Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 547: To ask the Minister for Health if he will outline the extent to which general practitioners are double or triple jobbing. [30875/11]

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 548: To ask the Minister for Health if double or triple jobbing is an issue when general practitioners are concerned; and, if so, his views that such behaviour has a negative impact on the standard of care provided to patients. [30876/11]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 547 and 548 together. GPs may also be contracted to provide services under other schemes such as the Childhood Immunisation Scheme, the Cervical Screening Programme, the Methadone Treatment Scheme and the Health (Amendment) Act 1996 covering patients with Hepatitis C. The Medical Council is the statutory registration authority for medical practitioners in Ireland. The Council regulates doctors to practise medicine in the State. Its statutory role, as outlined in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, is to protect the public by promoting and better ensuring high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among registered medical practitioners. One of the key responsibilities of the Medical Council is the setting of good medical practice, and medical practitioners must demonstrate a commitment to fulfilling professional responsibilities by adhering to the standards specified in the Council's "Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners". Doctors must always be guided by their primary responsibility to act in the best interests of their patients.