General Practitioner Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (FG), Dún Laoghaire

The supports for newly establishing GPs are an important part of the strategic review of general practice, as surveys by the Irish College of General Practitioners have shown that concerns about the costs and risks of opening new practices are important considerations. Essentially, it is a matter of establishing a business and that is a challenging thing to do.
Whatever about new practices, however, we also have to think about how existing practices, which might make it easier for a new GP rather than having to establish their own practice and their own business, could work more easily within the capacity of an existing practice and how that can be expanded through the addition of better or bigger premises or through the use of satellite surgeries to enable local access.
The exact nature of these supports has not been finalised but it is under consideration. This could include supports with business education and training, provision of subsidies or grants, and potentially through the taxation system, as I have highlighted, subject to consultation with the Minister for Finance. Then there is also the growing network of primary care centres, from which GPs can practice. That is a really important part as well that may be complementary.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21