Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I first wish to express my concern at reports that the out-of-hours GP services in the Fermoy and Mitchelstown area will cease shortly. We are being told that a stricture is being put on that service on the basis that if a GP is over the age of 60 or is pregnant, the service may no longer be sustainable. This is very worrying news and if taxpayers' money is being used to fund the SouthDoc service, the matter must be addressed in a way that ensures absolute transparency about the decision-making process. We do not want to see a loss of out-of-hours services in the north Cork area.

Second, the issue of section 39 organisations, which includes SouthDoc, worries us greatly. A strike will be held on Tuesday, 15 December and we express solidarity with the workers in that regard. We want to ensure those workers are paid and get their due rewards but we also want to ensure that we do not lose services in this area.

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