As the Deputy will be aware the Medical Council is the independent statutory body which regulates medical practitioners in Ireland. Its primary purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of professional conduct, education, training and competence among doctors. One of the Council's key responsibilities is the registration of medical practitioners. Doctors register in one of five Divisions of the register, depending on the training they have completed, or are currently undertaking, and this should be commensurate with their status within the workforce. The Medical Council’s register is a valid and complete list of doctors who are permitted under Irish law to practice medicine in the State and therefore is a comprehensive source of medical workforce intelligence.
The table below sets out the number of doctors registered for the first time by the Medical Council each year from 2014 to 2021 according to the location in which they obtained their Basic Medical Qualification (BMQ).
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
Total
|
Irish BMQ
|
1,087
|
799
|
895
|
908
|
771
|
827
|
1,021
|
888
|
7,196
|
International BMQ
|
871
|
1,777
|
1,819
|
1,685
|
1,419
|
1,454
|
1,017
|
1,717
|
11,759
|
Total No. First Registered
|
1,958
|
2,576
|
2,714
|
2,593
|
2,190
|
2,281
|
2,038
|
2,605
|
18,955
|