Medical Council consults on MPA amendments

The Medical Council has launched a consultation on revisions to section 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act (MPA) 2007. The amendments relate to how medical practitioners must register with the Medical Council and rules regarding pre-registration exams and exemptions (PRES).

Section 11 of the Act requires all medical practitioners in Ireland to ensure they are registered with the appropriate division of the register, based on their training and qualifications.

The amendments include:

• provisions for nationals of a member state who do not meet eligibility requirements but who possess a basic medical training qualification
• new rules that may exempt some practitioners, who were registered on the General Register of Medical Practitioners, from pre-registration exams when applying for registration
• provisions that may allow participants in some training programmes to be exempt from the temporary registration assessment scheme (TRAS), immediately prior to the Register Establishment Day.

The consultation will close on 13 October 2009.