Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That discussion is under way. The Government is committed to engaging with the representatives of general practitioners on the development of a package of measures and reforms to modernise the 1999 General Medical Services, GMS, contract. Our goal is to develop a contractual framework that has a population health focus, providing in particular for health promotion, disease prevention and for the structured care of chronic conditions. This will enable general practitioners to better meet the needs of patients and will also promote general practice as a viable and rewarding career for existing doctors and future graduates.

Agreement on the delivery of the service improvements and contractual reform has the potential to facilitate a substantial increase in the resourcing of general practice on a multi-annual basis. The Department and the HSE met the IMO GP committee in early May, with the State's side setting out the mandate agreed by the Government under the consultations conducted and the package of measures to be agreed. The conversation the Deputy talks about is under way.

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