I thank my colleague, Deputy Rice, for all of his hard work and passion on this issue. Our GP services are stretched beyond their limits. In most areas of my constituency of Cork South-West GP practices are no longer taking on new patients. People ring practice after practice only to be told there is no room. Families who move to the area cannot access primary care locally. Young people ageing out of paediatric care struggle to find a GP of their own. This is not unique to west Cork and is happening all across the country, particularly in rural areas. This is about basic access to healthcare - to fundamental vital care that should be available locally without charge. There is no justification and no excuse for people being priced out of a GP visit. It is the bare minimum the State should provide and it is the norm across western Europe. Infuriatingly, Ireland continues to cling to a two-tier model of health where access, speed and quality of care can depend on your income. Nine years ago, and lead by Róisín Shortall, we achieved cross-party agreement this could not continue. Sláintecare set out a ten-year plan for universal healthcare with free GP access for all by year five. It is nine years on and we are nowhere near delivering it. When cost remains a barrier people delay care. They wait a week then another and hope symptoms pass. Minor infections become more serious, manageable conditions escalate and inevitably pressure then shifts to already-overcrowded emergency departments. Extending GP care is not radical but logical. Our motion calls for free GP care for under-12s this year and for universal free GP care by 2030. It is a clear, achievable pathway to ending financial barriers once and for all. Expanding access must go hand in hand with expanding capacity. A significant number of rural GPs are approaching retirement. Many practices rely on one or two doctors covering huge geographical areas often without proper locum support. When one retires or even takes well-deserved leave, the impact on their community is immediate. One of the main barriers to attracting young doctors into rural practice is the cost and administrative burden of setting up a business, so we need a new approach. The Social Democrats are calling for a new GP contract and the introduction of salaried GPs directly employed by the HSE starting an underserved rural communities and offshore islands. This would remove the financial risk for doctors and give communities security. It would introduce a DEIS for GPs scheme with deprivation-weighted capitation rates so practices serving disadvantaged communities are properly funded for the higher level of need and a nationwide HSE locum bank, so GPs can take annual leave, parental leave and sick leave like any other worker while ensuring continuity of care for the community. To have a comprehensive out-of-hours service to access the care you need should not be a postcode lottery.

Sentiment score: 0.17