Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Select Committee on Health

Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 38 - Health (Supplementary)

9:30 am

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The scheme is GP access to diagnostics. I will get the exact figure for the Deputy but I think it is approximately €46 million this year. It is very expensive.

It is brand new. We started it in 2021. It is very expensive but has been very popular with GPs. To be honest, it is probably one of the reasons we see such an increase in referrals to the outpatient lists because more people are being caught more quickly. The deal is that a person's GP can refer him or her for radiology, that is, for X-rays, CT, DEXA, MRI and ultrasound scans. I am sure there are more. It is a combination of hospital capacity - for example, some of the hospitals are doing them at the weekends - and private capacity.