Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have another question for the Minister on entry to medical education. As the Minister is aware, the health professions admission test was introduced some time back. It was supposed to reform the entry process and ensure it would not be altogether based on people cramming for tests and getting the ultimate 600 points in the leaving certificate or 625 points with bonus points for mathematics. There has been much criticism of the system to the effect that people are now getting grinds for their leaving certificate points and for their HPAT. What is the Minister's view? Does she intend to reform it?

There was a briefing last week for graduate entry medical students. One issue raised was the extraordinary fees those concerned must pay for graduate entry courses and how they are struggling now to repay loans after they leave. I sent the Minister a letter on their behalf with their proposal for tax relief in the budget. Has Minister had a chance to review that? The graduate entry system, if used properly, is a good way of opening up access. Aside from people who did well first time around in the leaving certificate, it allows older students to go back and apply for graduate entry level. Initially at least it opened up access and there was far more diversity in terms of the type of students who were going into the programme from different backgrounds. That diversity is important for medicine. More recently, those students have been put off. My understanding is that for this year and last year we have been getting far fewer applications from disadvantaged areas or from less-well-off students because they are concerned that they will be unable to repay their loans. It is a major issue and I call on the Minister to consider it.

One suggestion has been put forward. Apparently there is a system whereby if a student does the training course for midwifery, the State will pay the fee if the student agrees to work within the State system for a certain time after graduating.

Could we be follow this precedent? Our country has a significant problem with training doctors who leave straight away and complete their training in Australia or elsewhere. This creates major problems for our health service. I hope that the Departments of Education and Skills, Health and Finance put their minds to this serious issue. To be fair, I only wrote to the Minister this day last week after a briefing. The reply I received from the Minister for Health was that this was solely an issue for the Department of Finance and that he had forwarded my letter to it for reply. I was unimpressed, given how doctors leaving the system after we train them is one of our greatest health issues. I hope the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan's reply will be more enlightened and engaged with the issue. This is not just a question for the Department of Finance. The Minister and her colleague, the Minister for Health, should be lobbying for change.