Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Approximately 2,500 GPs are in the GMS system, which are the people we are dealing with right now. The barriers to entry to the GMS system have been removed substantially and more than 300 additional GPs have been recruited into the system in the past year. It is unclear how many people are represented by each organisation. The other difficulty is that we are at a very critical point in the negotiations with the IMO. We are discussing fee setting, which comes at the end of the negotiations. I will not be making that call and perhaps the Deputy could put the question to the Minister when he comes. I do not believe it would be useful at this stage to have another organisation involved because it is so late in the process. Even though GPs are represented by two organisations, they will make up their own minds on an individual basis on whether they wish to participate. If they decide not to participate, there is very little we can do about it. They are sole traders and they will make their own decisions on the matter. It would not be helpful to get involved in the negotiations at this late stage. The group clearly represents GPs, but it is unclear how many GPs are represented by either the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, or the National Association of General Practitioners.