Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will take all of that back to the Minister, who is in the Dáil at present. I apologise for that. He is answering questions. A key sentence from what I have already said is that "the HSE has ensured and will continue to ensure the provision of out-of-hours services until such time as an alternative provider is in place". That is very important. It is reassurance for the Senator's constituents in Longford. Despite the decision of the private company MIDOC to cease trading, there has been no disruption to the urgent out-of-hours GP services in the midlands. The HSE has been managing and will continue to manage the provision of out-of-hours urgent GP care in the area previously served by MIDOC. This arrangement will remain in place until an alternative provider is agreed by local GPs and is put in place. The HSE continues to support out-of-hours services throughout the country and provide significant financial supports towards service delivery. It regularly engages with all providers and recently increased the funding and supports available to them over the busy winter period, to allow the rostering of more doctors in order that more patients are seen. Senator Carrigy can be assured that quality and patient safety in the delivery of out-of-hours GP care remains paramount for the HSE.