Ireland 'highly dependent' on foreign doctors, with 71% of new medics having trained abroad

Just 28.8% of doctors newly registered in the country were trained in Ireland. Picture: File

More than 70% of new doctors who started work in Ireland in 2022 had trained abroad, with the State now “highly dependent” on foreign doctors, the Irish Medical Council’s latest workforce report shows.

The council also warned that the extremely long hours worked by doctors in training is putting patients at risk, with many doing over 48 hours weekly on average.