 532 podiatrists; 3,694 radiographers and 584 radiation therapists; 5,757 social workers and 2,561 speech and language therapists.

Many of us and our families will rely on these professionals throughout our lives. The public needs to know that the people providing this care are qualified and accountable. That is our role.

CORU checks that every registrant has the required CORU-approved education and training. We set the standards for best practice. We take action when those standards are not met and while this is rare, in 2024 we held 19 fitness to practice inquiries to uphold accountability.

Being CORU registered is a public promise to put safety first and to act with professionalism and integrity. It is how we protect the public and build trust in health and social care. Members of the public can check CORU’s registers online to ensure their care provider is registered.

CORU’s impact

When all social care workers who have applied to join CORU are formally registered we will have over 40,000 registrants, doubling our number of registrants in just five years. This reflects the importance of trusted regulation in our healthcare system to protect the public we serve.

For those of us receiving care it means that when you meet one of the professionals, we regulate you can be confident they are trained to a high set of standards. It means they are accountable for their behaviour. If something goes wrong, we have clear processes in place to investigate and take action.

For professionals, being registered is a mark of pride. It shows they meet high standards and are committed to ethical care. It gives confidence to the people and communities they serve every day.

We also work with education providers to ensure future graduates are ready to practise safely.

Evolving regulation

Regulation must evolve to serve both the public and the professions. Our responsibility is to uphold high standards while removing unnecessary barriers. That is why we are focused on making registration clear, straightforward, and supportive.

For graduates, this means a clear route from completing their qualification to entering the workforce without delay.

With 13 per cent of our registrants coming from overseas and many Irish professionals qualifying abroad, we provide a clear and efficient process to recognise international qualifications and support safe entry into practice. This ensures every applicant meets our standards, has verified professional conduct, and can start working with confidence in Ireland.

Regulation continues beyond the point of entry. Practice develops over time, and our framework adapts with it. A recent milestone now allows experienced physiotherapists to refer patients for radiological examinations. This shows how regulation can support safe expansion of roles while keeping public protection at its core.

We promote and assess ongoing learning through continuing professional development (CPD) framework and audits. We address concerns through transparent fitness to practise processes. We will continue to simplify systems while never compromising the high standards the public deserve and expects.

Future direction

Health and social care is changing. Roles are advancing, technologies are increasing, and care is becoming more connected. Regulation must change with it.

We are preparing to regulate new professions including psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists. We have just completed the full transition to regulate social care workers, bringing one of the country’s largest health and social care professions into the regulatory framework that protects the public.

We are continuing to explore advanced practice in more areas where professionals will take on greater responsibility in safe, accountable ways.

Our focus is always forward-looking. As health and social care evolves, the need for trusted regulation remains constant. We are committed to being a regulator that is responsive, collaborative, and firmly rooted in public protection.

Our promise

Our promise is simple: to protect the public and to promote trust in health and social care in Ireland. We do this by setting clear standards, checking qualifications, and ensuring accountability when things go wrong.

We make this promise openly. Our standards are published online, and our public register is available for anyone to check.
That transparency gives assurance that every CORU-registered professional is competent, qualified, and held to the highest levels of professional behaviour.

Being CORU registered is a promise in itself.

It is a commitment from each practitioner to act with integrity, put people first and deliver safe and ethical care. We recognise and support every professional who makes that commitment and we stand with the public to ensure that this promise is kept, now and in the future.

CORU – Regulating Health & Social Care Professionals
Infinity Building, George’s Court, George’s Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 E98Y

E: info@coru.ie
T: 01 293 3160
W: coru.ie
www.linkedin.com/company/health-and-social-care-professionals-council