Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the resignation of a GP in Blarney with the Taoiseach, which Deputy Gould brought up with him earlier. I raised this issue this morning with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, as a Topical Issue matter. My constituency colleagues and I have all been written to and told that an interim arrangement for cover has been provided for public patients. I know this and Deputy Gould knows this but he continues to politicise this issue. That is wrong and I need to call it out for what it is. Many people are concerned, elderly people in particular, and they are worried about their service. The HSE has responded to us and I got the response again this morning in my Topical Issue matter that interim arrangements will be in place. The issue I want to raise is related to a programme that the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, is hoping to establish. It has doctors from non-EU countries, including South Africa, Sri Lanka and India, ready and available to come to Ireland. Can I get a commitment from the Taoiseach and the Government that they will support this pilot initiative in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 4 to bring those much-needed GPs to our shores?

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