Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I congratulate him on his appointment and wish him the very best in his difficult position. I very much welcome this Bill to the House. It marks another step in trying to achieve the Sláintecare principle of universal access to care at low cost or no cost.

It is a great sign of the way this Government is going when one of its first Bills through the House is to extend access to healthcare. Families all over the country struggle day in and day out. I know that. I was glad on a number of occasions over the past number of years that there was free GP care for under fives. I have four children and there can be situations when they all get sick and drop like dominos and one spends a few weeks or a month in and out of the doctors' waiting rooms. That can put a family under serious financial pressure. One could have two or three children in that situation.That would cost €150, and there could be the cost of antibiotics on top of that as well.

This Bill means that families do not have to take a chance on whether their children will be okay. They do not need to make the decision on whether to spend less on groceries this week or bring a child to a doctor. Too many squeezed families make such decisions every week and, therefore, I am glad to welcome this phased extension of free GP care for children, which will ensure that they do not have to make them. I also welcome the income limit extension for the over 70s. Many pensioners are struggling with the cost of living, which is on the increase even though their incomes are not. This will be a welcome respite for many.

As many Senators have mentioned, GPs are under pressure. Anyone who attends a GP's surgery knows that it will be an overstretched service and that he or she may need to wait for days just to get an appointment and, after getting one, wait in line for an hour and a half. I hope that we can work to support GPs in the lifetime of this Government and increase their capacity.

I welcome the Bill, but I would like its provisions to be implemented sooner rather than later, although that is a bit selfish. I look forward to seeing how the Minister progresses Sláintecare in his term in office and how he works with GPs to ensure we have a functional and effective primary healthcare system.