James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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81. To ask the Minister for Health the way it is proposed to expand GP services in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61179/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community.

Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Currently there are 2,532 GPs contracted to provide services under the GMS Scheme. 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. As of the 1st of December, 29 GMS panels (or just over 1%) are vacant, and there are no GMS vacancies in County Kildare.

The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice and is working to ensure patients across the country continue to have access to GP services and that general practice is sustainable in all areas into the future.

Under the 2019 GP Agreement the additional annual expenditure provided for general practice has to date been increased by €206.6m and is set to increase to €211.6m per annum next year when the Agreement is fully rolled out. This provides for significant increases in capitation fees for participating GMS GPs, and new fees and subsidies for additional services. Improvements to GP’s maternity and paternity leave arrangements, increased rural practice supports and a support for GPs in disadvantaged urban areas, have also been provided for.

In addition, a steady increase has been seen in the number of doctors entering GP training over recent years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 258 in 2022. The transfer of GP training from the HSE to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) which was concluded in 2021 will allow for the introduction of a new service model for GP training in Ireland and the further expansion GP training capacity in the years ahead. The ICGP aims to have 350 training places available for new entrants per year by 2026.

These measures will see an increase in the number of GPs working in the State, improving access to GP services for patients throughout the country. 

Furthermore, my Department and the HSE are preparing to commence shortly a strategic review of GP services to examine how best to ensure the provision of GP services in Ireland for the future. The review will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice in general and in rural areas specifically, and will set out the measures necessary to deliver a sustainable general practice.