Just one-in-three foreign doctors plan to remain in Ireland

International recruitment is not an effective long-term strategy for addressing a doctor shortage, with only one-third of foreign doctors planning to remain in Ireland, it has emerged.

Two studies from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Trinity College Dublin found that foreign trained doctors experience slower career progression than doctors trained in Ireland, and half plan to move to a new country.

A survey of 366 foreign doctors registered to practice medicine in Ireland, funded by the Health Research Board and enabled by the Medical Council, showed that just one in three were planning to stay in Ireland.