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IRELAND’S INCREASING NEED for doctors is mainly being met by employing foreign-trained doctors, according to a new report from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).
Research carried out by the RCSI’s Health Workforce Research Group found that approximately 700 Irish doctors graduate from the six medical schools in Ireland each year. However, the percentage of Irish doctors on the Medical Council register continues to fall.
While the number of new entrants to the register doubled between 2012 and 2015, the numbers of graduates from outside Ireland who joined the register accounted for two-thirds of all new registrants in 2015.
Africa contributes the highest number of doctors in this regard, with 28%, and Pakistan supplies more than 20% of Ireland’s foreign-trained doctors.
The report states that the systemic drivers of this trend include:
The RCSI said an important new pattern is “the growth in the numbers of doctors trained in other European Union (EU) countries, which now represent 20% of foreign trained doctors”.
Graduates of medical schools in Romania, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic included not only nationals from these countries, but many non-EU nationals and a significant number of Irish nationals.
The analysis, which summarises Medical Council registration trends, alongside data from the HSE’s National Doctor Training and Planning unit, also profiles the nationalities and countries of training of non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) working in Irish hospitals. While the numbers of NCHDs increased between 2011 and 2015, most of these were recruited to non-training posts.
The RSCI said this means “efforts to put in place a specialist-delivered health service are being undermined”.
‘Brain drain’
Professor Ruairi Brugha, RCSI’s Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, said: “We need high level recognition of the scale of the problem and we need radical responses, given the time and type of hospitals needed to train hospital specialists.
Currently, Irish hospitals are employing increasing numbers of foreign-trained doctors into posts that don’t provide these doctors with an adequate level of supervised training. This is not good for patients, or for these doctors’ careers.
Brugha said the high turnover of such doctors “confirms earlier research which shows that international recruitment is not an effective strategy”. He said that of those recruited are leaving Ireland for the same reasons Irish doctors leave, a process he describes as “brain gain, followed by brain waste, ending with brain drain”.
Brugha explains: “This involves firstly a brain gain through the recruitment of non-EU trained foreign doctors. Then ‘brain waste’ through slow or stagnant career progression for these individuals leading to deskilling, and finally ‘brain drain’ through the onward migration of these doctors, mainly to other wealthy countries.”
The report states that Ireland needs effective retention measures to “achieve medical workforce sustainability and to comply with our global responsibilities not to recruit doctors from poorer countries that can ill afford to lose their doctors”.
The RCSI said this means providing better working conditions such as shorter and more flexible working hours; better terms and conditions, including equitable salary levels for new consultants; and more attractive training and clearer career paths for doctors who graduate here.
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Great vote of confidence by aldi in Mitchelstown as an ideal location for distribution location. Killarney! Cork, Limerick, Waterford all between a 30 to 60 mile radius. Infrastructure great just beside the M8.
Mitchelstown was the home of good food until self destructing with farmers supporting bad management now it can reinvent itself as the top distribution hub for Munster and beyond. Congrats Aldi for seeing the benefits and also for excellent work in landscaping the site.
It’s a hell of a place they’ve built there….huge…..
Where did we buy stuff before Aldi and Lidl…. I can’t remember…
Remember the days when we didn’t go in for some spuds and come out with a pressure washer and a car radio?
Dunnes Tescos
Sure they will probably fill it with eastern Europeans , I have found very few Irish working in their stores,let’s see what percentage of their employees are actually Irish and what percentage of the 140 are Irish
Yes Paul, that is correct.
Do all employees not pay income tax to the State regardless of where they come from?
I’ve seen many Irish workers in Aldi/ Lidl all over the country, but there’s also many foreign nationals there too. Just because it’s not Irish workers getting jobs doesn’t mean it’s a waste, they still have to pay taxes like the rest of us and they too feel the hardship of the downturn. It’s not right putting down the good news of 160 new jobs just because Paddy didn’t get a handy number there.
It’s because alot of unemployed irish workers are snobs. They feel a job in Aldi is beneath them.
The number of Irish people employed by Aldi is a reflection of the number of Irish people who apply to work in Aldi. But don’t let that stop you and the other morons from turning a good story about job creation into some prejudiced rant.
I used to work in Lidl 3 or 4 years back (non store role) and vast majority of cvs flowing in for jobs were from foreign nationals (like way more than half, maybe 3/4) Why do you suggest in some comments then Lidl is favourable to foreigners that’s not true that’s just maths : more foreign cvs more foreign workers, simple. I don’t know if situation changed now and if they’re getting more Irish applications or not. Lidl is definitely equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against anybody. Face the facts in Celtic era many Irish were laughing at “cheap” brands jobs now its different story altogether. These cheap brands became market leaders and their jobs are most sought after (stability, good career prospect etc.)
They will hire local people , local polish people
Yes.
Because Irish wont do the job? Must be some reason…
They’ll still pay tax and contribute to the local economy.
@Norman
and all the money they send home ?
And all the associated costs of medical and welfare (and pensions in the future) ?
This idea that 500,000 foreigners somehow saved us from ourselves is bizarre.
Tick tock tick tock
The building in Mitchelstown is enormous. It can probably be seen from outer space!
Their offering 4 to 11 month contracts with some staff getting 4 hours per day 20 hours per week. Any jobs are welcome but its not going to lift Mitchelstown out of the economic gloom
Seems like student jobs not something to support a family on :(
This is how big retail stores work.
Small shops might be dear but they provide stability.
Must look it up
Aldi are creating jobs creating new tax payers and reducing the welfare bill. That’s excellent news. It’s worth noting that while other supermarkets pay their suppliers on average four months late Aldi and Indeed lidl both pay on their suppliers on time.
I agree with Paul G how many of the new workers will be Irish nationals ? As it seems to me that they employ a large ammount of foreign nationals.
They may be foreign nationals Paul but they’re living, working, paying tax and feeding the local economy
Now now sir this is 2013 u are not allowed to express an opinion that isn’t uber liberal i.e. pro immigrant, traveller, gay, feminist how very dare you :)
Good news for Mitchelstown. Doesn’t matter who they employee important thing is it means more money in the local economy.
Aldi gotta love it
This is great news, I think it’s time to get out the party poppers.
Great news! Every little helps!
+160 jobs at big shop
-160 jobs in small shops
It’s a distribution centre
Uhm yes and it only exists because their shops are forcing out other business.
I’d look at it another way. They’ve forced the indigenous Irish retailers like Supervalu and Dunnes to really up their game in order to compete. They’ve lowered food costs for thousands of struggling families around the country. Small shops are great but you don’t do your weekly shop in them. I know in the town I grew up in that the small shops were closing long before Lidl opened a store there. That’s just the way the world is going.
great news i live near enough to Mitchelstown. the distribution centre was built nearly 3 years ago but didn’t open (due to the economic downturn) fair play to Aldi for keeping the place in good condition. they did excellent work on the landscaping of the building Ps the place is humoungous so plenty of room for expansion if they go well good news for the local area
How many local jobs in small shops will be lost as most (though not all) of their good are imported?
Lidl n ildi owned by 2 brothers
wrong…Aldi is 2 separate companies, Aldi Nord & Aldi Sud, controlled by brothers. Lidl is a totally different company. Even Aldi Nord & Sud are separate entities.
And what about the employees in their distribution centre in Naas who they are currently letting go? 160 jobs is pure spin. They are not new -it is just a relocation.
Thats true Bears News and also for all suppliers who now need double their vehicles to deliver the same amount of products to 2 different sites with no increase in unit sales. But double the overheads. All pure spin !!!
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