Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

We are very keen for them to work here. There are three aspects to that. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, has done good work on improving its registration times and I am confident about that side of things. CORU, for the health and social care professionals more generally, has made very significant progress, although the Taoiseach and I are discussing how we can bring that further in respect of physiotherapists and a range of professions in that space. That is moving on.

The aspect where I have concern is the Medical Council. The Deputy mentioned a GP and a surgeon. I have given a very clear direction to the Medical Council to improve its processes. It is due to report back to me in early September and I will be keeping the Taoiseach and the Cabinet committee updated on this. It is very clear that the Medical Council has received very significant additional investment and it is now up to it from a public safety perspective to have as many doctors registered as quickly as can be.

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