The Government was yesterday urged to address the impending shortage of Irish doctors by trebling the number of places in medical schools for Irish and EU students to bring to more than 1,000 the number of doctors qualifying each year.
According to Irish Patients' Association chairman Stephen McMahon, the Irish healthcare system is facing a serious shortage of doctors over the next 15 to 20 years, with many GPs due to retire.
Mr McMahon pointed out that there are currently some 320-350 Irish students taking up places in medical schools, but he urged the Government to create another 700-800 places to ensure that both GP and consultant positions are filled.
"There's going to be a huge fall-off in the number of GPs here over the next number of years due to retirements.
"As it is, we're looking for about 1,000 extra consultants for the health strategy to be implemented, and they are all going to have to come through the medical schools," Mr McMahon said.
He suggested that the Government might look at relaxing the points requirements for Irish students and allow similar entry requirements into medical schools for Irish students as currently apply to students from outside the EU.
"We have about 400-500 non-national students coming from outside the EU to study medicine here.
"If you're non-EU and you have the money, some €25,000 a year, and have around 400 to 450 points, you can get into medical school." Mr McMahon said.
He suggested that Irish students who were just 10 or 20 points short of the current requirement to study medicine but who could afford to pay the higher rates should be allowed study in order to provide replacements when working GPs retire.
"It's highly controversial, but I think it should be considered," said Mr McMahon, adding that the Government should look at increasing funding to the medical schools, which currently receive about €8,000 a year in grants per student.
Mr McMahon was speaking at the fourth Population Health Summer School at UCC which was jointly organised by the HSE Southern Area's Department of Public Health, UCC's Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and the Institute of Public Health in Ireland.
And he pointed out that, from an ethical point, Ireland should be seeking to avoid fulfilling its medical personnel needs over the next 20 years by recruiting doctors from developing countries which need their own doctors to combat their particular health problems.
"We have to ensure that we are not drawing on the health resources of other less well-off countries around the world rather than facing up to the realities ourselves and providing our own doctors," he said.