Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD has announced an agreement with the Irish medical schools to increase the number of places available for EU students by 200 over the next five years.
The agreement reached with the medical schools will begin with an additional 60 EU students in September 2022, climbing to 120 in September 2023, and up to 200 by 2026.
Welcoming the agreement, Minister Donnelly added: “The creation of these places, allowing for an increase in the number of medical students graduating, is an important step to enable my Department and the HSE to plan for the future health workforce. We are all aware of the demands we place on those working in the healthcare system, particularly since the onset of the pandemic.
“By increasing the number of doctors in the system, we are taking a step towards addressing the needs of the entire system, to allow it to continue to respond and allowing some much needed support for those frontline workers who have managed so well, caring for people over the course of the pandemic.”
The additional places will be funded jointly by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and the Department of Health.