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General Practitioner Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2022

Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Questions (836, 837)

Duncan Smith

Question:

836. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the number of doctors that are working in general practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32588/22]

View answer

Duncan Smith

Question:

837. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health how far below optimum levels of staffing of doctors in general practice are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32589/22]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 836 and 837 together.

General practitioners are private practitioners. There is no prescribed ratio of GPs to patients and the State does not regulate the number of GPs that can set up in a town or community.

No central register exists specifically for GPs working in Ireland, however all doctors in practice in Ireland must be registered with the Medical Council. The number of GPs on the Specialist Division of the Register in General Practice continues to increase – up from 2,270 in 2010 to 4,433 as at 16 June 2022. However, holding registration does not necessarily mean that a medical practitioner is active in general practice at this time, nor does it equate to full time practitioners. 

ICGP data estimates that there are approximately 3,466 GPs working in general practice in Ireland. The number of GPs contracted by the HSE under the GMS scheme has risen from 2,098 in 2008 to 2,551 in June 2022. A further 535 GPs not contracted under the GMS scheme are registered to provide other services including the Primary Childhood Immunisation Scheme, Health Amendment Act 1996, Heartwatch, Methadone Treatment Scheme and the National Cancer Screening Service.

The HSE National Doctor and Training publication Medical Workforce Planning Future Demand for General Practitioners 2015-2025 predicted that by 2025 the shortage of GPs in Ireland would range from 493 to 1,380 depending on increased levels of access to free GP care. It notes that to address this shortfall through training of GPs in the State would require significant increases to the annual intake for GP postgraduate specialist training.

The number of GPs entering training has increased steadily over the past number of years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 233 in 2021, with 258 places available in 2022. The transfer of GP training from the HSE to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) which was concluded in 2021 will allow for the introduction of a new service model for GP training in Ireland and the further expansion GP training capacity in the years ahead. The ICGP aims to have 350 training places available for new entrants per year by 2026. 

The 2019 GP Agreement includes a commitment to undertake a strategic review of GP services within the lifetime of the Agreement, to examine how best to ensure the provision of GP services in Ireland for the future.  The review will examine the broad range of issues affecting general practice and will set out measures necessary to deliver a sustainable service into the future. The outcome of this review will inform future contractual changes, with preparatory work for the review having begun this year.

Question No. 837 answered with Question No. 836.
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