Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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708. To ask the Minister for Health the reason medical graduates from India are unable to register in Ireland as general practitioners even if they have completed the required registration exams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31511/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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General Practice is a recognised specialty on the Specialist Division of the Medical Council’s register. Specialist doctors who qualified outside of the EU do not benefit from automatic recognition of their qualifications and must be assessed under “The General system” of the Professional Qualifications Directive (Directive 2005/36/EC).  This involves the applicant doctor demonstrating that they have the same level of training and experience as a graduate of an Irish Higher Specialist Training programme.  This requires the provision of a portfolio of evidence so the Medical Council can be assured that the applicant has the same level of specialist expertise as would be expected of an Irish graduate awarded a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training. As this is a highly specialised and time-consuming assessment process, the Medical Council have a Service Level Agreement in place with each of the Postgraduate Training Bodies to carry out these assessments. This process is needed to ensure patient safety.

Doctors who wish to pursue specialist training in Ireland, including in relation to General Practice, must hold registration on the Trainee Specialist Division of the Medical Council’s register.  The Medical Practitioners Act 2007 provides that medical practitioners who hold qualifications from non-EEA countries are eligible to be registered in the Trainee Specialist Division if they have passed the Council’s Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES) or are exempt from the PRES in line with legislation, have an approved training post and have been granted in a third country a document which, in the opinion of the Council, is at least the equivalent of a certificate of experience (internship).

The Medical Council recognises internships in a number of countries as equivalent to Irish internships.  These include Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan and Malaysia.  However, internships from non-EEA countries outside of these countries are not currently recognised by the Council.

The Medical Practitioners Act is being amended by the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020.  The 2020 Act will remove the requirement to hold the equivalence of the certificate of experience for entry to the Trainee Specialist Division.  This Act was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas and signed into law by the President earlier this month.  Once the relevant provision has been commenced, doctors wishing to pursue specialist training will be eligible to apply for registration on the Trainee Specialist Division without being required to hold the equivalence of the certificate of experience.  It is important to state that registration on this division continues to require the applicant to hold a training post approved by the Medical Council for specialist training, as well as meeting all the other requirements for registration.