A deferred external evaluation of the Medical Council will take place this year, the regulator has confirmed.
The Council is subject to the provisions of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016, which aims to ensure that commercial and non-commercial State bodies meet the highest standards of corporate governance. The Code is based on the principles of accountability, transparency, and probity. It covers areas such as board roles, internal controls, financial reporting, and risk management.
The Code sets out that an external evaluation proportionate to the size and requirements of the State body should be carried out at least every three years.
The purpose of the external evaluation is to assess how well a State body and its committees are performing in line with their statutory duties and organisational objectives, and to make recommendations for improvement.
The matter of an external evaluation was discussed at a high-level governance meeting between the Department of Health and Council on 8 July 2025. According to meeting minutes, released by the Department under Freedom of Information law, it was agreed that the evaluation could be deferred to 2026.
Last month, a Medical Council spokesperson told the Medical Independent: “The proposed external review was due to take place in 2025 in compliance with timelines/cadence set out in the Code, and there was no specific event or incident that prompted it.”
“The Medical Council had planned to procure a suitable external agency to carry out this review in 2025 and this action was included in the 2025 Annual Business Plan. Due to changes in leadership and minor changes within the structure of the Medical Council that took place in 2025, both the Department of Health and the Medical Council agreed at a high-level governance meeting on 8 July 2025, that it would be appropriate for this external review to be deferred until 2026.”
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