Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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842. To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider waiving Care-Doc consolation fees for the foreseeable future particularly for County Carlow given the cost-of-living crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37339/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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GPs are private contractors, most of whom hold a GMS contract with the HSE for the provision of medical services without charge to patients who hold a medical card or GP visit card. GPs contracted under the GMS scheme are required by their contract to make suitable arrangements to enable contact to be made with them, or a locum or deputy, for emergencies outside of normal practice hours; most meet this obligation through participation with GP out of hours co-operatives.

Medical card and GP visit card holders are not charged for services provided under the GMS contract, including out-of-hour GP consultations. Patients who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card access GP services on a private basis, and the fees charged by GPs for services to private patients are a matter of private contract between the GP and their patients. Similarly, cooperatives that provide out of hour GP services are private companies and the fees charged to their private patients are a matter of private contract between the company and their patients. I have no role in relation to the fees charged by individual GPs or GP out of hours service providers for private consultations.

The Government has introduced many policy measures to help mitigate the cost of living and the cost of living will be the focus of the upcoming Budget, however the introduction of a system to remove GP out-of-hour consultation fees for private patients is not currently under consideration.