Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents. In recent years, general practice has had to do more as demand for services, life expectancy and the population have increased. The Government has taken a number of measures to improve the recruitment and retention of GPs, and to increase the number of GPs practising in the State. The 2019 GP agreement provides for an additional €211 million in expenditure for general practice, an approximately 40% increase on the funding provided prior to the agreement. The agreement has introduced a €2 million annual fund to support GPs in areas of urban deprivation. Rural practice supports have been increased by 10% under the agreement also.

As was announced this week, agreement has been reached with the Irish Medical Organisation to extend eligibility for GP visit cards to people who earn up to the median household income and to children aged six and seven. Approximately 500,000 additional persons are expected to become eligible for free GP care under this expansion, the largest expansion of access to GP care without charges in the history of the State. That new GP agreement includes additional capacity supports to enable the expansion and retention of staffing within general practice. It includes additional supports for GP out-of-hours services and a pilot scheme to assist rural GPs to source locum cover for leave. A new form of practice grant will also be made available to GPs for additional support staff, in addition to an increase in the existing practice support subsidy. The total financial package will amount to approximately €130 million in 2024.

The number of GPs entering training has more than doubled, from 120 in 2009 to 258 in 2022, with 285 places available this year. Some 350 training places are planned for next year. The HSE is also working with the Irish College of General Practitioners on a programme, as the Deputy said, to bring 100 non-EU GPs into the country this year. That initiative, which has already commenced, with 25 posts started in January 2023, is planned to extend up to 250 GPs by the end of 2024. The initiative is targeted at rural areas, areas of urban deprivation and those difficult-to-fill posts in various geographical locations across the country.

The terms of reference for a strategic review of general practice have recently been published. That review will commence shortly and will be completed this year. The review, with input from key stakeholders, will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice, including GP capacity issues, and I hope it will set out the measures necessary to deliver a more sustainable general practice.

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