In a break with tradition, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is poised to admit graduates to study medicine.
Arrangements for the new programme, which will run alongside the existing programme for school leavers, are at an advanced stage.
It is understood applicants of a high honours degree standard will be asked to do an internationally recognised aptitude test to gain entry to the RCSI programme. Some members of the RCSI council also favour holding interviews as part of the new selection procedure. But there is little wider support for this plan.
While common in the United States, holding interviews for places in medicine would be hugely controversial in a relatively small society like the Republic.
It is thought the number of places available to Irish and EU students will be spread evenly between Leaving Certs and graduates. At present, the college provides training places for 40 Irish students. This is expected to double as part of the wider expansion in medical education.
Next month the Cabinet is expected to endorse plans to double the number of training places in the Republic to about 725, lifting the cap of 308 places.
The plans are based on proposals tabled by an expert group chaired by Prof Patrick Fottrell, a former president of NUI Galway. The report advised a move to graduate entry for medicine, saying this would allow students to take a more mature decision.
The RCSI is the second college to signal plans for graduate entry. Two months ago UCD said half of its 108 places in medicine would be allocated to graduates by 2010. UL has also tabled proposals for a graduate entry school.
The aptitude test for both RCSI and UCD is likely to be based on the Australian model - the Graduate Australian Medical Schools Admission Test. The test has a strong scientific component, with one section devoted to reasoning powers in biological and physical sciences.
The RCSI is an independent not-for-profit organisation governed by a 20-member council. Only about 6 per cent of its income comes from the State. It receives about €7,000 to cover the cost of fees for each Irish student. Most of its income comes from non-EU students - mostly from the Middle East and North America - who pay fees of more than €34,000 per year. About 160 non-EU students enrol every year.
The RCSI has an income of about €100 million per year, some of it derived from new medical training hospitals it has developed in Bahrain and Malaysia.
The move to graduate entry comes amid increasing criticism of the very high CAO points needed for medicine. With a minimum requirement of 570 points, this year's Leaving Cert students needed six A grades to get in. As a result, only 143 first-time Leaving Certs were offered places in medicine this year. The remainder were taken by repeats and non-EU students.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin and Minister for Health Mary Harney will next month bring joint proposals to Cabinet on medical education.
