Latest Medical Workforce Intelligence Report: Ireland is "Highly Dependent" on International Medical Graduates

On Friday 8 March, the Medical Council (the “Council”) published its 2022 Medical Workforce Intelligence Report (the “Report”). 

The Report analyses and presents data provided by all doctors who have registered with the Medical Council for the first time, retained their registration and voluntarily withdrawn from the Medical Register (the “Register”) throughout 2022. 

The Report also showed that of the 71% of doctors who obtained their qualifications abroad and were registering for the first time in Ireland in 2022, 53.8% of them had trained outside of the EU. 

In their acknowledgment that the majority of doctors have been trained overseas, the Council outline in their Report that Ireland is now “highly dependent” on International Medical Graduates (“IMGs”) and has the fourth highest proportion of foreign educated doctors within The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (“The OECD”) member states. 

The Council went on to say in their Report that further action is required to “improve supervision and working conditions” of IMGs and that the quality of training must be “significantly improved” if non-EU doctors are to be encouraged to remain working in Ireland.

Key Highlights of the 2022 Report are outlined below:

First Time Registered Doctors:

• 3,008 doctors registered with the Medical Council for the first time in 2022, compared with 2,605 in the previous year, representing a 15% increase, between 2021 and 2022.
• Over half (52.6%) of doctors registering for the first time in 2022 were male, and 47.4% were female.
• Notably, the ratio of females to males is greater in the youngest cohort of doctors, aged 24 and younger (45% male vs 55% female).
• 71.2% of doctors registering for the first time obtained their qualifications abroad.

Doctors Retaining Registration:

• 18,839 (81.5%) doctors who renewed their registration with the Medical Council were clinically active in Ireland, all or some of the time in 2022.
• In 2022, 46.8% of clinically active doctors in Ireland were female, while 53.2% were male. The distribution of males and females was split more evenly in younger cohorts, whereas the majority of older doctors are male. Over half (51.7%) of clinically active doctors working in Ireland were on the Specialist Division of the Register, 16.3% of doctors were on the Trainee Specialist Division; and 31.2% were on the General Division of the Register.
• In 2022, over a quarter of clinically active doctors working in Ireland self-reported working more than 48 hours a week on average

Voluntary withdrawal of Registration:

• In 2022, there were 1,341 voluntary withdrawals recorded, an increase of 359 on 2021’s figure. Of these withdrawals, 55.8% were males and 44.2% were females. 
• Reasons for withdrawal included from poor working conditions, limited career progression, personal and family reasons and registration requirements. 

The Council has also stated that the Medical Workforce Intelligence Consolidated Report for 2023 will be published later this year. 

You can access the Council’s latest Medical Workforce Intelligence Consolidated Report 2022 here.

For more information on this Report, contact Partner Eoin McGlinchey or Solicitor Kavi Abbi from the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team.