Ready or not? Statutory registration, regulation and continuing professional development for social care workers in Ireland

Social care work has evolved rapidly over the past forty years in Ireland (Lalor & Share, 2013). While its roots were in residential child care, social care workers now engage with a diverse range of service users across voluntary, community, statutory and private agencies (Howard & Lyons, 2014). As such, the context of social care practice has changed dramatically in Ireland. Yet the profession arguably faces its most significant watershed in terms of its professional development, with the introduction of statutory registration under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act, 2005 (as amended, 2012). This legislation established CORU, the first multi-professional health and social care regulator in Ireland. Social care workers, as one of fifteen professions subject to regulation by CORU, will be required to register in order to be legally entitled to practise using their pro fessional title (Hanrahan, 2016). This paper will examine the process of registration for social care workers. An analysis of the current opportunities and challenges posed by statutory registration of the social care profession will be detailed. In particular, attention is given