Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some general practitioners are now charging individuals for issuing letters which are required to confirm their medical conditions when applying for a social welfare payment; her views on whether she considers this a fair practice on the part of some G.Ps; if she will intervene to place a cap on such charges in view of the fact that these are persons applying for a social welfare payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43663/12]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Section 11 of the General Medical Services (GMS) General Practitioner (GP) Capitation Contract, which was introduced in 1989, provides that the medical practitioner shall provide for eligible persons, on behalf of the Health Service Executive, all proper and necessary treatment of a kind usually undertaken by a general practitioner and not requiring special skill or experience of a degree or kind which general practitioners cannot reasonably be expected to possess. GPs who hold GMS contracts with the HSE must not seek or accept money from medical card or GP visit card holders for services covered under the GMS contract.

The GMS contract also stipulates that fees are not paid to GPs by the HSE in respect of certain medical certificates which may be required, for example, "under the Social Welfare Acts or for the purposes of insurance or assurance policies or for the issue of driving licences". Consultation fees charged by general practitioners to private patients and to GMS patients outside the terms of the GMS contract are a matter of private contract between the clinicians and the patients. While the Minister for Health has no role in relation to such fees, it would be expected that clinicians would have regard to the overall economic situation in setting their fees.