More than three-quarters of medical students have signalled their intention to work outside Ireland after they qualify, research to be published today shows.
The figure increases to 85 per cent among fifth- and final-year medical students, with a discernible rise in those wishing to work abroad as students gain more experience of the health system here.
The results of the survey will support recent calls by the Medical Council and various healthcare reform reports for the number of EU medical student places to be increased to meet the future demand for doctors.
A total of 1,040 medical students from all six medical schools in Ireland, including Queen's University Belfast, participated in the study, which is to be presented this evening at the annual conference of the Irish Medical Students' Association in Dublin.
Of note is the fact that 51 per cent of Queen's University students, who train in the British NHS, wish to work abroad when they qualify, compared with 90 per cent of UCC medical students and 88 per cent of those attending UCD.
The lead author of the study, Mr Peter Coyle, a medical student at the National University of Ireland Galway, told The Irish Times: "As might be expected, 90 per cent of non-EU students intend to leave Ireland to practise."
He acknowledged that the survey did not specifically ask students whether they intended to work abroad for good or whether they might return to Ireland after gaining experience abroad.
"However, the figure for students who intend to work outside Ireland is very high and is relevant in the light of groups, such as the Irish College of General Practitioners, claiming the medical education system here is not providing enough graduates to meet our needs," he said.
Participants, 59 per cent of whom were male, were asked where they intended to go to work; Australia and the US emerged as the top two intended destinations.
On the question of who funds medical students' education, almost 50 per cent are being paid for by their parents.
Government grants fund 24 per cent of students, with 11 per cent taking out bank loans. Some 15 per cent said they were paying for themselves by undertaking part-time employment.
Asked whether introducing a four-year postgraduate medical course, as proposed by the previous minister for education, Mr Dempsey, was a good idea, 61 per cent said it was not.
Of the 39 per cent who welcomed it, the main reasons given were improved maturity leading to "the right career choice" and a more rounded education.