Dr. Emmet Kerin:

I am not too sure of the order in which we are taking the questions. I will start with the issue raised by Deputy Kelleher on parity in the contract negotiations. I agree it is important to address the issue because it is very important that all voices are heard. As it stands, we have in excess of 1,900 members. We submitted audited numbers of 1,800 at the time. I understand that the IMO currently has 1,600 members. What is happening here today is historic. We have the three organisations here and we can see the commonality, the overlap and the same thinking and process. As stated by the Minister, the new GP contract which is to underpin this shift to GP-led primary care is core. I like the term primary care. It encompasses all our allied partners, from dieticians to podiatrists and physiotherapists. We will have our second primary care partnership conference at the end of March this year with international experts informing us of what works. For any GP who was involved in the primary care partnership, there was an amazing synergy and energy last year when listening to our primary care colleagues on how we can best work together. We need to work on that further.

On the contract, we sought clarity on it because, as it stands at the moment, we are dealing with the semantics of negotiation and consultation. There has to be clarity, which we have sought, and we are waiting for the Department of Health to give it to us. We have parity on the input and the output. We all need to work together. If that is not the case, I cannot see how the process can work, but we are awaiting that clarification from the Department of Health.