Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is a very important issue and probably reflective of the many skills that are coming into Ireland with the Ukrainian families who have arrived here in recent weeks. It is important that we support them in finding employment. It is critically important, particularly when there are deficits in our health services around recruitment. Officials from the Department of Health are working closely with colleagues in the Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, to examine ways to support Ukrainian doctors and nurses arriving in the State. The regulators fully recognise the importance of assisting health practitioners arriving in the State and have been actively examining the measures that might need to be taken. As Deputies may be aware, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, met with Ukraine's ambassador to Ireland to discuss ways in which we can support refugees. The president and the CEO of the Medical Council also met with the ambassador. The ambassador has kindly offered the support of the embassy in acting as a liaison with the Ukrainian health authorities to support the registration of Ukrainian doctors and also to assist the Medical Council in disseminating information to Ukrainian doctors here.

The council has established an internal working group to examine ways in which it can support these doctors and is engaging with key stakeholders in the HSE, Department of Health, postgraduate training bodies and the Irish Medical Schools Council. The HSE, through the national doctors training programme, NDTP, in partnership with the council and the postgraduate training bodies, is co-ordinating an information-gathering process that will give us basic information about the Ukrainian doctors arriving in the State. The results of this process will then inform what further steps are to be taken.

I am advised that the Medical Council has not yet received a completed application for registration from any of the doctors arriving in Ireland, however it is directly supporting a number of doctors with queries about the registration process and the requirements. The Department of Health is also consulting with the NMBI to consider the matter with regard to how best to support Ukrainian nurses and midwives who have arrived in Ireland. Among the areas for consideration is the recognition of qualifications of Ukrainian nurses and midwives, who may have received training that does not satisfy the minimum training standards that are harmonised across the EU by the qualifications directive. The NMBI has advised the Department that it is engaged with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, to develop an interim orientation course to address gaps identified by the recognition process. The NMBI advises that it has also yet to receive a formal application for registration.

Officials in the Department of Health form part of a co-ordination group established by the European Commission examining the issues around the registration of Ukrainian health and social care professionals arriving in EU states as a result of the conflict. This group shares knowledge and best practice and is examining methods to streamline and expedite registration for these professionals, including the use of electronic databases, the EU information centres for academic recognition and machine translation tools. The Department of Health will continue to prioritise this issue and engage with the regulators and other key stakeholders.

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