Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I do not know whether I have questions or comments, but I will make them anyway, although the witnesses may not like some of them. I am one of the 95% of patients who express a high satisfaction rating with their GP. I have been going to the same GP for the last 37 years, and I am not 37 so people can do the calculations. Since I moved house I have been with the same GP. I have been very satisfied with that GP and so have the rest of my family who attend him. I would give him 100%.

General practice does not always offer a same day service, so people may have to make an appointment. They do not turn up in their GP's practice, whether it is public or private, and have immediate access. I receive complaints from people who may have a sore throat or whose baby is unwell, but who are offered a doctor's appointment in three days time. I would not specifically agree with the statistics mentioned earlier.

Only 2% of the health budget is allocated to general practice. We cannot compare the UK to Ireland which is a smaller country with a smaller population. Some 60 million people live in Britain, so it is not practical to compare 2% of our budget to 9% of the UK's.

It was stated that doctors only get €10 per month for GP card patients. I am not sure how many medical card applicants GPs are allowed to have. Is it 100, 200, 300 or 600? I am not too sure. I would imagine the more one has, the more money one takes in. It is like any business. When more money is taken in, it is up to business people to allocate it to what they think is more important.

We should all remember that health in this country is dismal because people themselves make it dismal. There is no proper health promotion. People are being diagnosed with different things, particularly young people who are suffering from obesity. That needs to be identified and dealt with because that is where a young person's health begins.

From the time my children were born they had their dinner at the table. They never sat with a plate on their knees watching television. They were never allowed to bring their dinner to the bedroom. They always sat at the table. To this day, we still use that practice at home. In a busy working day, the only time a family can be together is at dinner time.

The way we use our resources makes us healthy. I grew up in a home where we had dinner at the dining table. It is very important but a lot of children do not grow up in homes like that now. Many children are eating much more fast food than ever before, so we should be promoting healthier eating. That would help to combat the rise in the number of people having to bring their children to GPs.

In recent weeks, while canvassing, I met a lady who was very critical of the Government and many aspects of the health service. She did say, however, that once one gets into the system, one is well looked after. I have to agree with that. It is because we have a wealth of expertise in accident and emergency units and elsewhere in the health system. That expertise also includes general practitioners. That lady told me she had been in hospital for a couple of weeks. Before she went into hospital she was on 40 tablets but she left the hospital only taking 20, having been analysed medically there. When writing prescriptions for their patients, GPs have a responsibility to try to limit the amount of medication. It is tough on older people with medical cards who have to pay a €2.50 prescription charge for each item. If doctors properly identified the required prescriptions, there would be no need for some people to be on the amount of medication they take. That point came across to me on the doorsteps when we were canvassing.

Why do young GPs leave the country? A fairly good friend of mine is leaving the country the week after next. He is going to work in Australia. He is a young doctor who has come through the system, but he is going away because he said his chances of ever being promoted in this country, particularly in the hospital ethos, are slim because of consultants. Consultants have things wrapped up for themselves in a nice tight little bow, and they do not want to encourage young doctors to get on. The young doctor said that if he goes away, there will be a great opportunity for him to climb the ladder more quickly. That is a sad reflection on us as a society. It is also a sad reflection on how our health service is run.

Can anybody tell me the average earnings of a GP? I have been trying to find this out for months but I cannot discover it. I am not too sure whether the witnesses can answer that question.

I am bewildered by the whole episode. I would have loved if my children could have had medical cards when they were growing up, when they were under five years of age. In my view, children need to see the doctor because they are frequently sick in the period from birth until they are in primary school. If the under-six GP medical card is introduced we must ensure it is used well because there is a need for it. I wonder why GPs are so much opposed to the scheme and I would like to hear the reason.