Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Being able to access a GP is like having money in the bank. The security it offers a family is hard to overestimate. However, it is too often the case that people trying to find a new practice, perhaps having come to a new area, find it nigh on impossible to do so. Even if you are on a GP's books, it can be difficult to get an appointment. While it was not mentioned much in the Minister of State's contribution, this has implications for health. It has real implications for people. Very often, people do not rush into ringing the GP. They want to see whether they will be okay. However, a lot of the time now, people are worried that, if they do not ring straight away, they could be left waiting for days or weeks. I speak to GPs and they have a lot of concern about the future. When they look at the classes coming out of the universities, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and all of the places that offer medical courses, they see effectively entire classes going to Australia and other places like that. In particular, there is great concern that rural areas, areas where a high proportion of people hold medical cards and working-class areas will not be adequately served. There is a real change needed. Far too few are choosing this course of action. It is a crucial piece of our infrastructure. I believe more can be done as regards pharmacies but we also need a strong GP infrastructure. Under this Government, the situation has deteriorated and people's confidence has been reduced.

I will make a final point on healthcare staff. The point has already been raised today about long Covid, nurses and their concerns about that scheme ending. I echo the concerns that have been expressed in that regard. Those staff worked very hard during the pandemic and are very concerned about what is coming next.

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