General Practitioner Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West

I picked out the same sentence the Deputy highlighted there, that the HSE can grant an extension on a case-by-case basis where considered necessary and appropriate. I guess the first part is where it is considered necessary. Does that come back to demand and vacancy in an area or lack of or challenges with GP cover? Certainly if it comes down to cognitive ability, of course surely that can be done on a case-by-case basis. It would seem like a simple thing to undertake. There is a saying down in west Cork that 80 is the new 60. Certainly we are living older and there are many 73-, 74- and 75-year-olds who are sharp as a razor, much sharper than I am in that regard. I guess that is the chink of light the Deputy is seeing in the answer there. Maybe this is a case where we can tease that out further. Is this a situation where the HSE might allow the GMS contract to go past the age of 72?
Going back to the issue of indemnity, that is very much between the GP and the provider. Fair play to the Deputy for raising this, and to the constituent who so eloquently outlined why this particular GP should still have a GMS contract.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19