Written answers

Wednesday, 9 September 2020

Department of Health

General Practitioner Services

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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298. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing free general practitioner care to all children under 18; the status of the current roll-out programme; the additional funding that was provided to his Department to begin the extension to those aged six to eight in 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22912/20]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to increasing access to GP care without charges for children, an important healthcare measure that will remove a potentially prohibitive cost barrier to accessing GP care and will help to improve children’s health as they develop.

The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2020 was signed into law in August. This Act provides, amongst other things, for the phased expansion of GP care without fees to all children aged 12 years and under. The initial stage of this phased expansion will be the provision of GP care without fees to all children aged between 6 and 8.

Funding in respect of the expansion of GP care without fees to all children aged between 6 and 8, as well as other measures provided under the Act, was provided for within the Budget 2020 package of family friendly measures, which amounted to €45m in total.

Introduction of the expansion of GP care without fees will be the subject of negotiation with the IMO, representing general practitioners, in regard to the scope of services to be provided under the expansion and the fees payable to GPs; the exact cost will depend on the outcome of those negotiations. For this reason, it is not possible to estimate the cost of expanding GP care without charges to all children under 18, as such an expansion would also be subject to negotiations with the IMO and the cost would depend on the outcome of those negotiations.

The appropriate date for commencing the expansion remains under consideration in light of COVID-19 and the additional pressures the expansion might place on general practice in that context and in anticipation of the usual increase in demand for healthcare services over the winter period. This date will be determined in consultation with the IMO. It is important to ensure that any additional pressures placed on general practice will not limit its capacity to meet the needs of all patients in the community.

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