asked the Minister for Health if he will state the number of medical practitioners in the State, and the number employed full-time by health authorities.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Medical Practitioners and Dental Surgeons.
It is presumed that the information requested by the Deputy is the number of medical practitioners normally engaged in active medical practice in the State.
The number cannot be stated accurately. The Irish Medical Register contains the names of many doctors who have retired from practice or who have left the country, either temporarily for training abroad or permanently. For the purposes of the 1951 Census of Population, the number of persons who described themselves as medical practitioners was 2,921 but that figure is believed to include many not in practice.
The number employed full-time by health authorities (including mental hospital authorities) is 430 approximately. The Deputy will appreciate that this figure varies slightly from time to time.
Is the latter figure included in the former?
I should say so; yes.
asked the Minister for Health if he will state the number of dental surgeons in the State, and the number employed full-time by health authorities.
It is presumed that the information requested by the Deputy is the number of dentists normally engaged in active dental practice in the State.
This number cannot be stated accurately but is estimated at 640. Of this number, 74 are employed full-time by health authorities.
asked the Minister for Health if he will state the average annual remuneration of (a) medical doctors and (b) dental surgeons employed full-time by health authorities.
As the status of whole-time medical officers in the local authority service varies widely as between, for example, regional specialists and interns who are doctors only just qualified, the figure for average annual remuneration would be very misleading and consequently I do not feel that any useful purpose would be served by seeking data from every local authority in order to calculate it.
The mean of the salary scale of a local authority dental officer is £1,193.