Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that. That needs to be done sooner rather than later because becoming a doctor, the Minister will agree, should not be the reserve of one class in our society.

Can the Minister also provide details on the arrangement Bank of Ireland has with the universities for giving loans to graduate-entry medicine and what action will he take to allow more people to address that? We cannot have a situation where Bank of Ireland is asking that a student's guarantor needs to earn more than €50,000.

It is just not acceptable in this day and age. I ask the Minister to challenge that and to clear that up with the banks. There are so many parishes in Ireland that need doctors, not least in Kiltimagh my county, Mayo, which is desperate for doctors. We have the makings of wonderful doctors here that we need to invest in for the long term.

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