Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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159. To ask the Minister for Health if he will engage with the relevant bodies to provide funding and support to assist younger GPs to establish practices by providing purpose-built GP premises, thereby avoiding substantial capital expenditure on 'bricks and mortar' (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8195/24]

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.

General practitioners who hold a GMS contract are reimbursed for the services they provide to medical card and GP visit card holders on behalf of the HSE. GMS GPs are remunerated through capitation payments and fee-per-item payments for certain services. Practices also receive a range of financial supports.

Under the GMS scheme, GPs are paid a subsidy towards the cost of employing a practice nurse and/or a practice secretary. The rate payable depends on the GP's GMS panel size and the level of experience of the nurse or secretary. A practice manager subsidy is also available. GPs working in rural areas who meet the qualifying criteria will qualify for an annual rural support allowance, and contributions are also made towards locum costs for various GP leave arrangements.

The 2019 GP Agreement increased the practice support package for rural GP practices by 10% and introduced a €2 million support for GP practices in disadvantaged urban areas. Practices in receipt of rural practice supports attract the maximum allowable rates for practice staff support subsidies and locum contributions for leave taking. Last year's GP Agreement 2023 increased the existing subsidy rates for practice staff, and introduced a new grant support for additional practice staff capacity as well as a practice staff maternity leave support.

A financial support specific for the establishment of practices is not provided under the GMS scheme.

My Department and the HSE have commenced a Strategic Review of General Practice. The review, with input from key stakeholders, will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice and will set out the measures necessary to deliver a more sustainable general practice into the future. Under this review, consideration is to be given to the development of the support model necessary to underpin the provision of sustainable GP services in the context of the Sláintecare vision of universal GP access.

It is worth noting that some GP practices operate from HSE Primary Care Centres (PCCs). PCCs are modern, purpose-designed buildings that provide a single location for a primary care team to work from. As of the end of last year there are 174 PCCs operational with 7 more due to open this year.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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160. To ask the Minister for Health if he will commission research to determine innovative ways to attract GPs into general practice to replace those GPs rapidly approaching retirement (details supplied), including the use of video consultations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8196/24]

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. Most GPs hold a GMS contract with the HSE for the provision of medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Currently, there are 2,524 GPs contracted to provide services under the GMS Scheme and only 23 GMS vacancies as of the start of the year.

The Government has undertaken measures in recent years to increase the number of GPs practising in the State and thereby improve access to GP services across the country.

Under the 2019 GP Agreement additional annual expenditure provided for general practice has been increased now by €211.6m. 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 and a support for GPs in disadvantaged urban areas, have also been provided for. In addition, the preexisting enhanced supports package for rural GP practices was increased by 10%.

The GP Agreement 2023, which provided for the expansions of GP care without charges to those who earn up to the median household income and to children aged 6 & 7, includes additional capacity supports to enable the expansion and retention of staffing within general practice. It includes additional supports for GP Out of Hours services also.

These measures help make general practice in Ireland a more attractive career choice for doctors and will see an increase in the number of GPs working in the State, improving access to GP services for patients throughout the country. Figures released by the ICGP show that 1,311 medical graduates applied for GP training in 2024, a notable increase on the previous year and higher than any other year.

The number of doctors entering GP training has been increased significantly in recent years, with 286 new entrants in 2023 and 350 places planned for new entrants for this year. Annual intake to the GP training scheme has been increased by over 80% from 2015 to 2023, and the number of new entrant places to be available this year is a 22% increase on last year's intake alone.

Furthermore, GP recruitment is ongoing under the joint non-EU GP Training Programme between the HSE and ICGP. 112 non-EU GPs were recruited last year under the training programme and it is planned to recruit up to 250 more non-EU GPs to Ireland this year.

My Department and the HSE have commenced a Strategic Review of General Practice. The review, with input from key stakeholders, is examining the broad range of issues affecting general practice, including issues related to GP capacity, and when completed will set out the measures necessary to deliver a more sustainable general practice into the future. In particular this will include consideration of mechanisms to attract GPs to rural and urban deprived areas.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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161. To ask the Minister for Health if he will work with the relevant educational and professional bodies for the purposes of increasing the number of general practice nurses from the current figure of approximately 2,000 to 4,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8199/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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GPs are private practitioners, most of whom hold a GMS contract with the HSE for the provision of GP services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. Practice staff, including practice nurses, are not employees of the HSE but are privately employed by general practitioners. As private practitioners GPs manage their own practices and may employ practice staff as they see fit and as suitable to the particular needs of their practice.

Under the GMS scheme, GPs are paid a subsidy towards the cost of employing a practice nurse and/or a practice administrator. The rate payable depends on the GP's GMS panel size and the level of experience of the nurse or administrator. A practice manager subsidy is also available. GPs working in rural areas who meet the qualifying criteria receive an annual rural support allowance and attract the maximum allowable rates for practice staff support subsidies.

Last year's GP Agreement 2023 significantly increased the existing subsidy rates for practice staff, and introduced a new grant support of up to €15,000 for additional practice staff capacity as well as a support for practice staff maternity leave.

My Department and the HSE have commenced a Strategic Review of General Practice. The review, with input from relevant stakeholders, will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice, and will set out the measures necessary to deliver a better general practice. Capacity in general practice, the expansion and support of the GP team, and consideration for the development of other roles that would improve service delivery, are areas to be examined under the review.