Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news in relation to the training of GPs but we need to accept that the GP system has changed somewhat. GP practices were generally private. When we were children growing up, GPs were probably available to people 24-7. They ran their own business, did their own administration and knew everything that was wrong with people and all their family members and everyone else. We are in a different world now.

A number of GPs cannot retire at this point because they cannot find replacements. People are not willing to step in and do not want to run a business or do the administration work. Some of them do not want to work full weeks given their family circumstances. That needs to be addressed and the State will need to step in because the private practice model in place since before the State was established will not work from now in. We need to ensure not only that training is provided but that we have a practice system that will work.

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