Pearse Doherty
Question:631. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the cost of providing free general practitioner care for all newborns for one year [54135/12]
View answerTuesday, 4 December 2012
Questions (631)
Written answers
I take it that the Deputy's question relates to the cost of providing free General Practitioner (GP) care to children up to one year of age. In the time available, it is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of the cost of providing a free GP service to all children under one year of age. Assuming an annual birth rate between 70,000 and 75,000 the total cost of providing free GP care to all children under one year is provisionally estimated at between €10.5m and €11.5m. I would emphasise, however, that the Deputy's proposal has not been the subject of detailed analysis and this estimate should be treated with a high degree of caution.