Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this issue. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, is aware of the specific issue the Deputy has raised. The Department and the HSE are very anxious to make progress there and ensure access to a GP service is made available to the local community. As the Deputy is aware more broadly a strategic review of general practice is under way at the moment, which is looking at issues affecting general practice. The Minister for Health is expecting a report on that issue. In the budget of 2023 we provided €30 million for additional capacity-related supports for GPs in the context of the expansion of services and eligibility for GP visit cards. The Minister will come back to the Deputy on the specific issue and the location that he has identified. We are, thankfully, seeing significant progress now on the number of those seeking to train in Ireland and practise in Ireland as a GP.

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