Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, support the call of my colleague, Senator Conway-Walsh, to bring the Minister, Deputy Ross, into the House to talk about connectivity in public transport, especially in rural areas.

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 63, motion 12, on the Seanad Order Paper be taken before No. 1. My bias is known. As the Cathaoirleach will be aware, I am a general practitioner, GP, by profession. The cuts sustained by general practice during the austerity years in Ireland were among the highest sustained by any group of workers in the State - more than 35% before tax - without taking into consideration the cost of running practices. At the recent National Association of General Practitioners, NAGP, annual general meeting, together with the platitudes offered by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, he stated that FEMPI would be reversed but that it would be linked to service improvements across general practice. Along with the debilitating cuts, GPs have seen an increase in workload and a decrease in the number of their colleagues. With over 600 GPs over the age of 60 and more than 10% of Ireland's 2,440 GPs who are involved in the GMS scheme due to retire from that scheme in the next 24 months, it is hard to see how or where these service improvements can be made. I propose this motion to call on the Government to expedite the negotiations on a new GP contract and to accelerate the FEMPI cut reversals and restore the viability of general practice.