Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Senator that quality and patient safety in the delivery of out-of-hours GP care remain paramount for the HSE and the Government. The HSE engages with out-of-hours services throughout the country and provides significant financial support towards service delivery. Additional funding was allocated this year to the HSE's community healthcare organisation, CHO, area west to expand the Westdoc service to GPs in Moycullen and Oughterard. The management of Westdoc is currently considering the options available to it so the GPs concerned can become full members of Westdoc. The outcome of these discussions is awaited. As the Senator outlined, progress has been made on this in recent years since he first raised it. I look forward to a positive conclusion to those ongoing negotiations that will lead to even better services for the people of the Moycullen and Oughterard areas.