Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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543. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of providing 200 additional nursing places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28505/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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544. To ask the Minister for Health the estimated cost of a local authority-led graduate entry medicine scholarship pilot project (public service commitment to work as a local GP); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28506/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to increasing the number of healthcare college places in medicine and other health care professions. Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) as an entry route supports the Department’s objectives to increase medical student numbers to meet growing demand for medical practitioners.

Entry into the Irish Medical Schools is through the Central Applications Office (CAO) and is provided through both direct entry undergraduate and postgraduate entry routes. The aim of Graduate Entry Medicine is to enable students from a range of different socio-economic backgrounds to study medicine in Ireland.

The Free Fees Initiative provides tuition fee funding for eligible first-time undergraduate students and therefore students pursuing second level 8 degree courses, including graduate entry programmes, are not eligible for the Free Fees Initiative. The total level of fees charged to graduate entry students is a matter for the higher education institutions.

Development of a scheme or the adjustment of existing schemes to provide for Graduate Entry Medicine tuition fees would require a specific engagement with providers to agree terms and conditions, including funding arrangements and student numbers. In this regard, it is not possible to estimate potential costs associated with introducing a specific scheme or amending the Free Fees Initiative to provide for free or partial tuition fees for all Graduate Entry Medicine students.

The Deputy may be aware that the State already provides support for broadening access to GEM programmes through the part-subsidy of places for EU students. The fees payable by students, as determined by each higher education institution, are net of the subsidy paid by the State.

With regard to GP training, the Irish College of General Practitioners is the professional body for general practice in Ireland and is responsible for post graduate specialist medical education, training, and research in the specialty of general practice.

A number of measures have been undertaken to increase the number of GPs practicing throughout the country, including significant increases made in recent years to the number of doctors entering GP training. Annual intake to the GP training scheme has been increased by approximately 80% from 2019 to 2024, with 350 new entrant training places made available from 2024. As a result, the number of GP graduates has increased in recent years and will continue to increase in the coming years.