Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last year, the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, started a training scheme where it was bringing people in from outside the EU. More than 100 individuals joined that two-year scheme, which is intended to allow them to practise as GPs here in Ireland. In fact, in our city of Cork we now have a doctor who qualified in Ukraine working on the northside of the city providing care to people from Ukraine. The problem is that, as of January, the ICGP has abandoned the interviewing of people for the coming year in this regard because the funding for this scheme has not been confirmed. The ICGP has been asked to increase the numbers it takes in from 100 to 150, but there has been no confirmation that funding will be provided and it has put off the interview process until April until this situation can be clarified. I did get a reply from the Department but the ICGP is still telling me it has got no confirmation that funding will be definitely provided.

See this speech in context