Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. In terms of the expenditure we are seeing today, this is one of the best budgets we have seen in a long while. It is to manage the cost-of-living crisis. The questions I have are specifically on education. In recent weeks we have had a big call on school transport. More than 6,000 families are waiting. I understand there will be with a review of this through the budget that is being allocated through education. If the Minister of State has further information on it, I would very much appreciate it. Many families are waiting to find out and we are almost into October.

With regard to the GP visit card, we see many initiatives that will bring benefits to many families. We have a challenge in rural areas with the recruitment and retention of GPs, with major issues with regard to work-life balance and a gender imbalance. How will we manage GP recruitment and retention with the extra numbers that will have GP visit cards? If the Minister of State will come back on these two issues, I would appreciate it.