Ms Caroline Spillane:

I will respond to the question put by Deputy Jonathan O'Brien and Dr. Dillon will respond to Senator Averil Power's question.

In respect of the powers available to the Medical Council, Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked specifically about instances in which the council might refuse to accredit a programme or body. In this case, it has the ability under the legislation to approve the programme and the body, to approve with conditions or to refuse approval. The first stage of the process followed by the council is to issue a self-assessment questionnaire to the medical school in question. This is based on the WFME standards and evaluated by an accreditation team. A site visit is also conducted by the accreditation team which then draws up a draft report based on the site visit and the findings of the assessment. The draft report is placed before the professional development committee of the Medical Council and the Medical Council. The medical school concerned is asked to comment on factual inaccuracies, but it is not able to alter accurate reflections made in the report. At the end of the process, the Act requires that the Minister for Education and Skills be consulted.

The self-assessment and site visit are predicated on the WFME standards. There are nine standards. Where the accreditation team considers the standards are not met, its opinion will manifest itself in the report and recommendations. It is composed of a combination of international experts in the field of medical education and training and recognised patient safety advocates. Members of the Medical Council, both clinicians and lay members, are also represented on the team. The information we receive is complemented by the accreditation team's ability to meet senior clinicians and managers during site visits. Importantly, it will also meet a significant cohort of students from all years. These meetings take place in private and are completely confidential, with the details of participating students remaining anonymous. All of this information is triangulated to form a report that is sent to the Medical Council. If the accreditation team reports a shortfall in the standards expected, the council will have a range of choices in regard to approval. If conditions are attached, they are monitored on a frequent basis and non-adherence to conditions would threaten the accreditation of the body.