The Medical Council has warned that there are risks to patient safety, due to a considerable proportion of non consultant hospital doctors being required to perform the duties of hospital consultants.
In a new report on the medical workforce, for the first time, the council has set out risks to patient safety and care.
It said that a significant number of doctors are leaving practice for several reasons, including a lack of resources, a lack of appreciation, excessive hours and a lack of management or clinical support.
The council said there is a failure to fill specialists posts in the health service and that over a quarter of doctors report working over 48 hours a week, which has serious implications for patient safety and is non-compliant with the European Working Time Directive.
Medical Council President Dr Suzanne Crowe said that the risks were evident, with unfilled consultant posts and the medical workforce continues to experience burnout, bullying and working excessive hours.
Dr Crowe told RTE's Drivetime: "You have a large cohort of doctors who have simply decided that not seeing family, not sleeping, not eating and not having access to any of the kind of well-being supports that the rest of us would expect is just not good enough
"So, they're leaving to have a better work-life balance in other countries.
"They don’t feel acknowledged within the system, they don’t feel valued.
"One aspect is pay. They need to be paid on time with the pay slip to verify their hours."
The report said there is a reliance in Ireland on international medical graduates who do not have access to specialist training and the attrition rate of doctors - those leaving medicine - is resulting in a shortage of experienced doctors, including consultants.
There were 21,680 doctors on the medical register last year, but 18,424 are clinically active.
During the year over 980 left the register and the profession.
Dr Crowe added: "Our patients are receiving care predominantly from doctors who haven't completed their training. That’s a big concern.
"For international medical graduates a lack of access to career progression is a big source of frustration.
"Many of those doctors leave to go and access training in the UK and Australia."
The Medical Council's role is to protect the public by policing standards and maintaining a register of doctors.
The HSE said it is committed to constructive engagement with the Medical Council on the issues raised.
It said it is "committed to continuing to address the ongoing challenges faced by the health service in the area of doctor retention".
