Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It would be helpful to the committee if Mr. Watt came back with the number of graduates expected to come out of training over the next three years and the number of GPs due to retire. Many of those working in the community now are in their late 50s or early 60s. I am sure Mr. Watt is aware that two adults are now working in the same house. When I was growing up, the doctor was a male and was the only person working in the household. He was a full-time doctor working 80 hours a week, including being on call all night. That is not happening now because both people in a household are working.

The Deputy outlined what is happening when people graduate, but there are also other reasons. Many of them want to work a 39- or 40-hour week. What is the situation regarding employing salaried GPs in the community? As I recall, that was supposed to happen as part of Sláintecare. At the moment, we are dealing with people in private business. That is the way it is, and I am not arguing against it. Surely we need a cohort of salaried GPs in the community. I ask Mr. Watt to come back to us with answers to the questions on how many are due to retire and how many are due to graduate from training over the next three to four years. I also ask him to come back with an answer on salaried GPs for primary care in the community, not in the hospitals.