Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. There is obviously goodwill on all our parts towards the practice but what I am not hearing today is a sense of urgency with regard to this situation. The chair and the practice manager are in the Public Gallery and they are waiting to hear answers from the Minister. The reality is that the 2,600 patients in the practice include some of the most vulnerable people in our community, as the Minister and I know. The practice is turning away ten to 15 patients per day. The stalemate at present is preventing the opening of a further list in this community. With regard to the plans in Finglas and other parts of the country, there are people who are not accessing GP care at all. I ask the Minister to bring a sense of urgency to this.

The reality, as we understand it, is that the changes instigated in the 2023 Act were designed to try to tackle corporates taking over private GP practices. As I understand it, they have found a loophole, and yet the people who should not be affected by these medical charities are being affected. That is wrong.

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