Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2015
402. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health in view of the revised costs for free general practitioner care for those under six years of age, his Department's current estimate of the full year cost of providing free general practitioner care to the population as a whole. [24483/15]
View answerOver 400,000 children under 6 will benefit from a new enhanced service under the new under 6 GP contract. This will involve age-based preventive checks focused on health and wellbeing and the prevention of disease. The contract will also cover an agreed cycle of care for children diagnosed with asthma. The costs of providing the enhanced GP service for all children under 6 years of age will be approximately €67 million.
The additional cost of providing a universal GP service to the entire population was previously estimated at €330m-€365m on the basis of the existing scope of the service, rates of payments to GPs and eligibility. In the absence of specific changes to the scope and content of the GP service, the relevant fee structure or the eligibility rates, it would not be possible for an additional exercise to yield a more valid estimate in respect of the remainder of the population at this point in time.
