Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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578. To ask the Minister for Health when he will meet and engage with the National Association of General Practitioners on a new contract for its members; his views that the 1,600 members views and input are essential to advancing and expanding free general practitioner care, in line with the commitments in the Programme for Government. [21145/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There have been significant developments in the general practice service recently, with more services being made available to our citizens and additional support provided by the HSE. Under a Framework Agreement, signed in 2014, the HSE, Department of Health and IMO are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the GMS and other publicly funded health sector contracts involving GPs. A number of service developments have already arisen out of this process including the implementation in 2015 of a universal GP service for all children under 6 years and all persons aged 70 years and over. In addition, a cycle of care for asthma for children under 6 years, and a cycle of care for diabetes for medical card and GP cardholders were also introduced last year. More recent developments in 2016 were the enhanced support framework for general practices services in rural areas and the revised list of special items of service that can be provided by GPs.

In Budget 2016, the Government has also provided for the extension of GP care without fees to all children aged under 12 years in the latter part of 2016. This extension is subject to negotiation and will be implemented in the context of a new GP contract. In addition, the Programme for Partnership Government, commits to the introduction of free GP care for all under-18s, subject to negotiations with GPs and noting the need for additional GPs to support the additional workload.

I have recently met with GP representative bodies, including the National Association of General Practitioners, to discuss the future development of general practice and I have assured them of the Government's commitment to developing primary healthcare services for all our citizens and the key role of general practice in that context. In order to ensure that the potential benefits of an enhanced, integrated primary care sector can be realised and supported by a new contract for general practice services, I am currently considering a number of options around this process, including the possibility of broader consultations with stakeholders.