Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Department of Social Protection has 22 medical assessors, including the chief medical adviser and the acting deputy chief medical adviser. A further three medical assessors have been appointed recently by the Public Appointments Service and two commenced work in the first week of November and the third will commence on 21 November.

To be appointed to the role of medical assessor, candidates are required to be fully qualified and experienced medical practitioners and be on the general register of medical practitioners while holding an appointment. It is a necessary requirement that, on appointment, they have at least six years satisfactory experience in the practice of medicine since registration.

While many of the medical assessors have specialist postgraduate qualifications, including occupational medicine, psychiatry, surgery and general medicine, a specialist postgraduate qualification is not a requirement for appointment as a medical assessor. Consequently details of such postgraduate qualifications pertaining to individual medical assessors are not collated as a matter of routine and as a result, details of what postgraduate qualifications each and every individual medical assessor may have are not readily available.

All medical assessors have received special training in human disability evaluation. The medical assessors are committed to continuing medical education to ensure that standards are maintained and enhanced. Ongoing medical education is provided by national and international experts in the evaluation of disability. There are also regular meetings and seminars under the direction of the chief medical adviser where a range of medical issues and developments in the occupational medicine field are discussed.

It should be noted that medical assessors are not specifically assigned to one particular scheme. All of the medical assessors complete desk assessments of medical evidence submitted on customer claims, appeals and reviews on all of the Department's disability and illness related schemes.

Following their appointment as medical assessors for the Department, medical assessors undertake contractually to not engage in private practice or be connected with any outside business which would interfere with the performance of their official duties.