Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In fairness to the Minister of State, he is down there quite a bit. There is huge concern among the public. They feel they are at risk. Someone living in Mount Shannon or Scariff will not be able to get to a GP in time. There is a review of paramedic services in the midwest at present and there is more fear because of this. I have been given assurances in the House and in committee by the Minister, Deputy Harris, and by the HSE that the review will only be positive. I presume this will be the case, but if it is not there will be a serious problem.

There is huge risk in the area and people are concerned and upset about the fact they do not have a service like the one they had. The volume of out of hours service is not there. This brings me back to the new GP contract because this will have to be covered. People will simply end up going to Limerick. In some cases they will go to Shannondoc in Limerick, if they can find it, or they will end up in the accident and emergency department, and we all know the problems with that in Limerick. I do not need to spell them out to the House. The chief executive of University Hospital Limerick cannot perform miracles. There will be higher demand there as a result of this, and it will cause greater patient risk, as the Minister of State can appreciate. It is unacceptable.

Many of the GPs in the area are very good and not all are in agreement with the decrease in hours. Some of them opposed the decision. The GPs have a contract to do a certain amount of out of hours service and, particularly in the cell in the Killaloe area, many simply do not pull their weight. This will happen across other cells and other co-ops. The number of doctors in the Limerick area who do not practice out of hours is incredible. They have contracts and they are paid by the taxpayer. It is not acceptable. The public is not getting the service for which the taxpayer pays. This will become a real issue. It started in Clare and I understand there are issues in other parts of the country. I am open to correction, but I understand there are issues in Donegal and other areas.

I hope that at some point, the Department and the Minister will discuss this at their meetings. We need a new GP contract. We need a little bit of ingenuity in how we set it out. In some parts of the country, particularly in rural areas, we will need to have directly employed doctors because of the geographical and other issues. It is a real issue in the area and will continue to be so despite what others may think. Many members of the public are quite disgusted by what is happening with the doctors. It is causing such concern that I can see it being an issue that will grow throughout the country, including in the midwest. I call on the Minister and his Department to accelerate the new GP contract and the plan for services across these areas. The co-op model is breaking down so I hope the Minister will give this his close attention.

See this speech in context