Applications from foreign doctors to work in Irish hospitals have reduced dramatically with the planned introduction of a new exam by the Medical Council.
Following a meeting of the Medical Council yesterday, it was revealed that only 50 non-EU doctors have inquired about registering in Ireland compared to about 6,000 inquiries annually for those wishing to work as junior doctors in hospitals.
Prof Gerard Bury, chairman of the Medical Council, said that the number of foreign doctors applying had "fallen quite dramatically and clearly that would have to be dealt with in the Irish health-care system". However, he said the Medical Council had no role in the matter.
When questioned, Prof Bury said that the council had received no reaction from the Department of Health to the introduction of the new examination. Under the new regulations, which come into effect on December 31st, doctors will have to sit an exam which includes a test in English language proficiency.
When he gave the Irish Medical Organisation's Doolin Memorial Lecture last weekend, the professor of medicine at UCD, Prof Muiris Fitzgerald, said the fall-off in the numbers applying caused by this examination was one of a number of factors contributing to an impending medical manpower crisis in hospitals.
Prof Bury said it was the task of the Medical Council to ensure that the public had the same guarantees in relation to foreign doctors as they did with doctors who had graduated from Irish medical schools. Asked whether there would be any change on the Medical Council's stance on abortion when its new ethical guidelines were published in the middle of next year, Prof Bury said he was "not in a position to discuss the detail of that review".
He said that a large number of submissions for the general review had been received, including "a number of personal representations on reproductive issues, not just abortion".