There are acute shortages of GPs in commuter belts and in rural areas, according to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
It said that while doctor numbers are expanding, the GPs available cannot meet current patient needs.
ICGP Medical Director Dr Diarmuid Quinlan said there are three clearly defined deficits in patients’ access to GPs.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with David McCullagh, Dr Quinlan said: “We know rural and remote communities firstly have difficulty accessing GPs.”
Dr Quinlan said urban deprived groups like inner-city Dublin and other inner-city areas have “substantially elevated” healthcare needs.
He added that the third group is those living in the commuter belt due to strong and sustained housing development, proving challenging for patients living there to access a GP on a timely basis.
“Most patients have ready access to a GP,” he said, adding that GPs and their nurses do about 29 million consultations per year, equating to 100,000 per day.
He said Monaghan has about 50 GPs for 100,000 people, half the national target of 100 GPs.
Dr Quinlan said Meath and Kilkenny have around 60 GPs per 100,000. He added that the cities are a “magnet for doctors”, making it difficult for those living in rural parts of Ireland.
He said Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork have the highest ratio of GPs per 100,000.
However, he said there is a rural disparity in these counties in accessing a GP.
Dr Quinlan said the biggest challenge is the expansion of the population. “Our GP workforce hasn’t kept pace with that,” he said.
He also said that the population is aging, there is still a fallout from Covid-19 and there is an aging GP workforce. “There are lots of issues and challenges,” he said.
At the end of 2024, there were about 4,600 GPs and by the end of last year, that number reached 4,900.
Dr Quinlan said Ireland needs in excess of 6,000 GPs to keep pace with the population.
He said he would encourage young doctors to look on general practice as a specialty which is “very demanding” and “very rewarding “and a “great career opportunity”.
People in rural areas ‘presenting at emergency departments’
Chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association’s Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee Teresa Roche said there is a huge differentiation with accessibility to GP appointments in rural and farming communities.
“In rural and remote areas, there have been delays in getting appointments, even a delay of up to two weeks in advance of booking an appointment,” she said.
Ms Roche stressed that farming communities do not know two weeks in advance what is happening on farms.
She said people may have to travel between “20km to 30km” to get to a GP in these areas.
“Low income is a hindrance which can lead to delayed diagnosis, treatment or presentations,” Ms Roche said.
Those in rural areas are “presenting themselves at emergency departments” due to being unable to get a GP appointment, she added.
On how to tackle the shortage, she said community-led healthcare will help prevent illness in rural and farming communities.