James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I know the Chair will indulge me a little. All of the doctors that were brought in on that occasion were heavily screened and interviewed by consultants from this country. They were of a very high calibre. The issue of training is one for the training bodies and colleges. Neither I or anybody else can interfere in the affairs of the Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body with a lay majority. I would have said that the council is judicially and legally obliged to treat everybody the same, as long as their qualifications are of a similar type and character. We do not have reciprocal arrangements with a number of countries and that creates difficulties. I am sure the Medical Council is working hard to overcome those difficulties. It is in everybody's interest that we would have as much uniformity of training around the globe as possible.

See this speech in context