Mick Clifford: 'Irish Examiner' and RTÉ revealed lax regulation of mental health professionals

For all the current emphasis on wellbeing, the State's primitive approach to regulation shows what a low priority it really is

'RTÉ Investigates' reporter Barry Kelly showed how easily he obtained fake qualifications and set up as 'psychologist' with a brass plate on the door of his fake practice. Picture: RTÉ

Picture the scene. You are new to an area, a recent arrival, and you are experiencing some physical pain that you believe to be serious. You go in search of a doctor and find one down the road, his GP practice advertised on the door.

The doctor examines you and diagnoses your illness. Much later it turns out the diagnosis was all wrong and, in fact, the individual was not a qualified GP at all, but some chancer.