The HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services on its behalf, including GP services under the general medical services, GMS, contract. Over 3,200 GPs hold at least one contract with the HSE, which is a 9% increase compared with January 2020. As GPs are private practitioners, they determine the location from which they provide GP services.

Increasing GP capacity is a priority for the Government. As I said in response to Deputy Daly, we have significantly increased the new entrant places. Additionally, we are trying to recruit from abroad for the international medical graduate rural GP programme.

There are 180 primary care centres operational across the country, with 51 centres having opened since 2020. A total of eight primary care centres are operational in Kildare, three of which are in north Kildare, in Kilcock, Celbridge and Clane. The HSE is also considering the development of a further centre to serve north-east Kildare. Available figures show the number of GPs with GMS contracts in the Kildare west and Wicklow local health office area has increased by over 20% since 2020, from 110 to 134. Obviously, that is a broader area than Kildare North, the constituency the Deputy represents, but it is the relevant geographic operational area for the HSE. Nevertheless, I recognise the significant population growth in north Kildare and the needs of the Deputy’s community in respect of access to GPs. We very much hope that number will be enhanced, not just for the region but specifically for the towns and villages of north Kildare the Deputy represents

The Minister referred to her discussion earlier with Deputy Daly, which I listened to, about the need for GPs and how we roll them out. He was speaking about both the rural and urban areas in his area, but where I see a real need is in those urban centres of Leixlip and Maynooth. They are two large towns with a university on top. There are 60,000 residents and there is not a primary care centre between them.

Likewise, there is a huge need for GPs. I have known of many cases where people have come into our towns and have been refused a GP because there are no places available for them. They are stuck having to use their GP in the area from which they have come, be it a rural area or Dublin. They have to keep those GPs and, realistically, that is not good enough. We have to ensure we can have more GPs. The Minister and I have discussed primary care centres being a key source of that. Indeed, Deputy Daly alluded to GPs potentially having free use of those primary care centres. Those are the sort of things we need for my constituency of Kildare North.

I agree with the Deputy. The difficulty, again, is that private GP practices determine their location. That is a challenge. The Deputy is right; we need to try to focus on the primary care centres and enable more GPs to come into the public practice. It is a particularly frustrating area because, of course, plans were advanced for primary care centres, which required planning permission to turn a facility into a primary care centre. They have not progressed, however. We are looking at the bigger one to serve Leixlip and Maynooth but that does not answer the question of the Deputy’s constituents today.

I agree with the Deputy; it is a considerable challenge for people to have to go back to their original GP, particularly for students, when they need basic access to care. I acknowledge what the Deputy is saying. We are trying to increase capacity everywhere through pharmacies, additional GP practices and additional primary care practices. The Deputy’s area has been particularly tight and I know this is not the first time we have spoken about it. The Deputy has articulated this issue on behalf of his constituents a number of times during these questions, and I genuinely acknowledge what he is saying.

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.