Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his good deputy, now sitting on this side of the House, for allowing us to raise this important Topical Issue. However, I wish to record that I am disgusted that the Minister for Health is not here. I met him in the corridor behind the Ceann Comhairle's seat only 15 minutes ago, so he is in the House. This is not the first time that this has happened. He is running around on the phone but he will not come in and answer questions.

In front of our eyes, we can see what is happening. General practitioners in rural areas are disappearing.

A report out today states that 666 GPs are currently over 60 years of age and that 244 of these are over 65 years of age. I have been warning the Minister and, indeed, his predecessor, our current Taoiseach, about the impending crisis in rural general practice for a number of years. We are now even closer to the cliff edge, with the viability of general practitioner services in significant areas of the country at stake. It is obvious. Today's report is stark and deeply worrying. It shows that Cavan, Clare, Dublin, Kerry, Offaly, Tipperary, Cork and Wexford stand to lose at least 25% of their GPs in the next seven years. That is a crisis by any definition. Of course, the HSE would not see a crisis if the combine harvester in front of Agriculture House drove over and hit it with one. It cannot, or does not want to, see a crisis.

One of the frustrating aspects of this saga is that the Government could immediately address some of the burn-out issues confronting a significant number of GPs by reviewing the silly implementation of the children under six free GP scheme, which I and the Tipperary GPs opposed. We were the last people standing. Now, we see the rewards of it. Since the implementation of the scheme attendance by these children at some practices has increased by up to 40%. It is crazy. They would not be there at all if the scheme was not in place. This is clearly impacting on GPs. The Minister must examine this.

He should also examine the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation, which crippled GPs. Some 35% or 36% of their income was wiped away. It affected not only their earned income but also the equipment they use to run their premises and so forth. They have provided a valuable service in Ireland over the decades. They are the front line but they have an onerous task. Many of them are fleeing the country. I await the Minister of State's response because this is outrageous.

See this speech in context