Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

545. To ask the Minister for Health his Department’s current estimated full-year cost of providing free general practitioner care to all the population. [11623/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be aware of the ongoing review of the GMS and other publicly funded contracts involving GPs, and that the next phase of discussions to progress this work is underway. Initial engagement with GP representative bodies began in January. As with any negotiation-type process, and given the range and complexity of the issues to be discussed, the engagement may take some time.

The estimated cost of extending free GP care to all citizens will vary depending on the outcome of these negotiations and any implications they may have for the future scope and content of the general practitioner service, and the relevant fees and payments to GPs. It would be premature, in advance of substantive progress being made on the development of a new contract, to make statements in relation to funding.

However, the Deputy may be aware that the HSE has recently published the Primary Care Reimbursement Service Statistical Analysis of Claims and Payments 2015, which indicates that the average GP cost per eligible person is €226.07. The extension of free GP care to all citizens not currently covered by a medical card or GP visit card would encompass a further 2.6 million people approximately.