My Department and I committed to expanding the number of places available on Medicine Programmes in a sustainable way in collaboration with my cabinet colleague Minister Carroll McNeill and her officials in the Department of Health.
In July 2022, along with the Minister for Health, an agreement was announced to increase the number of annual intake places available for Irish and EU students by 200. This increase has been on a phased basis each academic year from September 2022 to the final increase in September 2026. To date, 160 additional EU places have been added to the Medicine programmes in the Republic of Ireland.
In addition to increased places in Irish Universities, an agreement was reached with Queens University Belfast in September 2023 to have additional ringfenced places on their undergraduate Medicine programme for Irish Students who wish to study in Northern Ireland, 50 places in total in 2023 and 2024. Students who take up these places will commit to applying to take up a position in the HSE as an intern at the end of their studies.
The Higher Education Authority Expression of Interest process has recommended two new Medicine programmes to be progressed in the medium term. A Graduate Entry Rural and Remote Medicine Programme in the University of Galway and a direct entry Medicine programme in the University of Limerick. At full roll out it is anticipated this will provide a further 78 student places per annum between both Universities.
Regarding international students, it is important to note that the entry criteria for Medicine programmes is managed by the individual Higher Education Institutions in line with their autonomy. The data requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached file for new entrants to Medicine programmes by HEI. This data was sourced from the student records system of the HEA and is the most recent which is currently available.
Medicine Student Data
