I welcome the Minister of State to the House today. I thank the Social Democrats for raising this very important motion. The average GP to patient ratio in south Kildare - the area I represent - is 1: 3,163, the fourth highest in the country. Not a week goes by that I do not get somebody in my office asking for a GP. A lot of this has to do with people who have come from Dublin and other parts of the country and who cannot find a local GP. One of the biggest problems is that, in the main, many of those people retain their GP in Dublin and when an event arises and they have to bring a sick child or even present themselves, they travel 60 km to Dublin to visit their GP because the GP quota in Athy, Kildare town, Monasterevin and Newbridge is already full. It is simply not good enough. The Minister of State can imagine putting a child into a car to visit a GP. As a result, in the main people are now going to the outpatients department in Naas and Portlaoise hospitals, which is causing more congestion in those hospitals. I want to raise the out-of-hours service with the Minister of State today. I have been consistent in calling for the KDOC service to not alone have an outlet in Naas, as it does, but also to have an outlet in south Kildare. There is no doubt we have an absolutely fantastic primary care centre in Athy. We are very proud of it. There are lots of services there, but at the moment KDOC does not administer services through the centre in Athy. We have been told it will be an on-demand service. That is simply not good enough. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the HSE and the Department once again to ask for an extension of the KDOC service, as I have called for in this House before, to the town of Athy. GP services are so important for the social infrastructure of this country, particularly in Kildare South.

Sentiment score: 0.07