Yesterday, a large number of people in the village of Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare, received a letter advising them that their local GP surgery would close and all operations and appointments would be moved centrally to the Saffron and Blue clinic in Clarecastle. One might say what about it, is a doctor not allowed to make those decisions? I would say that the answer is fundamentally "No". It is a failure if this is allowed to happen. There are 927 people on the patient list who are medical card holders. Therefore, the State is a major stakeholder here. That is a State contract.

Owing to age and, indeed, the lack of public transport in many situations, there is a need for the surgery to be at the heart of Newmarket on Fergus. The HSE has advised me that it tried to seek a premises on the main street to house a surgery. So far, those efforts have failed. I ask that the Government and HSE redouble its efforts. It is imperative that Newmarket on Fergus has a GP practice on the main street and people are not shipped up the road to Clarecastle. I ask for Government and HSE intervention on this.

I thank the Deputy. I regret the fact that residents in Newmarket on Fergus are seeing an important community healthcare provision in terms of their GP service removed and replaced at another location. I will ask the Minister for Health and HSE to follow through on this and the impact of the absence of transport provision for many vulnerable people who need basic community healthcare and a continuity of healthcare in their local community. I will ask that the HSE and Department of Health respond fully to the Deputy's query.