Primary Care Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Grace Boland (FG), Dublin Fingal West

I appreciate that. As the Minister of State knows, the surgical hub will be a very welcome addition to the area but it will not deal with the critical issue of the fact that people get sick every time of day and night and need access to a GP. The infrastructure exists in Balbriggan. We have a primary care centre. The population demand is clear. The growth projections are clear. What I am concerned about is that the response to the parliamentary question I received told me there were no plans to expand the GP services in the area. I hope that I am hearing from the Minister of State that the HSE and Minister are open to expanding services. I have been that parent who has had to drive two premature twins to Swords to try to find GP healthcare. The reality is that I did not have access to a car at the time and had to ask a neighbour. That is simply not good enough. We have a huge population in the area. We need to have clear criteria from the HSE and the Department about when we can get a D-Doc service and a timeline for expanding the services, and access to 24-hour GP care.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23