General Practitioner Services
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-14
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Victor Boyhan (IND), Agricultural Panel

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. Hopefully, the review will identify arrangements necessary to improve the current system of GPs. It is going on a long time. Clearly, Deputies will continue to ask parliamentary questions. We will continue to table Commencement matters. I thank the Minister of State and the Minister for her commitment to the review.
I thank the Irish College of General Practitioners for following the local authority electoral areas to do its research and give such qualitative responsive research. That has helped me today to do my work here, which is to advocate for these communities. I would also like to give a word of caution. GP shortages are putting rural patients at risk. That is an important call. I am saying that here and now on the record of this House. GPs are telling me and elderly people in our communities are saying that they feel they are risk. Many people are telling me that they cannot get a GP. They are arriving at doors in Limerick, Cork, Monaghan, Donegal and Dublin. They are being told, "Sorry, you can go a list, but I am not really interested" or "Are you a private patient? I might fit you in, but I have no more room for public patients." We have a two-tier health system. GPs are not being given the support they need. I look forward to, hopefully, the strong recommendations that will come out of the Minister's review, which is mandated to report to the Minister.
The Minister will consider it and has given the commitment to publish at some stage in the future, so I thank the Minister of State.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-14