518. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the total number of practices that applied for the Social Deprivation Practice Support Grant for GMS for the 2025-2027 term; appeals process that exist for those who were not selected; the way in which those appeals will be adjudicated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35828/26]

The 2019 GP Agreement between the Department of Health, the HSE, and the IMO introduced a social deprivation grant to support GPs in socially deprived urban areas to provide additional services. The grant can be used to cover the costs associated with additional clinical supports such as increased doctor or nurse hours, increased key worker hours, or additional counselling hours to meet the needs of patients within the practice.

It was set out in the Agreement that the GPs to receive the grant would be identified on the basis of a recognised deprivation index. However, work to identify those practices was delayed by the Covid Pandemic. Grants were therefore allocated in the years 2020 to 2024 on the basis of applications received from GPs.

In late 2025, the HSE, the Department of Health, the GP representative body and representatives of GPs working in areas of deprivation reached agreement to improve the targeting of the social deprivation grant, as required by the 2019 Agreement.

There is no application and appeals process for the 2025-2027 term. The grant is now allocated using a data analysis approach, based on GEO coding of patients’ places of residence and referencing those to their GP practices to identify the most socially deprived GP panels held by GMS GPs across the country.

GPs receive the grant each year on a three-year basis, providing funding security for the practice. After the three-year period, it is envisioned that GEO coding analysis will re-identify the most socially deprived GMS panels whose GP will receive the grant over the next term.

The HSE, GP representatives and representatives of GPs working in areas of deprivation, and the Department of Health will carry out a “look back” exercise of the grant allocation process before the end of 2026, with a view to ensuring that the current approach is effective and reaches those most in need.