GP training places increasing to 400 this year

New-entrant GP training places are increasing by 50 to 400 this year, according to Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

Responding to recent parliamentary questions, the Minister also noted that the annual intake into GP training had increased by 80 per cent between 2019 and 2024. Chair of the IMO GP committee Dr Tadhg Crowley welcomed the increase in training places. He told the Medical Independent that this was a “good news story for general practice”.

“We want to ensure that as many Irish medical graduates as possible are facilitated to train in Ireland and to set up in general practice here after their training; that’s the challenge for everyone involved in the health service.”

Meanwhile, speaking in the Dáil earlier this month, Minister Carroll MacNeill stated that the strategic review of general practice would be completed this year.

The review will examine “issues related to capacity” and will consider further possible mechanisms to attract GPs to rural and under-served areas.

“The review will set out recommended actions for more sustainable general practice delivery for the whole community. While the existing GMS contract has been significantly updated, including via circular, a new approach must also be developed. The strategic review will identify the arrangements necessary to improve our current system of GP care and that will determine any changes required in a new contract,” she stated.

The Minister also referenced the variability in availability of out-of-hours services nationally and indicated that this issue would need to be addressed in any new GP contract.

In response, Fianna Fáil Deputy Dr Martin Daly outlined that “many younger GPs are choosing not to sign GMS contracts with the State” because of the obligation to provide out-of-hours services.

“I agree 100 per cent with the Minister that we really need to rethink the out-of-hours framework. It may well need to be separate from the GP contract because an increasingly older population of GPs are carrying that out-of-hours burden,” Deputy Daly stated.