Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My question is for the ICGP. I was on the Sláintecare committee and we discussed GP accessibility and the number of GPs relative to the population, which has been affected by austerity. It means the most vulnerable people are left at the end of the queue. My own partner had to wait a week and a half for an appointment in the primary healthcare unit in our area. This affects certain people in the Traveller community even more. Not only do letters go to different addresses but postmen sometimes do not go into a halting site. What do Dr. Favier and Dr. Cox think is needed? I have tabled questions on GP training and the numbers going through the colleges. We can talk about services for the Traveller and Roma communities but we need to know what it will all cost. Will this committee or this Parliament insist that the necessary money be given to provide these services? Funding for services for the Traveller community has not increased for the past ten years. We are hoping for crumbs off the table in the shape of the Dormant Accounts Fund to do work the witnesses do in the area of social inclusion.

This committee needs to identify the issues and address them with funding. The all-Ireland Traveller health study found that 90.3% of children were reported as having problems, with asthma the most common condition. What needs to be put in place to deal with that and how much will it cost? Can the services be integrated into other services? The HSE submission and questions from Pavee Point referred to jobs in primary healthcare projects. Members of the Traveller community work between six and 12 hours a week and do not have pensions. We will have to examine how many nurses will be needed to play the critical role between the community and the primary care units, and how much will be needed to fund them. It could mean that more than €10 million will be needed. It is not good enough to have studies, programmes and assessments without getting down to the nitty-gritty and match the needs with money. The responsibility lies with Departments and other bodies.