David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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598. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of delivering free general practitioner care to all children up to the age of 18 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43291/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to increasing access to GP care without charges for children. The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Act 2020 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. 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.

It is not possible to give an estimate of the cost of extending GP care without fees to a further cohort of the population. The fees payable to GPs for that service could be determined only following consultation on the scope of the service to be provided and the rate of fees payable to GPs for the provision of that service.