Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 39:

In page 86, line 31, to delete "The Council" and substitute the following: "(1) The Council".

I want to alert Deputies to the fact this is the amendment we were referring to earlier. In 2008, the HSE introduced a requirement that consultants be registered on the specialist division of the Medical Council register. Consultants appointed prior to 2008 under the standard recruitment arrangements in place for the filling of consultant posts at the time did not have to be registered in this division. The Medical Practitioners Act 2007 included a provision allowing a five-year period for which the council could grant registration to any medical practitioner who, being able to be registered in the general division, satisfied the council he or she had obtained sufficient training and experience such as he or she should be registered as a specialist on that list.

A small number of consultants appointed prior to 2008 did not avail themselves of this provision. They are unable to apply for registration on the specialist division because they do not have the specified qualifications for specialist registration. This relates to a small number, between 30 and 40, of consultants.

The amendment would enable the Medical Council to register in the specialist division a medical practitioner registered in the general division who satisfies the council he or she has obtained sufficient training and expertise such that he or she should be registered as a specialist. This window of registration will be available for one year from the commencement of the relevant section of the Bill.

The amendment also provides that within this timeframe, and for the purposes of the above provision, the Medical Council will work with specialist training bodies to assist medical practitioners registered in the general division to achieve the necessary standard for registration in the specialist division.