The Medical Council is set to monitor aggregated data on ethnicity and disability to help address inequalities in the medical profession.
New questions on these areas will be included in a workforce survey during the 2026 annual retention process, the Medical Independent understands. A Council spokesperson said it will be seeking input and feedback from doctors in terms of revising the workforce questions.
Data provided by doctors during retention is analysed and presented in the Council’s annual medical workforce intelligence reports. “Gathering data on ethnicity is important to indicate inclusivity, rates of training and career progression in medicine across different minorities and ethnicities,” said the Council’s spokesperson. “Ireland is heavily reliant on international medical graduates, as consistently shown in our workforce intelligence reports.”
Ethnicity data is “routinely collected” by medical regulators in other jurisdictions, they added.
Data on disabilities can provide “insight into barriers to accessing training and career progression”.
This aggregated data can be used to ensure that reasonable adjustments or support measures are in place for doctors where required.
The aggregated data can also be shared with training bodies and sites to “assess the effectiveness” of supports provided to doctors.
Monitoring and sharing aggregated data with stakeholders will play “a vital role in addressing differential attainment”, which refers to a gap in attainment levels between groups of doctors.
“Joining data sources, in a safe manner, in line with all data protection legislation, can provide new analysis and information to optimise insights.”
The spokesperson noted that “fair and supportive training environments” are key to the quality of medical education and practice and to the retention of medical professionals.
In 2026, the Council will also seek data relating to regional health areas. This will be used to inform targeted workforce planning at regional and national levels.
The Medical Workforce Intelligence Report 2024 was published by the Council last month. The regulator also released supplementary data on doctors who left and joined the medical register last year.
The workforce report found that almost a quarter of doctors self-reported working more than 48 hours on average per week. See news feature
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