Medical students ‘need funding increased fourfold’

A LEADING academic has warned that Irish medical students are in danger of falling behind unless funding is increased almost fourfold.

The Department of Education spends about €6,000 a year on fees for each medical student, but UCC head of medicine Professor Eamonn Quigley estimates that €22,000 would be a more realistic figure.

"Students are being educated on the cheap in Ireland as our medical schools are chronically underfunded. We're spending a fraction of what is spent in Britain and elsewhere in the EU. It is only through the commitment of staff and students that we've kept standards up," said Prof Quigley, who worked in the US for 17 years.

The Hanly report and other departmental reports have all recommended that the medical schools increase their output as hospitals try to implement the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) and keep pace with a growing population.

A Working Group on Undergraduate Medical Education and Training, set up by the Department of Education, is due to report this summer on how universities can meet the demands of coming years.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin recently told the Dáil that she and Health Minister Mary Harney will examine their recommendations in line with projected health service requirements.

Prof Quigley believes increased student figures must be matched with increased investment in each student.

"We are relying on free teaching and fees from non-EU students in this country to create our doctors. If we are to reach the standards being set elsewhere, the Departments of Education and Health will have to make a financial commitment to our universities," he said.

At present, UCC takes in 60 Irish and 60 non-EU students each year for its medicine degree. The non-EU students pay fees of about €22,000 a year to study in Ireland.

As part of UCC Medicine School's strategic plan, they hope to increase their annual intake to 200.

Up to 120 of these places would be made up of Irish or EU students a doubling on present figures and 50 of the 200 places would be open to graduates who want to study medicine.

Plans are also in place, if they receive departmental approval, to develop a second clinical campus at Limerick, which would take up to 150 students at different stages of study.