The expansion of free GP care to all first requires a road-map and more GPs in place, otherwise it will “waterlog” the system, a leading GP has claimed. Dr Tadhg Crowley, Irish Medical Organisation GP committee chair, was responding to calls for action on a decade-old Government plan. A Social Democrats motion in the Dáil on Wednesday called for free care to reach under-12s this year and everyone by 2030. Dr Tadhg Crowley, Irish Medical Organisation GP committee chair, pointed out 42% of people pay for appointments because they do not have a medical or GP visit card. Ireland is absolutely an outlier in terms of the rest of Europe in not providing free GP care.

Source: Irish Examiner February 25, 2026 21:00 UTC