Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two elements. First, the Government is funding out-of-hours services comprehensively and has been doing so for quite a long time now. That was introduced to ease pressure on GPs generally in terms of weekend cover, rostering and so forth. Increasingly, however, there are issues in rural Ireland with access to GP care and the recruitment of GPs to serve. That is an ongoing challenge.

Second, in relation to dentists, there are ongoing negotiations with the association representing dentists in terms of the State sourcing and contracting services. The State has to get value for money for that and an additional €10 million was allocated in the budget to deal with that. It is my understanding that the negotiations are coming to a conclusion but there are discussions to be had. I will get information on the up-to-date position for the Deputy.

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