Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Act 2020 provides, amongst other things, for the expansion of GP care without charges to all children aged 12 years and under in three phases: for children aged 6 and 7 (Section 4 of the Act); for children aged 8 and 9 (Section 5 of the Act); and for children aged 10, 11, and 12 (Section 6 of the Act). Section 7 of the Act sets out the relevant commencement arrangements.

As announced in July, the Department of Health, the HSE and the IMO reached an agreement, the GP Agreement 2023, to provide for the expansion of eligibility for GP care without charges to all children aged 6 and 7 years and all people who earn the median household income or less. The expansion of free GP care to all children under 8 years of age, estimated to provide GP visit card eligibility to an additional 78,000 6 and 7 year olds, commenced from the 11th of August 2023.

The expansion to the median household income will be completed in two phases, the 11th of September 2023, now commenced, and the 13th of November 2023. Eligibility is determined through means testing, taking into consideration income as well as a range of expenses.

The GP Agreement 2023 provides a package worth €30 million specifically to support capacity in general practice, to retain staff and recruit additional staff to meet demand. There will also be additional support of €2 million to support the GP Out of Hours services. The Government has not set dates to further expand GP visit card eligibility to additional child age cohorts, as provided for under the Act. Reflecting the scale of the current expansion in eligibility for GP care without charges, it is important that GPs have time to make the necessary adjustments and build the necessary capacity to provide services to a significantly greater number of public patients.