Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to Deputy Collins and his family on the sad passing of his nephew.

I commend the Rural Independents on bringing forward this motion. Rural health services are under major pressure from a stretched and ageing workforce and from demographic changes. The Government has abandoned local communities. It has underfunded the health service, making it more difficult to deliver reform and improve local health services. When there is a situation when more than two out of three GPs in rural Ireland are not taking on new patients, there is a very big issue. Others have waiting times of up to two weeks for an appointment. I know people who have moved into an area and cannot get a GP to take them on. They end up retaining a service, which might be an hour or two away from them in order to have access to a GP. Others do not have access to a GP and resort to using the accident and emergency department in the local hospital, which is not a solution and not something they want, or should have, to do.

I will raise the issue of the GP service in Swanlinbar in my county. I have raised it in the Dáil already but there has been no progress, to my knowledge. The GPs there, a married couple, retired towards the end of 2020. A rolling locum contract has been in place on a three-monthly basis since. It has been the same locum. He has actually moved into the area and he is willing to take on this contract. The local people like him. They want him to stay and he can provide a five-day service to them rather than what was suggested, namely, a three-day service from another local GP who is already overstretched with their own patients. I believe this man's wife is about to be qualified as a doctor so there would be two doctors who would be willing to provide a service in the Swanlinbar area. The local development association has requested a meeting with the HSE to explore this. I have inquired as to whether something is precluding this doctor from taking on this contract and have not received a reply. I ask that the HSE would engage with the local people.

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