Medical Council welcomes amendments to legislation allowing Non-EU qualified doctors access to training programmes

Minister for Health signs commencement order to allow all doctors to apply for specialist training from today

Friday, 6th November 2020: The Medical Council has today welcomed the signing of a commencement order by the Minster for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, last night of sections of the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020, which means that from today any doctor who is eligible for general registration with the Medical Council can now apply for specialist training programmes in Ireland.

These changes will enable doctors, many of whom have been in long-term service roles, to access further postgraduate education and progress their careers within the Irish health system.

Prior to this, non-EU qualified doctors faced challenges accessing specialist training, as they were required to prove that their internship, if completed outside the EU, was the equivalent of an Irish internship in order to be eligible for Trainee Specialist registration, which is a requisite for entry into a training programme. This meant that many qualified doctors could not advance their careers in Ireland.

Data gathered by the Medical Council through the annual Medical Workforce Intelligence Report in recent years has shown that large numbers of non-EU doctors are withdrawing from the medical register in Ireland in order to access further training and career progression in other jurisdictions, to the detriment of Irish hospitals and healthcare facilities.

The Medical Council has long sought amendments to the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 to address a number of issues and welcomes this development, which now removes the barrier to accessing postgraduate training for non-EU qualified doctors.

Medical Council President, Dr Rita Doyle said “It is well known that the Irish healthcare system is dependent on foreign trained doctors, who bolster our workforce and bring great knowledge and experience to patient care. In recent years the departure of these doctors to other countries where they can avail of further training has been a drain on our healthcare system. Through the Medical Council's research we have been able to highlight this issue with data and press for these changes to be implemented.”

“These amendments will benefit not just the doctors who can now undertake further training and education, but also patients who will have access to a well-trained medical workforce.”

Philip Brady, Medical Council CEO said “Accessing further training has been an issue for non-EU trained doctors. The removal of the requirement to have the equivalent of a certificate of experience for registration in the Trainee Specialist Division will open access to doctors who are appropriately qualified and have established eligibility for General Registration. This is a major development which we greatly welcome.”

The Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020, which was signed into law last month by the President, amends the five health professional regulatory Acts, including the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.

ENDS