Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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189. To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider the approval of two additional general practitioners or family doctors for a health centre (details supplied) to alleviate the lack of general practitioner care and out-of-hours coverage in the area. [24522/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is aware of the workforce issues facing general practice, including those affecting certain rural areas, and has implemented a range of measures in recent years to improve recruitment and retention in general practice. These measures include an increase in expenditure on GP services of €210 million annually by 2023 under the 2019 Agreement on GP contractual reforms and service developments, including an increase in support for rural practices and practices in urban areas of deprivation, as well as increases in the annual number of GP training places available to medical graduates.

Where a vacancy arises in a practice with a GMS contract, the HSE becomes actively involved in the recruitment process to find a replacement GP. However, I note that the health centre in question is a private practice and as such is free to recruit additional staff in accordance with its needs.