Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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779. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to bring in a national register of general practitioners as recommended in the HSE document on medical workforce planning future demand for GPs 2015 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19152/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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While no central register exists specifically for GPs working in Ireland, all doctors in practice in Ireland must be registered with the Medical Council. The Medical Council is designated as the regulatory body for all registered medical practitioners under the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.

As outlined in the HSE Medical Workforce Planning Report Future Demand for General Practitioners 2015 -2025, a number of sources provide data on GPs working in Ireland at present. The Medical Council collects and analyses data from the general , specialist and trainee specialist registers to produce valuable data on the GP workforce. The HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service collects data on the number of GMS contract-holders and those GPs delivering state-funded primary care services. The Irish College of General Practice also collects and analyses data on the GP workforce, including the number of doctors registered for professional competence and those holding membership of the ICGP.

At present there are no plans to introduce a national register specific to GPs working in Ireland. However, this matter will be kept under review in the context of workforce planning and development of GP services generally, and a review by the HSE later this year of its 2015 Workforce Planning Report.