A QUARTER OF Irish doctors are working in excess of 48 hours a week, a report from the Irish Medical Council has found, while over 1000 voluntarily withdrew from the register last year, with most going to work abroad.

Of the doctors who were working over 48 hours a week in 2024, just under half reported that they were working in direct patient care for over 48 hours a week.

A quarter also said they have found it difficult to provide a patient with proper care at least once a week.

The report from the Medical Council, published today, found that the Irish medical workforce is increasingly made up of doctors who obtained qualifications internationally, yet doctors from abroad are in some cases finding difficulty securing jobs here.

The council found that there were only 20,962 practising doctors in the Republic in 2024, despite there being over 30,000 doctors on the medical register.

The Medical Council has said that the findings highlight an “urgent” need for strategic, sustainable investment in training, recruitment, and retention.”

The study also found that 27.8% of Ireland’s 20,962 clinically active doctors working in the Republic have an international qualification (meaning that they trained outside of Ireland, the EU, and the UK).

Most of the internationally trained doctors got their qualifications in Pakistan (39.7%) follows by Sudan (21.3%).

1025 doctors voluntarily withdrew from theregister last year, with over 600 leaving to practice in another country.

Of that cohort, 352 obtained their qualifications in Ireland, whereas 172 trained in the EU of the UK, and 501 were international graduates from other countries.

The majority who withdrew were general doctors, while 255 were specialists and 29 were trainee specialists.

149 doctors withdrew from the register because they wanted to stop practising medicine altogether.

Many doctors reported travelling to the UK to obtain their specialist training there, with one doctor saying there is “no career progression” in Ireland.

Several international doctors reported difficulties in finding employment once they had come to Ireland and registered with the council here.

Another said: “I had been waiting to get a job in Ireland for the past 1.5 years, however I failed to secure a job or even land an interview.

Other doctors discussed their experiences of deciding to move abroad for work.

“Pay is low, specialty understaffed, hours too long, I am burnt out. I have moved to Australia,” one doctor said.

The report found that 12.9% of doctors said they are likely to consider reducing their hours in clinical practice.

Jantze Cotter of the Medical Council said that retaining doctors in Ireland “remains a challenge”, and that doctors are in some cases working excessive hours, which can have a real impact on patient outcomes.

Cotter said that working hours beyond what is set out as the limit by the European Working Time Directive contributes to “stress, burnout and absenteeism”.