Ireland faces stark GP crisis as new report shows numbers of doctors 'critically low'

A report published on Wednesday by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has shown that Ireland will need a significant increase in GPs over the coming years in order to keep up with the country's growing population. 

The report, which was produced on behalf of the Department of Health, projects the future demand for general practice services in Ireland for the next 15 years. The findings confirmed that the country's growing and aging population, as well as its shift towards providing more care in community-based settings, will create a greater demand for GP services and staff.

Between 2025 and 2040, the report states that around 943 and 1,211 more GPs will be needed to cope with the increased demand. Meanwhile, between 761 and 868 additional nurses will be required.

To demonstrate the expected increased dependence on GPs, the report explains that there were 5.3 million people in Ireland in 2023. This is anticipated to reach 6.1 million in the next 15 years, an increase of 15%. Also, the number of people aged 85 and over is expected to double by 2040 to over 204,000.

READ NEXT: National Lottery confirms location of €250m Euromillions ticket but big mystery remains

In response to Wednesday's report, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned that the country's deteriorating numbers of GPs will "not improve without significant systemic change" and has argued that a lack of supports to establish and maintain GP practises have deterred doctors from entering and staying in General Practice. 

The organisation has said they have reiterated these concerns for years regarding the need for more GPs and the growing demands of the population. 

Commenting on the report's findings, Dr Tadhg Crowley, Chair of the GP Committee of the IMO, said: "While we acknowledge and welcome the fact that more GP training places have been made available in recent years, this has not been matched with supports for new and existing GP practices which is a major deterrent for doctors and is having a significant impact on recruitment and retention. This has led to our critically low GP numbers today."

He also said that the country has a "severe lack of younger GPs" who are being hampered by a range of factors such as the costs of setting up a practice.

The IMO Chair said that a number of measures are needed to address the shortage such as increasing the number of undergraduate medicine places and building the physical infrastructure required to handle the demand.