Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a few questions and I also wish to get clarification. Some of the members mentioned the Covid pandemic. For me, it highlighted the importance of having a medical system that works but also that delivers for citizens. The witnesses referred to 29 million consultations, 1 million of which take place in the evening. Society owes GPs a great debt.

The main focus of many of the questions has been on the retention and recruitment of GPs. A number of members, as well as witnesses, focused on the bricks and mortar or built infrastructure of GPs. The IMO referred to enhanced supports, including but not exclusively, tax relief, the funding of premises and so on. I seek clarification on that issue. What would be the opinion of witnesses on State-run GP services where practices are kitted out and staffed through the public service and GPs would be on contract with the HSE? Would that cause difficulty among members, in particular those who, as was outlined, are having difficulties with payment of services? First, it would reassure taxpayers that the money is going into those particular areas. The investment could be in areas of high deprivation or rural areas where there is clearly a shortage of GPs. Would that be too radical a plan, as part of the solution going forward? Perhaps someone could give a reply on that.