Irish medical students favoured as interns over international classmates

A rule change in the awarding of internships to medical students essentially favours Irish students over their international classmates regardless of whether they outrank them academically.

The HSE said the change means applicants for internships who entered an Irish medical school through the Central Applications Office (CAO) will be prioritised in the first round of intern offers.

This puts non-EU applicants at an immediate disadvantage as they are required to submit their applications directly to the colleges and not the CAO.