My Department and the HSE have had frequent engagement with the IMO in recent years. Budget 2023 reiterated the commitment made last year to expand GP care without charges to all children aged 6 & 7, and provides for the expansion of GP care without charges to people who earn the median household income of approximately €46,000 or less. It is envisaged that these measures will be supported by a significant package of additional capacity supports to GP practices; consultations are to be held with the IMO on how to best to implement these capacity supports.
The Government is aware of the workforce issues currently facing general practice, and while GPs are self-employed practitioners and therefore may establish practices at a place of their own choosing, the Government recognises there is a need to support rural GP practices and to make establishing a rural practice a more attractive prospect. The proposed package of capacity supports announced in Budget 2023 builds on steps already taken by the Government to increase the number of GPs working throughout the country.
Under the 2019 GP Agreement the additional annual expenditure provided for general practice will have increased by €211.6m per annum by 2023. This provides for significant increases in capitation fees for participating GMS GPs, and new fees and subsidies for additional services. Improvements to GP’s maternity and paternity leave arrangements, increased rural practice supports and a support for GPs in disadvantaged urban areas, have also been provided for.
The number of GPs entering training has increased steadily over the past number of years, rising from 120 in 2009 to 258 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.
Furthermore, preparatory work has commenced on a strategic review of GP services 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 in general and in rural areas specifically, and will set out the measures necessary to deliver a sustainable general practice.
