Under the scheme a doctor is paid the allowance where his or her practice is in an area three miles from a town or village which has more than 1,500 people. A local medical service is absolutely vital to older people living in relatively isolated areas with limited or no rural transport. Furthermore, access to primary care locally helps reduce the number of people who present themselves. I raised this issue previously when I informed the House that the Health Service Executive was revising the terms of the statutory scheme by stealth.

That issue can be raised by way of a Commencement matter.

This affects doctors in east Galway and rural parts of Clare and it is important not to raise it as a Commencement matter but to ask the Minister for Health to come in and state the Government will not abandon its commitment to the provision of GP services to people in rural Ireland. I would like to have a debate on that matter in early course.