This Document is a workforce profile accompanying the Irish College of GPs analysis published 27 March 2026. These figures describe the composition and distribution of the GP workforce. They are not a measure of patient access.

Ongoing Irish College of GPs analysis of internal GP workforce data indicates three emerging pressure points for the future delivery of GP care to the population.

1. Rural and remote areas: Rural and remote areas, notably along the Western seaboard, have challenges arising from low population density, older patient and ageing GP profiles. GP recruitment and succession planning are the challenges to a sustainable GP workforce.
2. Suburban “Commuter Belts” The second patient access challenge arises from a GP workforce ‘capacity lag’ in the suburban commuter belts, where population growth is particularly strong and sustained.  Rapid population growth significantly exceeds the expansion of both the GP infrastructure (“bricks and mortar”) and the GP workforce.
3. Urban Deprivation: The third GP challenge for patients arises in urban areas with high levels of social deprivation. Patients in these areas experience complex multimorbidity, have significantly greater healthcare needs, and develop chronic disease a decade earlier than patients in more affluent areas. These factors increase the workload of GPs serving urban deprived communities. 

There are multiple factors which increase the demand for GP care, notably:

• Population growth
• Ageing Population
• Multimorbidity
• Polypharmacy
• General Medical Services scheme (GMS) expansion
• GP retirement balloon

The population is expected to exceed 5.8 million by 2030. We are aware that Ireland's population has risen by 9% over the past five years. Ireland's population is ageing, and we have one of the longest life expectancies in the EU. 

Over the past five years, the GP workforce has increased by around 10% with 4,900 GPs currently working in Ireland. The GP workforce is expanding but cannot meet current patient healthcare needs.
_{Sources: ICGP DARA · Central Statistics Office · ESRI  · Health Service Executive.}  

• There are 4,900 GPs currently practising in Ireland
• Around 80% of people in Ireland visit a GP at least once a year
• There are 4.4 GP consults/ per person (average) per year
• There are 21m GP consultations per year and 8m practice nurse consultations per year taking place in general practices:
  
  
  • GPs and GP nurses undertake over 100,000 patient consultations every weekday.
  • There are an additional 1.5m GP Out-of-Hours consultations per year.
• 9 in 10 GPs keep appointments each day for urgent and acute illnesses
• At a national level, 55% of GPs report being able to offer consultations within two days for non-urgent appointments

^{Each point on the map (above) marks the estimated location of a GP practice; the shading shows population density by Local Electoral Area. The map shows how practice locations sit relative to where people live.}

_{Reading this figure:}

It seems that the pull of urban areas extends to the GP workforce as much as it does to the general population, with density of GPs tracking general population density.

However, GP location is a proxy, not a measure of access. Patients frequently travel to a neighbouring town, and practices serve catchments that cross area boundaries. The map does not show whether a person can register with a practice, or whether practices are open to new patients. Nevertheless, lack of a GP in a given area certainly means patients in that area will have to travel to another clinic. 

Population density is based of 2022 census figures, the most recent figures available at LEA level. Note that darker dots indicate multiple GPs in a given location.

_{GP practice locations: ICGP DARA (daytime GPs) & HSE HIDS. Population density: CSO, Local Electoral Area level.}

^{Provision by county, shown as a lower–upper range and ordered from lowest to highest. The dashed line marks the national figure (≈ 90 per 100,000).}

^{Reading this figure:} 

A similar pattern is again evident in the geographical distribution of the GP workforce, with higher GP density generally observed in counties containing cities and larger urban centres. The challenges facing patients in the Dublin commuter belt are particularly apparent, with counties such as Kilkenny, Meath and Kildare having fewer GPs per head of population.
Numerator: daytime GPs mapped to their county of main practice. Denominator: CSO 2025 county population estimates. The range (shown by dots joined by a line) reflects a share of GPs (~5% nationally) whose location could not be estimated. Practice location is a proxy; a county's figure reflects where practices are based, not the ease of finding a GP for people who live there. The ranking describes distribution across counties; it is not a measure of whether provision in any county is adequate.

_{ICGP DARA (daytime GPs); CSO county population estimate, 2025.}

^{The chart shows age and sex profile of the GP workforce.}

_{Reading this figure}

Based on GPs with a recorded sex. National figures only, not broken down by county or role. Overall shows older GPs more likely to be male, younger GPs more likely to be female. Two thirds of GPs under 45y age are female. Small counts in other gender categories are not reported, to protect against disclosure.
_{ICGP DARA.}

^{The share of GPs working in practices of different sizes. Most GPs work in small group practices of two to four GPs.}

_{Reading this figure}

Percentages are of GPs, not of practices. ‘Solo’ and ‘single-handed’ are distinct categories in the Irish College of GPs data. Solo GPs represent GPs working and running a practice themselves. Non-Solo 1 GP practices represent practices where only 1 GP is every present or seeing patients at a time, but where that role may be shared between multiple GPs.

_{ICGP DARA.}

The Irish College of GPs, working closely with the HSE and the Department of Health, has a sustained programme to expand the GP workforce. 

The GP Training programme has an annual intake of 350 per year. The College, HSE, and the Department of Health are committed to resourcing a further expansion of GP training to 400 per year.

This expansion of the GP workforce and the GP teams will require sustained additional funding and will focus on the areas identified above. 

The International Medical Graduate (IMG) Rural GP programme another HSE-supported initiative, plays an invaluable role in boosting the rural GP workforce.  There are over 200 GPs serving rural communities across rural Ireland who have completed or are participating in this programme. 

Sustaining this expanded GP workforce will require continued investment, not only in GPs and their practice teams, but also in the infrastructure needed to deliver care. In particular, targeted investment in physical premises, the essential “bricks and mortar” of general practice, will be critical to supporting practice expansion, facilitating succession and enabling the establishment of new practices in areas of greatest need.

_{GP definition}

Figures are drawn from the College’s DARA workforce database and cover daytime general practitioners. GP counts are headcounts (not WTEs) and are the most recently available figures. The national headcount in 2026 was 4,900. This counts daytime general practitioners in Ireland and excludes trainees, retired GPs, GPs working abroad, and out-of-hours-only GPs.

_{Location and mapping}

GPs are mapped to the estimated location of their main practice. The location of over >95% of GPs is estimated; the small remaining share is accounted for in the ranges shown for county provision.

_Denominators

Population figures are from the Central Statistics Office. County provision uses CSO county population estimates for 2025.

_{What these figures are, and are not}

They describe the composition and distribution of the GP workforce. They do not measure whether an individual can register with a practice, or whether practices are open to new patients. All figures are population-level summaries and cannot be used to identify, locate or contact any individual GP or practice.

_{Not included in this pack}

Per-practice locations, provision estimates below county level, and age breakdowns by county or role are not released here. The College's fuller geographic analysis is being prepared for publication as part of its regular update cycle.

_Contact

Media queries: media@icgp.ie