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

Go raibh maith agat. I thank Deputy Cullinane for bringing this motion forward. We could deal with the multiple proposals he has put forward, but I just wish to deal with one. I refer to developing a public contract for GPs and launching a pilot programme in areas where there are shortages of GPs for out-of-hours services and leave cover. We all know the issues that exist, including in my town of Dundalk.

There are many people in surgeries who cannot see a GP without waiting for two weeks unless it is an emergency. We know of people who cannot get a GP at all. We know in some of these cases that people are so frustrated, they end up going to the accident and emergency department. Many people believe that, because of the overcrowding and other issues, the best thing they can do is call an ambulance, putting further strain on the ambulance service. I recently tabled a parliamentary question and, in an over-and-back interaction, I was pleased that the Minister said he was open to having directly employed GPs. However, we need to accept that the business model for GPs has changed. At this stage, GPs do not want to be running businesses so we need to consider State employment. We cannot leave people in the circumstances they are in.

The other issue I want to bring up is orthodontic care. I recently got answers from the HSE regarding the absolute disaster in CHO 8. At this point it is only looking at an initiative to deal with people who are grade 5, the worst-case scenario. It has not looked at this in 2021, 2022 or 2023, while dealing with grade 4s at huge cost. I am glad people are getting some necessary works, but we really need to deal with the worst-case scenario because, in the long term, they will be under severe pressure and serious harm will be done.

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