Record number of doctors now working in Ireland, including 146 GPs in Meath
New research reveals 146 doctors self-report working as GPs in Co Meath.
The Medical Council has launched new research on the medical workforce in Ireland in 2025, via the publication of its Medical Workforce Intelligence Report 2025 and supplementary report.
In 2025, there were 5,017 GPs throughout Ireland, an increase of 5.3% from the 2024 figure. The research reveals that there are 146 GPs working in Co Meath, which accounts for 2.9% of all GPs in the country.
Launched by the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, T.D., at the Medical Council’s offices at Kingram House, Dublin 2, the workforce reports, which analyse and present data from doctors registered in Ireland in 2025, look at:
- Doctors who retained their place on the Medical Council’s Register and were clinically active in Ireland (Medical Workforce Intelligence Report 2025)
- Doctors clinically active abroad only and doctors not clinically active in 2025 (Supplementary workforce report – doctors who retained their place on the Register but reported not practising medicine in Ireland during the year)
The Medical Workforce Intelligence Report 2025 analyses the clinically active medical workforce in Ireland, based on responses from doctors who renewed their registration on the Medical Register in 2025.
It provides quantitative analysis of demographics and divisional status, and details on employment, practice, medical disciplines and specialities. Doctors were also asked about hours spent in direct patient care, barriers to patient safety, and future career plans.
The research also reveals: A growing and diversifying workforce
- In 2025, there were 22,257 clinically active doctors practising medicine in Ireland, representing 75.6% of doctors who retained their place on the Medical Council Register, showing that the overall size of the Register does not directly reflect the number of doctors working on the ground.
- The proportion of clinically active female doctors rose to 47.6%, representing a slight but steady increase in recent years (47.2% in 2024, 47.0% in 2023).
- The mean age of doctors was 43.6 years, with approximately one in five (20.1%) aged 55 or older and approaching typical retirement age. The gender split was almost even across all age groups except the 55 or older cohort, where 66.0% were male.
- 49.9% of clinically active doctors were registered on the Specialist Division, and 31.6% on the General Division.
- There were 5,017 doctors self-reporting as General Practitioners, with GP numbers up 5.3% on the previous year. 78.9% of GPs were on the Specialist Division, and 19.3% on the General Division.
Persistent barriers to safe patient care
- Almost one-third of doctors (30.7%) reported never experiencing difficulties providing patients with sufficient levels of care. However, more than one-quarter (27.6%) experienced such difficulties at least once a week or more often.
- The most commonly reported barriers identified by doctors were pressure on workloads, time spent on administration and bureaucracy, and overcrowding.
- 22.1% of doctors self-reported working more than 48 hours a week on average, a slight improvement on 2024 (23.1%). 9.3% reported spending more than 48 hours in direct patient care, down from 10.7% in 2024.
GPs report the greatest strain of any group
- GPs reported the highest rate of difficulty providing safe patient care of any group of doctors, with 34.7% experiencing barriers at least weekly. The leading barriers were bureaucracy and administration, workload, and difficulty accessing specialist opinion. 10.2% of GPs worked more than 48 hours a week.
- GPs aged 34 and under were more likely to report barriers than any other age group. A fifth of the GP workforce is approaching typical retirement age.
Ireland's growing reliance on internationally trained doctors
- 56.6% of doctors obtained their basic medical qualification in Ireland, 13.9% in the EU or UK, and 29.5% outside Ireland, the EU or the UK, continuing a year-on-year rise (27.8% in 2024, 25.7% in 2023)
- The most common country of qualification for international graduates was Pakistan with 41.7% of the international graduate cohort. This was followed by Sudan with 20.3% of the international graduate cohort.
Doctors in training carrying a disproportionate burden
- Doctors on the Trainee Specialist Division were the group most likely (35.3%), to work more than 48 hours a week and the group most likely to report multiple barriers to safe care. Nearly half of those reporting 11 or more barriers were aged 34 and under.
Supplementary report: doctors not practising in Ireland
- 1,712 doctors retained their registration but reported not practising medicine anywhere, in Ireland or abroad (5.8% of those retaining).
- 5,459 of doctors were clinically active abroad only, equating to 18.6% of those retaining their place on the Register, up from 15.6% in 2024.
Welcoming the research today, Prof Deirdre J Murphy, President of the Medical Council, said, “This report reflects a workforce that is growing and becoming more diverse, and a diverse medical workforce is good news, reflecting the changing demographics of patients and communities across the country. The data are equally clear that too many doctors are telling us that workload, administration and overcrowding are getting in the way of the care they want to provide.
“As President of the Medical Council, my priority is to ensure that these findings translate into evidence-based action, so that patient safety remains at the centre of how we support and regulate the profession. This is why the collaboration and partnerships we have with the Department of Health and the HSE are so important. I want to thank every doctor who took the time to respond to this year's Annual Retention Form questionnaire. In doing so, they are contributing directly to our understanding of the future of the workforce.”
Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, T.D., launching the report, said, “The Medical Council’s Medical Workforce Intelligence Report provides valuable insight into Ireland’s medical workforce. High-quality workforce intelligence is essential if we are to plan effectively for the future health needs of our population and ensure patients continue to receive timely and high-quality care. I welcome the growth in doctor numbers and the continued progress towards greater gender balance across the profession. At the same time, the report highlights challenges around medical workforce supply, workload and long-term workforce sustainability. The report is an important input into evidence-based workforce planning, and our collective ambition to build a sustainable medical workforce to deliver high-quality, equitable and safe healthcare for the people of Ireland.”
Dr Maria O'Kane, CEO of the Medical Council, added, “The Medical Council is proactively working with stakeholders including employers, training bodies, Government colleagues and patient safety organisations to support a growing and changing medical workforce. This year's findings again show our continued reliance on internationally trained doctors, particularly in frontline NCHD posts, and how well they are supported and inducted has a direct bearing on patient safety. We are also seeing the pressures on GPs and doctors in training come through clearly and consistently in the data. We welcome the significant improvements being made for doctors in training and the ongoing implementation of the NCHD taskforce report, which is having a positive impact on the ground. A key part of retaining our highly skilled workforce is organisations working together, and using our data to focus effort and action.”
Dr Bernadette Rock, Head of Research and Regulatory Data Insights with the Medical Council, added, "Examining doctors' perspectives on the barriers to patient safety helps us understand why certain groups are more likely to face obstacles to good practice. We’re seeing a workforce that is expanding and diversifying, and the Medical Council's data is tracking its development over time and sharing this data to support evidence-based national medical workforce planning.
“Doctors’ insights and completion of the Annual Registration Application Form are critical in shaping a sustainable, well-supported medical workforce. We thank the doctors for their valuable contributions.”