Dr. John Farrell:

I have found general practice a very rewarding career but there are challenges for people coming into the specialty regarding the provision of premises and setting up a practice. The Senator's point is well made. People are leaving the system because it is not attractive. It behoves us, at this stage in our careers and as a college, to make the situation better and to try to improve facilities for people. Our primary role is in education of GPs but we have a wider remit to make sure there are enough GPs in the country and that all areas are serviced. People are leaving because the system is under a great deal of pressure. We have seen this at consultant level and public health level. It is at all levels. One issue is that we do not produce enough doctors and we are certainly not producing enough GPs. This means we need to increase capacity in medical schools. This means more funding for universities and increased hospital places. It is a serious issue. We have all been aware of it. Anyone who has been around for any length of time is aware that these issues are recurring. We are trying to approach it from a GP point of view. As I have said, if we have a functioning primary care system many other problems will be sorted. This is the main point we want to make.