Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I agree with Senator O'Sullivan in that matter. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has done a very good job and I compliment the Department and all those involved in progressing this sector and ensuring that Ireland is reaping the benefits of the hard work done over a long number of years.

I wish to highlight the report published this week on the implementation of the reform of the intern year for junior doctors. I asked a question at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Children about the number of junior doctors who have left Ireland after completing only one postgraduate year, the intern year, in an Irish hospital. A total of 45% of interns working in Irish hospitals who finished college training in 2010 had left the Irish medical system by July 2011. This is a frightening statistic. I thank the HSE for setting up the procedure of monitoring the movement of interns and this is the second report in this regard. However, it highlights the reasons young doctors are leaving at such an early stage in their training and it points to the lack of a clear career path for medical graduates. There is a need for a discussion on this issue and I ask for a debate. More than 600 students graduate from medical schools every year and it seems a large proportion are leaving the country within a year of graduation. This needs to be investigated.

This is a detailed report which also deals with the aspect of record-keeping. Only 31% of graduates believed they had sufficient training in the area of record-keeping. It is quite frightening that after five years in college and 12 months in a hospital, only 31% believed they were sufficiently trained in this important aspect of their work. This issue needs to be tackled in view of the fact that such significant awards are paid out in litigation. This should be highlighted in a debate when the Minister for Health is next in the House. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on this issue at an early date.