Report finds increase in graduates moving abroad – and while most return, they are spending more time away before coming home
Six-in-ten newly-qualified doctors leave the Irish health system after their internship, and are staying away for longer before returning home, a new report has found.
The proportion of graduates abroad after completing their intern year rose from 47 per cent in 2015 to 60 per cent in 2023.
The majority return to commence GP or basic specialist training (BST), according to the Medical Recruitment and Retention Report 2025 from the HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) group.
However, graduates are also spending longer away from home. The report found that the proportion of interns not in Ireland two years after completing their internship increased from 36 per cent in 2015 to 58 per cent in 2023.
The report authors noted: “While it appears likely that interns still return for training, albeit with a longer gap before returning than previously, it will be important to monitor these trends.”
The issue of newly-qualified doctors moving abroad has been at the centre of new proposals by Minister for Higher Education James Lawless.
His department has outlined a number of proposals to keep the graduates in Ireland, including a plan to fund part or all of the cost of their education as part of an agreement which would see the doctors commit to working in the Irish health system for a set period of time after their medical degree.
However, the idea has come in for criticism, with the outgoing president of the Irish Medical Council Dr Suzanne Crowe describing it as a potential ‘infringement on people’s rights’.
“I don’t know how you could do that in a very fair way, as we also need speech and language therapists, psychologists, physios, nurses. We need electricians and plumbers too and they’re all going abroad. I think that perceived unfairness, if we were only to do it for doctors, is one of the reasons why the unions would really resist it,” she told The Irish Times.
The NDTP report also found that the overall retention rate of interns remains high. More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of doctors who completed their internship between 2016 and 2020 returned to Ireland to undertake further training.
A second report from NDTP – its 2025-2026 Medical Workforce Report – found that the number of non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) has increased by 28 per cent over the past five years. Of the over-10,000 NCHDs working in public-only posts in Ireland last year, 4,018 were not on a training scheme.
An analysis of new non-training scheme doctors (NTSDs) found that almost two-thirds (64 per cent) do not go on to further training, with many leaving the health system after a few years.
On average there are 746 new NTSDs each year that do not progress on to a training programme. After a year, 61 per cent of this group remain working in the public health system. However, after five years this falls to just 24 per cent.
There has also been an increase of 39 per cent in the number of consultants in the Irish health system, with 4,962 employed in public services last year.
An analysis of new permanent consultants hired between 2021 and 2024 found that 30 per cent received their specialist qualifications outside of Ireland.
The country’s larger hospitals were also more likely to hire consultants qualified in Ireland. Of the new consultants in permanent consultant posts in Model 3 hospitals, 53 per cent completed their training in Ireland, compared to 73 per cent in Model 4 hospitals.