Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has referred to training places again. If he is going to use training places as a means of sorting out this problem, he is way behind the eight ball because of every 100 GPs trained, 50% will not be working in general practice in five years. They will have left the service to work in other parts of the health service. They will have emigrated or they will be working on a part-time basis.

In his initial reply, the Minister seemed to indicate that there is not a problem with the recruitment of GPs. He has figures which state that there are more GPs holding contracts now than was the case at any other time. Many of those GPs are not working full-time in general practice. Many of them do not have patients on their list. They have taken out GP contracts but they are not actually working full-time. If the Minister believes there is not a manpower crisis in general practice, he is deluded. There is a huge manpower crisis in general practice. If he proposes to develop a Sláintecare response and a reorientation of our health service from a hospital centric model to a primary care centric model and he does not have the GPs but continues to say we have many GPs and that we do not have a problem, he is out of touch. He is not talking to the right people. He has to take charge of the negotiations of a new GP contract because if he is leaving it to the current negotiators, there is nothing happening. The Minister has been in office for 800 days. Sláintecare was published 390 days ago.

The Minister has done nothing to reform the health service and it is frustrating to have him say there is not a problem. There is a huge problem and the Minister has to recognise it.

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