No

A key reason not to support stripping doctors of their licence for going against medical consensus is that **the Irish system already shows how rare serious misconduct actually is—and how high the threshold is for sanctions**. In 2023, the Medical Council of Ireland received **353 complaints out of over 22,000 practising doctors**, and only **61 (about 17%) were serious enough to go to a full fitness-to-practise inquiry** ([imt.ie][1]). Even more striking, historical data shows that **around 80% of complaints are dismissed at an early stage with no further action** ([medicalprotection.o…  Read morerg][2]). Over a five-year period, only about **1 in 40 complaints led to any sanction at all** ([The Irish Times][3]). This demonstrates that losing a medical licence in Ireland is already **exceptional and reserved for clear cases of harm or serious professional failure—not disagreement or minority views**. Expanding that threshold to include “going against consensus” would massively widen disciplinary power beyond its evidence-based purpose, risking unfair punishment and discouraging doctors from questioning established practices—even though that kind of challenge is essential for medical progress.