Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let me be very clear. GPs only refer patients to accident and emergency departments when they, in their professional opinion, feel it is in the best interest of their patients to do so. To say otherwise is an insult to GPs. It is insult to their professional integrity and insults a profession that is one of the most respected throughout this country. Clearly, we need the Government to provide our hardworking GPs with more resources, which would allow them to expand the services they currently give. Action, and not talk, is needed immediately to tackle the overcrowding situation we read about every day of the week.