Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

139. To ask the Minister for Health the engagement that he has had recently with an organisation (details supplied). [51609/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The dates of meetings between officials of my Department and the GP representative organisation so far this year in respect of the extension of GP care without charges and GP issues are provided below.  Meetings were held in a variety of formats, both formal and informal and including one remote meeting. A range of GP related issues were discussed at various meetings including the expansion of GP care without charges to children aged between 6 & 12 inclusive, the extension of care to include only children aged 6 & 7, and the expansion of GP care without charges to all earning no more than the median income.

As announced, Budget 2023 will increase the eligibility of people for General Practice (GP) access cards. The scheme will be expanded to cover all children aged 6 and 7 by the end of 2022 and, from 1 April 2023, eligibility will be extended to people who earn the median household income of €46,000 or less. It is envisaged that these measures will be supported by a significant package of additional capacity supports to GP practices, and that engagement with the GP representative organisation will continue as to how best to utilise these additional supports.

The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice, including the limited access to GP services in certain areas. It has implemented a number of measures and increased investment in general practice significantly to improve recruitment and retention. 

Under the 2019 GP Agreement between the Department of Health, the HSE and IMO, over €210 million in annual funding has been committed to provide for a more sustainable general practice. The number of GPs entering training has increased steadily over the past number of years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 258 in 2022, and following the transfer of GP training from the HSE to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP), the ICGP aims to have 350 training places available for new entrants per year by 2026.