I again raise the need for additional practical supports for rural communities that are welcoming refugees and international protection persons. I have a public meeting in Ballinasloe tonight and another in Boyle tomorrow. The communities raise the same issues: the lack of services, particularly health and medical services. I have raised this many times and I cannot understand why, when additional people are going into an area, it cannot be understood that doctors are under pressure and no one asks what the HSE can do. The HSE does not seem to be anywhere on the ground. Can we share an additional doctor or nurse in two areas once a week? I refer to anything at all that can be done to get rid of the tension and the frustration, which can easily be avoided if additional resources, particularly around education and health, can be put into areas to get rid of the tension and the frustration in those communities and support them. I do not understand why that is not being done.

I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. Very significant additional resources have been allocated under the health services to-----

Not GPs.

Yes they have. A whole range of measures have been taken in terms of access to health services. I do not have the details but I can forward them to the Deputy in respect of the measures that have already been taken. As regards the Estimates every year, the evidence is there of the contingency funds we have had for the past two years in respect of these issues, particularly as regards Ukrainians' access to healthcare and as regards IP applicants, notwithstanding the challenges in some rural communities. Prior to any of this, we had challenges with rural primary care and the sufficiency of numbers of GPs in certain rural locations. That has always been there, but notwithstanding that, we are trying to make improvements.