Alan Kelly
Ceist:1322. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of increasing the rural practice allowance for GPs by 33%. [46288/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 22 January 2025
Ceisteanna (1322)
Freagraí scríofa
Under the GMS scheme, the Rural Practice Support Framework provides an additional support to eligible GP practices in rural areas.
As per the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) annual report for 2023, funding provided through GMS rural practice grants to eligible practices amounted to approximately €4.8 million that year. Accordingly, based on this figure, increasing the GMS rural practice grants by 33% would cost approximately €1.6 million.
In addition, practices in receipt of rural practice grants attract the maximum allowable rates for practice staff support subsidies and locum contributions for leave taking. For the purposes of this reply, it is assumed that only the rural practice grant would be increased.