The Irish College of GPs* is the professional body for general practice in Ireland. The College is the representative organization for education, training and standards in general practice, with over 4,400 members comprising over 85% of practicing GPs in the Republic of Ireland.
The theme of the 2025 Annual Conference is “Positive Leadership in General Practice” with keynote addresses from Leo Varadkar, former Taoiseach and GP, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, and Dr Suzanne Crowe, President of the Medical Council.
At its annual conference in Cork today (Saturday May 17th), the College’s Medical Director, Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, said: “General Practice delivers most of the healthcare in Ireland. General Practice faces considerable demographic, resourcing and workforce issues. We have a growing population, and an ageing GP workforce. The GP workforce is not expanding fast enough to meet growing patient demand. We need innovative solutions to this shortage.”
Ireland has 4,500 GPs in practice, with 29 million GP and Practice Nurse consultations carried out in 2024. The average number of GP visits per year in 2024 is 4.4, up 10% since 2023. There has been a 4% increase in the population aged over 65 since 2023.
Dr Quinlan added: “General Practice has a flexible and effective workforce, but practices are unable to take on new patients, and unable to recruit new GPs due to the workforce shortage. We await the publication of the Government’s Strategic Review of General Practice. This Review was established to find and implement solutions to the growing demographic and workforce challenges in the health service.”
At the gathering in Cork, there is a wide range of clinical sessions for GPs including sessions on Adult ADHD, Polypharmacy and multimorbidity, Women’s Health, Dementia and Obesity.
The one-day conference is held in the Clayton Silver Springs Hotel, in Cork.
*The Irish College of GPs was formerly known as the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
Issued by: Aileen O’Meara, Communications Consultant, Irish College of GPs.
Tel. 01 2542984 / 0872239830. Email: media@icgp.ie
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