Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Eamonn Maloney. I welcome this Bill and I compliment the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for bringing this legislation to the House. The Bill provides for universal GP service to be available without fees to everyone aged 70 years and over. This Bill is only one step in the process of providing free GP care to all our citizens. About 36,000 senior citizens will benefit and 436,000 children will benefit as a result of the agreement with the IMO on free GP care for those under six. The next step is to see about introducing a free universal GP service for all children under the age of 18. This Bill continues the process by providing the oldest and the youngest with free GP care with the aim of providing that care to all children which is very desirable.

This Bill is the ideal template for dealing with the most vulnerable. Health and education are essential for all citizens. We have provided free education, which is essential. Nobody argues against the idea of universal free education and any talk about reducing free access to third level is opposed from all quarters. Health is equally essential for citizens. To be in a position to provide a universal free health service to the most vulnerable in our society and to expand it on a phased basis to all citizens, is an ideal to which we all aspire. I am delighted that we have taken the first important steps in its delivery. I look forward to the next steps being taken to provide the full level of GP services to all our citizens free of charge.

The current system of means testing for access to health care stigmatises the poor. It is very bureaucratic and is the subject of all sorts of difficulties and rows. In this House no issue gets more attention than the health issue. The provisions in the Bill will help to limit the bureaucracy while increasing the quality of the service.

The provision of primary care centres is essential for dealing with the level of difficulty experienced for decades in our hospitals. The accident and emergency service is cumbersome in its operation and it is used as the first port of call by many people. A free GP service will help to relieve pressure on accident and emergency departments. The primary care centres soon to be available in all constituencies will provide at local level services such as GP care, public health nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and dietitians. People will be able to receive treatment in their own community and this is the way forward. This service will be in tandem with the provision of free GP care. I refer to four primary care centres being developed in my constituency. One centre is open and serving the public in the Navan road area and serving Cabra west, which is well known to the Minister. Three other centres are planned for Summerhill, North Strand and Grangegorman.

This package of measures is the most fundamental change in the delivery of health services in many a long decade. It will deal with many of the issues that currently cause significant grief to citizens. There is the danger that GP fees will prevent people from attending a medical practitioner and leaving their medical problems to a later stage which may be very dangerous in the case of many illnesses. The sooner the treatment the more likely a successful outcome. Anyone suffering from an illness or condition will be able to attend a GP without undue delay.

This Bill is an important, logical and sensible step. I look forward to a move to universal health care in the same way as we have gradually moved to universal education for all our citizens.

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