Vol. 403 No. 3
31 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Health if he has received a request from a group of general practitioners in the Tallaght area, Dublin 24, to discuss the operation of the new General Medical Services payment system; if he intends to meet the doctors to discuss the specific problems created for general practitioners in certain areas such as Tallaght; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I have received such a request from doctors in the Tallaght area. The new payment system for doctors in the general medical service was negotiated between the Department of Health and the Irish Medical Organisation and overall resulted in a significant increase in payments to doctors in its first year. The operation of the new payment system is at present being reviewed by both the Department and the Irish Medical Organisation under the chairmanship of Mr. John Horgan former chairman of the Labour Court. This review encompasses all aspects of the scheme including the volume and cost of drugs prescribed and the position of doctors in certain urban areas who claim that the consequences of the new system have not been as beneficial to them as the national figures would suggest.
In the circumstances it would be inappropriate for me to have separate discussions on the matter with the Tallaght doctors.
