Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will make a statement on the current and rapidly worsening national general practitioner manpower shortage. [11768/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I recognise that the number of General Practitioners (GPs) being trained at present is not sufficient to meet anticipated manpower need. In 2004, my Department agreed with the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) that the number of GP vocational training places should be increased from 84 to 150 on a phased basis over three years. Since 2005, an additional €6 million has been provided to the Health Service Executive (HSE) to facilitate the creation of additional GP places. I am informed by the HSE that to date, 36 of the additional 66 places have been filled.

There are currently 12 GP vocational training programmes in the State and these programmes are accredited by the ICGP. The HSE has indicated that there have been capacity issues within these training programmes and that this is the principal reason that it has not been possible to increase the number of training places as quickly as had been hoped. I understand that the HSE continues to work with the ICGP with a view to addressing these issues.

In 2007, FÁS agreed to undertake an update to their 2005 Healthcare Skills Monitoring Report. The 2005 Report identified a range of health care skills requirements up to 2015. The current research by FÁS, which is expected to be completed in 2008, will analyse the labour market for 11 health care grades and professions, and will help to determine future GP training needs.