Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I did not say that. I will have to be slightly cautious about what I am saying because my Department and I have not finalised agreement with the IMO, as the Chairman knows. The IMO certainly said an awful lot about its view of the negotiations in its circular. Its words are there for every GP to see. For the record, while I can be pedantic and careful in my wording, I want to see fees moving towards what they were before FEMPI. I want to see FEMPI reversed. I will need some modernisation measures if that is to happen. That is not unusual and does not involve treating GPs differently. There is not a public servant working here or in our hospitals and health services who did not see some modernisation or productivity measures introduced in return for the unwinding of the FEMPI measures that affect him or her. Separate and distinct from that, there is also additional money for new services in respect of chronic disease management, eligibility and access. These are services about which the Chairman is very passionate and which he knows about in great detail.

With a big push, we can wrap this up very quickly. It would be incorrect to say "quickly" because this has been going on a long time, but we can wrap this up in a very short period of time. The IMO circular to its members sets out its position. There is not much in it with which I disagree. Good progress has been made. We need to address the issue of FEMPI. There is funding for new services. We - the employer, contractor or whatever word one wishes to use - on the management side need productivity and modernisation measures in return. We can get to a point at which GPs will see a very significant increase in the fees being paid to them in 2019.