Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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855. To ask the Minister for Health the status of plans to introduce a new contract for general practitioners; the status of the 2019 general practitioner agreement strategic review; when he expects this review to conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39453/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The vision of Sláintecare is to deliver safe, quality health and social care services that meet the needs of the growing population.

General practice policies central to the implementation of Sláintecare are the reform of the GMS GP contract and the roll out of a Chronic Disease Management programme for GMS patients, and the move towards universal access to GP services without charges on a phased basis.

The 2019 GP Agreement helps to modernise and reform the GMS scheme, expanding services for patients and making general practice a more attractive career option for doctors. Implementation of the Agreement is ongoing and will continue into 2023 to bring the programme to completion.

The Agreement includes a commitment to undertake a strategic review of GP services within the lifetime of the Agreement, to examine how best to ensure the provision of GP services in Ireland for the future. Preparatory work has commenced on this. The review will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice and will set out measures necessary to deliver a sustainable service into the future. The outcome of this review will inform future contractual changes.