Dr. Ronan Fawsitt:

We have a unique opportunity in Ireland. In America the health budget has gone crazy. For the past 100 years the health authorities have been focusing on hospitals and very little on primary care services. They are, however, beginning to move back because they see the value of primary care services. In Ireland we have a trusted cohort of health practitioners called general practitioners who are the most trusted group. We literally provide care from the womb to the tomb. We mind the front and back doors of every acute hospital in the country and could do so even better if we had a little more help. There are 22 million face-to-face consultations each year on 3% of the budget. If we had more of the budget and if it were delivered in a meaningful way and directed towards projects that made sense such as the community intervention team project and having an enhanced primary care team, there would be a real benefit. Primary care teams are not working and primary care centres are largely empty. It is a pity, but there has been no engagement between clinicians, primary care teams and others for a number of years, as the Deputy knows. In a heartbeat that could change. We need to focus on primary care teams and primary care centres, but the model needs clinical leadership. There has been an absence of clinical leadership in the primary care model as constructed. Leadership requires some resources, support and assistance. Having GP-led primary care services is the future of the health service. A health service that does not have general practitioners at its heart will not succeed.