General practitioner medical services Bill
Deputy Kelleher asks when the GP services Bill will address pressures from the under-fives scheme; the Tánaiste says it is a priority for introduction this session.
In view of the fact that year on year we have increased numbers of patients on trolleys - there was an increase of 2% from 2012 to 2013 - and we also have a crisis facing general practitioners throughout the country, when will the general practitioners medical services Bill be brought before the House? We are now finding out that the under-fives scheme will be a voluntary and opt-in one. This will put huge pressure on general practitioners and will lead to longer waiting lists in St. Vincent's University Hospital and accident and emergency units. When will the Bill come through and why is the GP scheme for the under-fives now to be on a voluntary basis?
