Are you experiencing difficulty having your professional qualification recognised and registered in Ireland?


Under EU Directive 2005/36/EC on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, professionals qualified in one EU Member State may seek recognition of their qualifications in another EU Member State without having to fully re-train in their discipline in the new Member State.

This Directive only applies to professions that are regulated in the Member State in which the applicant wishes to have their qualifications recognised.

In Ireland, such regulated professions include the following and their regulating bodies:

• Teachers: Teaching Council of Ireland
• Social Workers: National Social Work Qualification Board (NSWQB)
• Doctors: Medical Council of Ireland
• Dentists: Dental Council of Ireland
• Optometrists: The Opticians Board
• Solicitors: Law Society of Ireland
• Barristers: Council of the Honourable Society of Kings Inns
• Accountants: Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

If you hold a qualification in any of these professions, or any other regulated profession not listed above, you may be eligible to practise in Ireland, or conversely if you are qualified in Ireland, you may be eligible to practise abroad in another EU Member State. If you have been refused recognition and registration by a regulating body and feel that your qualifications should be recognised here, you may be entitled to challenge this refusal by way of application to the High Court. Generally any such application must be brought within 42 days of the date on which the refusal is communicated to the applicant (or 21 days if you are a teacher), and so anyone considering a challenge should be mindful of the time limits. Hayes solicitors has extensive experience in representing professionals across a broad range of disciplines in relation to applications to regulating bodies for recognition or challenging refusals by a regulating body to recognise qualifications in the Courts.

If you have any queries in relation to the above, or require further information, please contact Carol Fawsitt partner cfawsitt@hayes-solicitors.ie and Anne Lyne, Associate alyne@hayes-solicitors.ie

4 March 2010