Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I confirm that discussions with GP representatives on a move from paper to e-certification concluded successfully weeks ago. I expect e-certification to be introduced with GP co-operation later this year, which will improve services for clients and GPs significantly. The relationship between the Department and GPs is at an all-time high. If there are particular GPs in Bray or the Deputy's neck of the woods generally who have a difficulty, I ask him to give me their names. I will contact them to sort out any issues. In the main, we have 50,000 certificates coming in every week and are bang on target to the level we were at this time last year and in the years before. While there may be cases of delayed payment or of extra or double payments in a particular week on foot of the way the system currently works, there are no more and no fewer such cases than there were one or five years ago.

See this speech in context