As of the 31 December 2025 there were 37,977 doctors on the Medical Council's Register. This figure reflects all registered medical practitioners and does not indicate how many are currently practising medicine or who are based in the Republic of Ireland. The most accurate information held by the Medical Council in relation to the number of doctors who are clinically active in Ireland arises from the annual retention process, whereby doctors are required to retain their registration by completing the annual retention application form. This retention data provides insight into the number of doctors currently employed in the Irish health service. I refer the Deputy to the answer to question 38106/26 in this regard.
The table below provides end year figures on numbers on the register and first registered doctors. This information has been broken down by basic medical qualification, where doctors are grouped as graduates from Irish Medical Schools, graduates from the EU or UK, or graduates from an international medical school outside of Ireland, the EU or the UK. Data on first registered doctors joining the Register reflects those who joined the Register and remained on the Register by the end of the referenced year. If a doctor joined and left the Register before the end of the year, they are not captured.
Table.
Year-End Figures of the Register with a breakdown of where these doctors received their Basic Medical Qualifications
|
-
|
Register at Year End
|
First Registered Doctors
|
|
2025
|
|
|
|
Total
|
37,977
|
6,445
|
|
Ireland
|
17,391
|
800
|
|
EU or UK
|
5,774
|
1,304
|
|
International
|
14,812
|
4,341
|
|
2024
|
|
|
|
Total
|
33,244
|
4,721
|
|
Ireland
|
16,824
|
895
|
|
EU or UK
|
4,847
|
838
|
|
International
|
11,573
|
2,988
|
|
2023
|
|
|
|
Total
|
29,488
|
3,155
|
|
Ireland
|
16.141
|
861
|
|
EU or UK
|
4,232
|
598
|
|
International
|
9,115
|
1,696
|
|
2022
|
|
|
|
Total
|
27,521
|
2,843
|
|
Ireland
|
15,697
|
841
|
|
EU or UK
|
3,901
|
479
|
|
International
|
7,923
|
1,523
|
Taken from the HSE NDTP Medical Workforce Report 2025–2026, (available at: www.medicalcareers.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Medical-Workforce-Report-2025-2026-FINAL-DIGITAL.pdf), the table below provides an overview of the growth in the medical workforce across the public health service over recent years, including consultants, NCHDs in training posts, and NCHDs not enrolled on training schemes. The figure demonstrates the continued expansion in medical workforce capacity across the health service over the last 5 years.
|
Cohort
|
2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
2024
|
2025
|
Avg Growth Rate 2024-25
|
Avg 5-year Change Rate
|
Overall 5-year Growth
|
|
Interns
|
854
|
821
|
873
|
879
|
861
|
-2%
|
0%
|
1%
|
|
Basic Training - Specialist
|
1,845
|
1,878
|
1,966
|
2,042
|
2.,187
|
7%
|
4%
|
19%
|
|
Higher Training - Specialist
|
1,957
|
2,083
|
2,145
|
2,251
|
2,465
|
10%
|
6%
|
26%
|
|
IMGTI Scholariships
|
129
|
138
|
145
|
178
|
213
|
20%
|
13%
|
65%
|
|
Post-CSCST Fellowships
|
69
|
68
|
69
|
62
|
65
|
6%
|
-1%
|
-4%
|
|
Total Training NCHDs (excl interns)
|
4,000
|
4,167
|
4,325
|
4,533
|
4,930
|
9%
|
5%
|
23%
|
|
Total Training NCHDs (incl interns)
|
4,854
|
4,988
|
5,198
|
5,412
|
5,791
|
7%
|
5%
|
19%
|
|
Non-training scheme doctors (NTSDs)
|
2,801
|
2,920
|
3,549
|
3,950
|
4,018
|
2%
|
9%
|
43%
|
|
Total NCHDs (incl interns)
|
7,655
|
7,908
|
8,747
|
9,362
|
9,809
|
5%
|
6%
|
28%
|
|
Consultant Workforce
|
3,563
|
3,814
|
4,289
|
4,698
|
4,962
|
6%
|
9%
|
39%
|
|
Total Consultant and NCHDs (incl interns)
|
11,218
|
11,722
|
13,036
|
14,060
|
14,771
|
5%
|
7%
|
32%
|
Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce paper published in December 2025 sets out an evidence-based strategic direction for the health and social care workforce for the next 15 years. It covers the entire health and social care sector, including public, private and voluntary. The paper is available at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c68b88d0/Irelands_Future_Health_and_Social_Care_Workforce.pdf
The paper shows an increase in demand for medical practitioners from 2023-2040 of 31%. The supporting Technical Note, which outlines the technical approach used to calculate workforce projections, can be found at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf
It is important to note that the workforce demand projections incorporate the outputs of the recently completed Health Service Capacity Review. This was delivered by the ESRI in collaboration with the Department of Health and HSE and estimated demand for services across Acutes, Long-Term Care and GP services. The demand scenarios included are the result of a series of workshops involving Department of Health and HSE officials over 2024 and 2025. Detail on how these outputs were incorporated into the growth rates for the workforce demand model can be found on page 3 of the Technical Note (link above). GP consultations are projected to grow from 19.4 million in 2023 to between 23.9 million and 25.2 million by 2040, a growth rate of between 23% and 30%. Further detail can be found here: www.esri.ie/publications/projections-of-national-demand-and-workforce-requirements-for-general-practice-in
