Primary Care Centres
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-05
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Joe Neville (FG), Kildare North

Often when we talk about an area like north Kildare with a population that has grown so significantly, we can talk about physical infrastructure, Uisce Éireann or the need for housing. Ultimately, however, we also need the social infrastructure, in whatever guise that comes in, be it locations for elderly people or, in this case, GP services. Social infrastructure makes a community what it is and that is what everyone needs.
While I will continue to advocate for new GPs, I am conscious of the expenses associated with land and offices and the difficulties younger GPs face when setting up in the likes of Leixlip, Maynooth and other growing towns in north Kildare. As I said, north Kildare’s population has grown by 40% in the past 20 years, which is significant. We are lacking in some of those basic services. As I said, people have been turned away from GPs, unable to get places, and in some cases people who have not used a GP for a number of years, in a positive way, have received a letter telling them they are no longer members of that GP clinic and that the GP has taken them off the list just because they have not turned up, in a good way as a result of being healthy. This is a basic need. I am glad to work with the Minister to get a solution.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-05