Vol. 542 No. 3
127 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to amend the terms on which a non-EU medical graduate, married to an Irish national, cannot qualify to undertake an internship in a hospital here. [24415/01]
I refer the Deputy to the Adjournment Debate of 9 October 2001. As stated in the debate, under section 37, and the Fourth Schedule of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978, the primary qualification required to qualify for internship in an Irish hospital must be obtained from an Irish university. Where a person does not hold such a primary qualification he or she cannot be granted the provisional registration which allows him or her carry out an internship in Ireland.
As the Deputy may be aware, my Department is currently carrying out a review of the Medical Practitioners Act. Consultations have been carried out with many interested groups, including the Irish Medical Council, the training bodies, bodies representing the medical professions and patients. I am already aware of the issue raised and it will be addressed as part of this review. It is hoped that draft heads of Bill will be published before the end of the year. However, I have asked my Department to examine whether any action can be taken to address this matter in the interim.
