Vol. 574 No. 5
134 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Health and Children his proposals to tackle the growing shortage of general practitioners; his plans to extend the number of general practitioner training places; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27578/03]
The issue of manpower in general practice in the new primary care settings is being addressed by the HR education and training subgroup of the primary care national steering group. Representatives from the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish College of General Practitioners are on this group along with other stakeholders.
The intake of trainees into general practice vocational training programmes in recent years has increased from 55 in 1998 to 84 in 2003, reflecting an acknowledgement that provisions had to be made to ensure for the future manpower needs in general practice. In fact, 186 applications were received for inclusion in the general practitioner training schemes in 2003, giving a clear indication that general practice is still an attractive specialist option for graduates.
My Department has provided €1.314 million in 2003 for general practitioner vocational training schemes and will seek to maintain, and hopefully increase funding in this area, as resources permit.
