Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Health if the Health Information and Quality Authority has authority to carry out inspections of the premises used by general practitioners to provide services to either patients covered by the medical card scheme or private patients; if such inspections have been carried out to date; if the reports of any such inspections are available; if it is planned to carry out such inspections in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21067/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Health Information and Quality Authority was established by the Health Act 2007. As general practitioners are self employed contractors they do not come within the existing scope of the Health Act 2007 and, therefore, are not subject to HIQA inspections.

I intend bringing a Memo to Government shortly seeking Government approval to draft amendments to the Health Act 2007 as an interim step towards the licensing of healthcare providers. This amendment would seek to extend HIQA's remit for standard setting and monitoring to the private healthcare sector in the shorter term. This would mean that HIQA’s powers to set and monitor standards and, where necessary, to undertake investigations would apply to both public providers and certain private healthcare providers. It is not intended to extend HIQA's remit to cover general practice at this time.