Nominations open for Medical Council election

The Medical Council today announced the procedures for the election of the six directly elected members of the Council.

The body has a statutory role in protecting the public by promoting the highest professional standards amongst doctors practising in Ireland, and is made up of 25 members, with a majority of 13 non-medical members and 12 medical members. Members are appointed through a mixture of elections, nominations by several bodies and through the public appointments system.

In order to be eligible for nomination for election to the Medical Council, a medical professional must be on the register of medical practitioners and must be practising medicine in the State (but excluding any visiting EEA practitioner) on 15 February 2023, the day before nominations close. They must be nominated for election by 10 registered medical practitioners practising medicine in the State.

An independent Returning Officer has been appointed and in accordance with the provisions of section 17(1) and (8) of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, will conduct the election process.

The six members appointed following the election process must fall under the following categories:

• One medical practitioner registered or able to be registered in the Specialist Division in relation to Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• One medical practitioner registered or able to be registered in the Specialist Division in relation to Anaesthesia
• One medical practitioner registered or able to be registered in the Specialist Division in relation to Public Health Medicine
• One medical practitioner registered or able to be registered in the Specialist Division in relation to Pathology or Radiology
• One registered medical practitioner, practising medicine in a hospital but not a consultant
• One registered medical practitioner who does not fall into the categories above

Candidates nominated should demonstrate relevant experience or skills in at least one of the following areas: corporate governance, risk management, strategy development, change management, regulation, and health sector knowledge. They should also show effective judgement, have effective communication skills, and be improvement focused.

The Medical Council is encouraging all interested and eligible doctors to consider running for election.

Mr Leo Kearns, Chief Executive of the Medical Council, said “The Medical Council is keen to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at board level, as ideally, a board should reflect the stakeholders its decisions impact. We would encourage all eligible doctors to consider putting themselves forward, and in particular those who have moved to Ireland and now work in the Irish healthcare system. The impact of the Council and its committees reflects the input from its members, and a diverse Council can only positively impact those we support.”

The closing date for receipt of nomination papers is Thursday 16 February 2023 at 1pm. The independent Returning Officer will attend at the offices of the Medical Council to receive nomination papers, which can be submitted via post or in person on 16 February 2023 between the hours of 10am – 1pm.

If there is more than one nominated candidate an electronic poll shall be taken. Voting opens from 12pm on 1 March 2023 and closes at 12pm on 21 March 2023.

The 25-member Council consists of 13 non-medical members and 12 medical members. Of these, six members are elected by registered medical practitioners, five are appointed by the Minister for Health, one is nominated by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the remaining 13 are nominated by a number of nominating bodies.

Since the last elections in 2018, the Council has introduced a ‘rolling term’, whereby some Council members sign up for either a three-year term or a term of up to five years. This ensures efficient functioning of Council by minimising loss of experience, skill and corporate knowledge associated with a change of all Council members every five years.

The newly appointed Council members will begin their term on 1 June 2023, and all those appointed following the election process will serve a term of up to five years.

Nomination papers and other information is available on the Medical Council website www.medicalcouncil.ie/elections