Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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This issue concerns doctors and nurses from Ukraine who have arrived here. I understand that more than 165 doctors are here now who are qualified and who have been practising in Ukraine for several years. I do not have the number for nurses, but I understand many are here also. A register of these medical professionals is being compiled by a doctor working voluntarily. Originally from Lithuania, he has been working in Ireland for many years and he is working closely with these Ukrainian nurses and doctors to compile a register. He has given me the list of people and their qualifications, including in areas such as anaesthesia, dentistry, ear, nose and throat, ENT, paediatric surgery, dermatology, infectious diseases, internal medicine, oncology and neurology. Therefore, these doctors and nurses have a whole range of qualifications. I met one person who has been qualified for more than 12 years.

My understanding is that the medical training scheme in Ukraine is different from ours. When people here get a medical degree, they then do two or three years in different areas of medicine and that allows them to get some expertise in a wide range of areas. In Ukraine, though, I understand the system is different, in that when people graduate from university they go straight into the specialty on which they wish to focus. If our Medical Council is setting exams for these doctors, how can it set exams that are adequate to ensure candidates have the required expertise in specific areas and that will allow them to work in Ireland? I fully understand that the Department and the Minister must ensure people who gain approval to practise from the Medical Council have adequate skills and that our patients are adequately protected.

There needs to be an engagement with the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais in respect of nurses. They will have a different method and process in nursing education in Ukraine. We have a great number of people with expertise. We also have a great number of people, my understanding is well over 20,000, here from Ukraine. They will also need medical care and we need to be able to adapt accordingly. What level of engagement has occurred between the Department, the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais on identifying the adjustments that need to put in place for a proper structure for examination that would allow these people to come through the system once it is established that they have the necessary skills to practise in the particular area? It is crucial that we expedite this and get these people working. They want to work. I know one doctor, for instance, who is in an observer capacity in a clinic at the moment looking to see how the Irish system works. That is extremely important. When can we see progress on this? What is the likely timescale? I fully understand people who will be practising here will have to be proficient in English. We need to put in place the mechanisms. When can they be put in place and when can we get answers from both these organisations?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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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.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I fully accept what the Minister of State said. It has to be carefully managed. It is important the people we allow to practise have the skills. In respect of An Bord Altranais and the Medical Council, is there any one person assigned to deal with this issue? The medical doctor I have been working with is from Lithuania and is working in Dublin. Is there someone he can speak to in the Medical Council or the Department to see how this consultation process can be assisted? Can some information be given to us and to the people who are dealing with these doctors and nurses? While the Minister of State is aware of it, I am not sure if the people on the ground are aware of the process or information that is available. Could that information be made available? People are reluctant to make an application because they are not sure of the criteria or what documentation they need to provide. Maybe some information could be provided by the Ukrainian ambassador or one of the various groups that are assisting those coming in from Ukraine. Has that process started or when can we expect it to commence?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the terrible conflict in Ukraine. The Department of Health, the Medical Council and NMBI will continue to support Ukrainian health professionals forced to flee their homeland as they arrive in Ireland and seek to re-establish their lives and integrate into our community. As Deputies will appreciate, our health regulatory bodies have a duty to protect patients by ensuring that all health professionals seeking registration meet the required training standards and are safe to practice. Depending on where doctors qualified and the type of qualifications they hold, some doctors arriving into Ireland from Ukraine may be required to take a pre-registration exam and an English language exam. This exam looks at a number of areas, including communication skills and clinical skills. It is an important step to ensure patient safety.

However, we will continue to streamline the registration process and expedite Ukrainian applications to the greatest extent possible, working closely with our EU colleagues to share best practice and utilise all database electronic verification tools available to minimise formal document requirements, mindful of the fact that these professionals have been forced to flee their homeland and may not be in possession of formal evidence of their qualifications. Where gaps are identified in the training received by Ukrainian professionals, we will continue to link in with the HSE and training bodies to seek to ensure that training opportunities are available to allow those professionals to bring their skills up to the necessary level and work in the Irish system.

The Deputy's idea about a single point of contact, be it on a HSE portal, would be most useful. It would be worthwhile for the Minister and the HSE to consider it, so that people would have a single person they could go to and discuss the whole process they need to go through to get into the Irish system.