Danny Healy-Rae urges government to tackle GP shortages in Kerry
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in a parliamentary debate on healthcare provision in Kerry, welcoming recent funding for local services while pressing for urgent action on GP shortages. He thanked the government for investments in ambulance infrastructure, University Hospital Kerry and a planned minor injuries unit for Killarney, but warned rural access to GPs remains inadequate.
Funding for Kerry services
He thanked the Social Democrats for the motion and acknowledged a large amount of government funding for services in Kerry. He listed an ambulance depot for "car servine", substantial funding for University Hospital Kerry to support increased services, and a planned minor injuries unit for Killarney, noting that the town’s population doubles or triples in summer. He also highlighted concern about the cost of design work, which he said exceeded 800,000 euros, while urging completion of the projects.
Rural GP shortages and changing practice models
He described the GP situation in Kerry as the same problem experienced across the country, with new families struggling to find a doctor. He argued that it is no longer viable for GPs in many rural areas to run independent surgeries because of funding shortfalls for staff and practice overheads. He said doctors increasingly join larger group practices only available in bigger urban centres, leaving rural areas without local GP coverage, especially at night.
Ambulance response times and geographic challenges
He acknowledged the work of South Dock but warned that Kerry’s size creates response challenges when calls come from distant locations such as the western end of Larach and Eskador. He said patients are often transported long distances to University Hospital Kerry in Tralee because a GP or South Dock cannot reach remote callers quickly enough. He recounted a personal case in which his granddaughter waited an hour and a half for an ambulance, underlining the risks for children and vulnerable elderly when local GP cover is absent.
Appeal to restore local GP services
He urged the government to review how to bring GPs nearer to rural communities and revive the model of local surgeries that once existed in places such as Kilgarden, Kilmeer, Schneem and Lara. He recalled rural doctors who lived in their communities and worked all hours, and pleaded for policies that would restore comparable access. He concluded by thanking the Deputy Minister of State.
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First of all I want to thank the Social Democrats for this very worthwhile motion and two ministers I want to thank the government for a large amount of funding that was provided for services in Kerry, an ambulance depot for car servine which is much needed, people there have struggled in the past for to get an ambulance, University Hospital Kerry has received quite a lot of money for the increased bids and services there and I very much welcome a minor injuries unit for Killarney where the population doubles and triples sometimes in the summer time. The mind boggles about the amount of money for design over 800,000 euros, I wonder what it'll cost before it is finished but nevertheless we want to get it finished and we need it very badly. Look, the story about GPs in Kerry is no different to the rest of the country. In Killarney we have an increased population and it is desperate hard for new families in the area, new people to come into the area to find a doctor or to get a doctor to care for them or their family and we need more doctors there. The other thing, in rural areas, it's not possible to have a GP like we used to have before because they don't get provided with enough funding to operate a surgery of their own, have their own secretary or have their own people running it and it's just not happening and the only chance that doctors get is to join an existing group of doctors and that only happens in the very big urban areas which means that rural areas are left without a GP especially at night time and when South Dock do great work but Kerry is a massive area and invariably when they start in the evening if there's calls from far away places like Larach, the western end of Larach, Eskador, you're only a mile from our groom and it's 50 miles from Killarney. So invariably what happens there they can't get a GP or a South Dock can't get to them so all they can do is ring for an ambulance and take them all the way to Tralee to University Hospital Kerry. That needs to be gone through and to see what can be done to bring the GPs nearer to the people because people do get sick at night, people do get sick, children get sick and I remember on a Friday evening my own granddaughter was taught the story she stopped breeding and they failed to get a GP and an ambulance landed an hour and a half later which was very worrying, the child is all right now and grand but it's very worrying for a first time parent to see that happening and to be waiting so long. them are the kind of things we must avoid and and vulnerable people especially elderly people as well when they when if something goes wrong and they're so far away the only option that that I see for them then is they're taken to Tralee to in to the University Hospital there and they may not need all that and I'm pleading with government to look into this because in bad times from the country had very little Kilgarden had a doctor surgery, the doctor lived there and to the same all over Kilmeer, Schneem, Lara and all those rural places they had a GP of their own and I know they worked all hours day and night and they did great work. We need those back again because as I said the country had nothing at that time and they had doctors. Thank you Deputy Minister of State.
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