Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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1074. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of CAO places available for undergraduate medicine, by institution for the years 2020 to 2024; the planned number for 2025, noting any significant additional funding that has been provided over the same period, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17421/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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My Department and I am committed to expanding the number of places available on Medicine Programmes in a sustainable way in collaboration with with my cabinet colleague Minister Carroll McNeill and her officials in the Department of Health.

In July 2022, along with the Minister for Health, an agreement was announced to increase the number of annual intake places available for Irish and EU students by 200, with the funding for this increase jointly funded by this Department and the Department of Health. This increase has been on a phased basis each academic year from September 2022 to the final increase in September 2026. To date, 160 additional EU places have been added to the Medicine programmes in the Republic of Ireland.

In addition to increased places in Irish Universities, an agreement was reached with Queens University Belfast in September 2023 to have additional ringfenced places on their undergraduate Medicine programme for Irish Students who wish to study in Northern Ireland, 50 places in total in 2023 and 2024. Students who take up these places will commit to applying to take up a position in the HSE as an intern at the end of their studies.

The Higher Education Authority Expression of Interest process has recommended two new Medicine programmes to be progressed in the medium term. A Graduate Entry Rural and Remote Medicine Programme in the University of Galway and a direct entry Medicine programme in the University of Limerick. At full roll out it is anticipated this will provide a further 78 student places per annum between both Universities.

The data requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached file for EU & Ireland new entrants to Undergraduate Medicine programmes by HEI. This data was sourced from the student records system of the HEA and is the most recent available.