Professional Competence Requirements

Maintenance of Professional Competence

All doctors on the Irish Medical Council register are required to make a declaration about their maintenance of professional competence, which best describes their current circumstances, when retaining their registration.

Those on the General, Supervised, or Specialist Division must declare they:

1. Are enrolled in a Professional Competence Scheme for the 2026/27 year (Doctors must have enrolled by 1 August);

    AND

2. Have achieved the annual minimum CPD requirements for the 2025/26 year (A registered Medical Practitioner must engage in 50 hours of CPD which includes a practice review)”

If you are not compliant with your CPD activity requirement, we encourage you to declare this by ticking ‘NO’. If you mislead the Medical Council by making an inaccurate declaration about your maintenance of professional competence, this may result in a complaint being made against you.

Please contact a Professional Competence Scheme if you are unsure about whether you should be enrolled (see Professional Competence Scheme Contact Details).

As a reminder, there is no requirement to provide the Medical Council with your Statement of Participation or any other evidence of your maintenance of professional competence unless you are requested to do so.

Is the Medical Council monitoring CPD this year?

The Medical Council will be monitoring doctors' compliance with maintenance of professional competence requirements for 2026-2027 under Question 1 of the Annual Retention Application Form. The Medical Council will quality check information provided by doctors’ Annual Retention Application Forms against professional competence scheme data. This may result in the Medical Council requesting further information from doctors concerned, including but not limited to evidence of enrolment on a professional competence scheme and/or their Statement of Participation. Doctors will only have to submit supporting evidence if requested to validate their declaration by the Medical Council.

I am a Trainee Specialist Doctor. Do I need to be enrolled in a professional competence scheme?

If you are currently registered on the Trainee Specialist Division, you do not need to be enrolled in a professional competence scheme. Please declare accordingly on the Annual Retention Application Form. The Medical Council may contact you to validate this information. Doctors will only have to submit supporting evidence if requested to validate their declaration by the Medical Council.

I will be commencing a specialist training scheme in July 2026. Do I need to be enrolled in a professional competence scheme?

If you have been appointed to a training scheme commencing in July 2026, you must enrol in a Professional Competence Scheme from May to July 2026. Any fees will be waived for this period.

I am not currently working in Ireland. Do I need to be enrolled in a professional competence scheme?

If you are based overseas, do not intend to practise medicine in the Republic of Ireland for more than 30 days this Scheme year (1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027) and will be maintaining your professional competence overseas, you are not required to enrol in a Professional Competence Scheme in Ireland. Please declare accordingly on the Annual Retention Application Form and complete an Overseas Practice Declaration form (available here). The completed form should be returned by email to pc@mcirl.ie. The Medical Council may contact you to validate this information. Doctors will only have to submit supporting evidence if requested to validate their declaration by the Medical Council.