Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting that the submission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul referred to the upskilling of teachers to improve literacy and numeracy. Having worked in education on a voluntary basis, I would have thought upskilling should be part of professional development. Has this become a noticeable issue? Is there are lack of skill in this area or a real need for upskilling?

The Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, mentioned the primary care sector. Does the IMO see financial barriers to its members becoming involved in primary care? My experience in primary care is of general practitioners' resistance to becoming involved in this area. Since the recession has hit, I have seen no decrease in the cost of attending a GP in my own area. If anything, I have seen an increase in charging for supplementaries such as doctors' letters, sick notes and so on. These now often carry an additional charge. Is this the only sector in the economy where prices have not been reduced? For people in deprived areas, while the headline cost of attending a GP has not gone up, the cost of incidentals has.