Alison Healy
Plans to introduce Europe-wide competition into self-regulated professions have been generally welcomed by professional groups in the State.
Under the European Commission plan, all administrative barriers to the cross-border provision of services would be removed and discrimination on grounds of nationality would be outlawed.
Dr Joe Barry, president of the Irish Medical Organisation, said increased competition was generally a good thing for everyone concerned. He said there was already a lot of cross-border movement by medical professionals so this was nothing new. If GPs came from abroad and significantly undercut Irish charges then it would be up to patients to decide who to attend, Dr Barry said. However, this was an unlikely scenario.
Dentists also welcomed the proposals but stressed that dentists from abroad must have the same professional standards as their Irish counterparts.
Mr Donal Atkins, the Irish Dental Association's secretary general, said dentists did not fear that overseas colleagues would take their business by undercutting their fees. "The market will find its own level. People will see that they get the quality they pay for," he said.
However, the Irish Pharmaceutical Union expressed concern about the effect of the proposals on its members. Mr Richard Collis, president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union, said Irish pharmacists already had the least regulated system in Europe.
The highly regulated pharmaceutical sectors in other EU countries had created a surplus of pharmacists, he said, and 10 new countries would join the EU in May.
The freedom of movement of these citizens would have "a fairly dramatic" effect on the jobs of Irish citizens, Mr Collis said.
The EU plan was welcomed by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, which said the sector was already wide open to overseas competition. Of the 330 new members who joined the institute in the past three years, almost 100 were from outside the European Union, said Mr John Graby, RIAI director.
"Irish architects don't have to go abroad to work now but they had to in the past and we would be very supportive of any proposals to help this mobility."
The hotel sector welcomed the plans and said it hoped the improved competition would force down costs.
Mr John Power, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, said hoteliers were very vulnerable to increases in costs by suppliers, so anything that increased global competition would be most helpful.
He said Irish people had benefited from this freedom of movement to work in the hotel sector around the world.
The veterinary sector said the proposals would make little difference as vets faced no barriers in working overseas. Mr Peadar Ó Scanáill, president of Veterinary Ireland, said it would be "enormously helpful" if the plans also freed up the availability of veterinary drugs.
The Competition Authority is assessing anti-competitive practices in eight professions, including solicitors, vets, engineers and dentists. It is expected to issue its findings later this year.