A survey from the Medical Council has found that older doctors in training, over the age of 35, are more interested in moving abroad to work than younger doctors are.
Overall, each year, the number of doctors leaving medicine is in decline and new entrants are on the increase.
There are over 19,000 doctors registered in Ireland, a ten-year high.
The survey also reveals a culture of bullying in the training environment and that not just pay and conditions are influencing doctors' decisions.
Over half of all trainees, 54%, see themselves practising in Ireland for the foreseeable future.
The most frequent destinations cited for those interested in leaving Ireland were the UK, Canada and Australia.
More than one in five doctors indicated that they definitely or probably do not intend to practise medicine in Ireland for the foreseeable future.
However, 47% of trainees who intended to practise outside Ireland said it was likely they would return in the future.
Male trainees were more likely than females to want to leave.
Trainees who were frequently bullied in their post were twice as likely as those who were not to express an intention to leave medicine in Ireland.
Older trainees, those aged 35-39, and trainees in certain specialties like radiology, anaesthesia, psychiatry and medicine, were most likely to want to leave medical practice here.
Bill Prasifka, chief executive of the Medical Council, said that doctors are not just leaving for a 'gap year' but are prompted to leave by their experience of the clinical learning environment in the health system, including the culture of bullying.
The survey also shows that Galway, Cork, Waterford and Westmeath have the highest density of GPs per head of population.
Longford, Kilkenny and Monaghan have the lowest number of GPs.
More than 1,600 trainees took part in the survey.
The council has published two reports today; Your Training Counts and the Medical Workforce Intelligence Report.
The workforce report shows there were more than 19,000 doctors registered with the council to work in Ireland last year and over 41% were women.
Around 23% of doctors are 55 or older.
