Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. His question goes to the heart of Sláintecare, the right care at the right time as close to home as possible. As the Senator is aware, GPs are self-employed practitioners, most of whom hold a GMS contract for the provision of services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. While the HSE provides significant practices grants to GPs under the GMS scheme, GPs themselves as private practitioners choose where they establish their practices. Where a GMS vacancy does arise, the HSE carries out recruitment campaigns to find a suitable replacement. When a campaign is ongoing, locum arrangements are put in place to provide care to the patients on the GMS panel concerned.

As of 1 September, there is one vacant GMS panel in the Lucan area. Happily, a recruitment campaign to find a GP has been completed and the vacancy has been offered to a successful candidate. That is indeed good news. There will then be 12 contracted GPs with GMS panels in the Lucan area, including the GP who was recently recruited.

It is acknowledged that there are workforce challenges facing general practice, as the Senator has said, and that these challenges limit access to GP services in certain areas and can impact on the timely provision of care. The Government is actively working to increase the number of GPs practising in the State and thereby to improve access to GP services all over the country. Measures have been undertaken by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to increase the attractiveness of working as a GP in Ireland, successive increases have been made to the number of GP trainees, and a joint HSE ICGP programme is recruiting GPs from abroad to support rural and under-served areas. The Government has increased investment in general practice by €211.6 million per annum under the 2019 GP agreement, providing increased GP capitation rates, increased supports and new services. The recent GP agreement 2023 has further increased this level of investment, with further increases to capitation rates and €30 million specifically provided for new and increased practice supports.As per the ICGP, 1,311 medical graduates applied for GP training in 2024. More applied for GP training this year than in any other previous year, which is welcome and reflects positively on the steps taken to increase interest in general practice as a career in Ireland. The number of doctors entering GP training has increased by 80% over the past five years. This year, 347 new entrants commenced GP training, a 21% increase on last year's intake, and the Government is committed to maintaining 350 places annually for the GP training programme.

Under the previously mentioned joint HSE-ICGP programme, the international medical graduate rural GP programme, 121 GPs from abroad were recruited in 2023. Resources have been provided to recruit up to 250 more GPs from outside Ireland this year, the placement of whom is targeted to rural and underserved areas.

A strategic review of general practice is under way. When completed, the review will report on the measures necessary to deliver a more sustainable general practice into the future. GP capacity and the possible methods to attract more GPs to underserved areas is a specific issue being examined under the review. It is important to note that the population has grown exponentially in the last five years and is ageing, which are factors with regard to the issues the Senator has raised.