Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before I bring in the next contributor, I refer the Minister back to the comments made by Senator Colm Burke in respect of a new GP contract. We have spoken about this before. While the programme for partnership Government proposes that a new GP contract will be negotiated, this is not happening. There is a huge manpower shortage in general practice as demonstrated by the fact that GPs are now closing their lists to new patients as the only way to control the amount of work they do. There is new work coming their way, including new work being transferred from hospital services to general practice. The many vacant posts in general practice are a further illustration of the manpower crisis. There are not only vacancies in public GMS post contracts, but GPs are finding it difficult to recruit assistants and partners to their practices. GPs are emigrating because of the quality of the service they are feeding into. They cannot get access to services for their patients and have great difficulty getting access to diagnostics. For all of those reasons, there is a huge manpower crisis.

The Government has chosen not to reverse the FEMPI legislation as it relates to GPs. It has chosen instead to go down the route outlined this morning by the Minister involving sustainability, expansion of services and expansion of eligibility which might, at some future date, feed into the negotiations on a new GP contract. I contend that negotiations on a new GP contract should run parallel to what the Government is doing. I contend also that the Government should reverse the FEMPI legislation. However, it has set its direction differently. How can the Minister implement Sláintecare, which is founded on the transfer of services from hospitals to primary and community care if the GP manpower required is not available? The only way to get the necessary GP manpower is to develop a new contract. Things can be added to the existing contract, which is the Government's current policy in adding new services and expanding eligibility, but it cannot be done without expanding the manpower in general practice. The only way to do that is a new GP contract. When is the Minister going to start negotiations on a new GP contract?