7% of registered doctors did not practise last year

Almost 7% of the doctors registered with the Medical Council in 2012 had not practised medicine in the last 12 months, and of those who had, 15% practised outside Ireland and 14% worked part time.

According to the council’s Medical Workforce Intelligence Report, 16,392 doctors retained registration with it as of Jun 2012.

There was a 3% fall in the number of doctors registered at the end of that year compared with 2011.