Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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1527. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE still allocates a general practitioner for patients who cannot find a GP and have had three GPs decline to take them on as patients; whether this applies to medical card holders as well as doctor visit card holders; the measures the minister will undertake to alleviate the problem of patients being unable to find a GP, if the scheme is not currently in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30018/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Under the GMS scheme, the HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. As of the 1st of June, there are 2,558 GPs contracted to provide services under the GMS Scheme and a further 629 GPs do not hold a GMS contract but hold at least one other contract with the HSE for the provision of health services.

Where a person that holds a medical card or GP visit card experiences difficulty in finding a GP to accept them as a patient, the person concerned having unsuccessfully applied to at least three GPs in the area (or fewer if there are fewer GPs in the area) can apply to the HSE Eligibility Unit which has the power to assign a GMS patient to a GP's GMS patient list in accordance with the GMS contract.

Assignment arrangements are in place to help the equitable distribution of assigned GMS patients across the panels of participating GPs, these set out the number of permitted assignments per individual GP by GMS panel size in a 12-month period.

Persons who do not hold a medical card or GP visit card access GP services on a private basis and can make enquiries directly to any GP practice they wish to register with. As private practitioners, it is a matter for each individual GP to decide whether to accept additional private patients.

Several measures have been taken in recent years to increase the number of GPs practicing throughout the country and thereby improve GP access for everyone.

Significant increases in investment in general practice has been provided under the 2019 and 2023 GP Agreements. Under the 2019 GP Agreement additional annual expenditure provided for general practice was increased by €211.6m. This provided for significant increases in capitation fees for participating GMS GPs, and new fees for additional services and increased practice supports, including the introduction of a support for practices in urban areas of social deprivation.

The GP Agreement 2023 further increased GP capitation fees, increased the existing subsidy rates for practice staff, and introduced a grant support for additional staff capacity as well a practice staff maternity leave support.

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.

Furthermore, recruitment of GPs from abroad is ongoing under the International Medical Graduate (IMG) Rural GP Programme. 119 IMG GPs were in practice as of November last and funding has been provided to recruit up to 250 more GPs to Ireland this year.