Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Dec 2001

Vol. 546 No. 3

Written Answers. - General Medical Services Scheme.

Bernard Allen

Question:

221 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason general medical scheme doctors are not being paid a new registration fee for asylum seeker patients which was due to be implemented on 1 April 2001. [31670/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The agreement in relation to the payment of a one-off registration fee while operative from 1 April 2001 was signed at the end of July 2001.

The issue of the verification of the numbers of actual asylum seekers on a general practitioner's panel proved very difficult and this was preventing payment being made to the doctors. However, in an attempt to address the problem and to honour the Department's agreement with the IMO, it has been agreed that an interim pay ment will be made to doctors providing services to asylum seekers. These interim payments, if they have been approved by the health boards and submitted in time to the GMS (Payments) Board, will be paid before Christmas.

My Department has asked the assistance of the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Social, Community and Family Affairs to deal with the problem of authentication as efficiently and speedily as possible.