The Irish Medical Council has begun an inquiry into allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance against a General Practitioner in Cork.
The allegations were made against Dr Iwona Kulczyk-Repec, a GP with an address at Cloyne in east Cork.
Last year, the IMC began an investigation into Dr Kulczyk-Repec's work in Cork after the council received a complaint from Louise Creed, a community care pharmacist attached to the HSE South's Primary Care Unit.
Louise Creed had received complaints from around 15 pharmacists, concerned that throughout 2008 Dr Kulczyk-Repec had been prescribing very large amounts of drugs or tranquilisers, known as benzodiazepines.
Gardaí also visited Dr Kulczyk-Repec to express their concerns to her.
Opening the inquiry this morning, barrister Patrick Leonard for the Medical Council said the case against Dr Kulczyk-Repec was about the widespread inappropriate prescribing of drugs.
Dr Kulczyk-Repec admits the facts of the case and that it amounts to poor professional performance, but she denies professional misconduct.
The inquiry, chaired by Dr Richard Brennan, is now gone into private session to hear evidence from some of Dr Kulczyk-Repec's patients.
The hearing is expected to last two days.
The inquiry will furnish a report to the Medical Council which will decide what sanction, if any, to impose.
