The number of university places available for medicine will increase significantly under new plans announced by Education Minister Mary Hanafin.
The expansion provides for 70 new undergraduate places which will become available next month, with a further 110 places on offer over the next three years.
It comes as the Central Applications Office reveals its final set of figures ahead of the Leaving Certificate results next week, which show a 7% increase in first-preference applications for nursing and medicine.
The expansion will initially increase the number of places available for medical education from 305 to 375.
From next month, NUI Galway will make available an additional 16 places in medicine.
University College Cork, Trinity College and the Royal College of Surgeons will each provide an extra 14 places.
University College Dublin, which currently offers the largest number of places for medicine, will provide an additional 12 places bringing to 117 the number of places on offer there.
Over the next three years a further 110 places will be created in medicine in universities across the country.
As part of the plans, the controversial cap which limited the number of places available to Irish and EU students, has been removed.
