Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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758. To ask the Minister for Health the cost of providing free primary care for all. [27480/16]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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759. To ask the Minister for Health the cost of including categories of treatment (details supplied) in free primary care for all. [27481/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 758 and 759 together.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2015, the HSE, Department of Health and Irish Medical Organisation are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the General Medical Services (GMS) and other publicly funded health sector contracts involving GPs. A priority of these discussions will be the inclusion of chronic disease management for patients. It is not possible in advance of completion of the negotiation process to foresee what the outcome of the review may be and its consequent effect on the average cost of providing those services.

Therefore, depending on the outcome of these negotiations and their implications for the future scope and content of the service, and the relevant fees and payments to GPs, the estimated cost of extending free General Practitioner care to all citizens will vary.

The cost of restoring treatments which had been provided before 2010 to all medical card holders would depend on a number of factors, including the underlying oral health of the population and the likely level of take-up of such services.