The Government is walking the country "into a disaster" by not taking the recruitment of GPs with sufficient seriousness, according to the Social Democrats deputy Jennifer Whitmore.
The Wicklow TD said a constituent told her that her child needed chemotherapy but could not secure a referral because the waiting list with her local GP was two years.
She told the Dáil that six out of ten GPs cannot take any new patients because they are over-subscribed, and she contended the new training posts announced by the Coalition were only "scratching the surface".
Ms Whitmore said a strategic review of GPs was initiated in 2023 and was supposed to be completed in a year but is still not finished.
She called for the rapid employment of salaried GPs, directly employed by the HSE, as many did not want to run their own practice which required them to not only be doctors, but also accountants and employers.
The Social Democrats TD said of 350 new trainees, 30% will emigrate.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said he recognised that recruiting GPs was a "real challenge" given the country's expanding population and accepted that patients are "waiting too long".
However, he said the Government was taking action, 286 GPs were trained in 2023, but the number was 346 last year.
Mr Harris added that 118 GPs had been recruited from abroad, and were already practicing, with a further 18 in training.
The Tánaiste, who is also a Wicklow TD, said that salaried GPs employed by the HSE was a "good model" and something that should be accelerated.
But he also warned that recruiting GPs was only part of the problem, as they also needed supports to hire more nurses and to triage the health service they provide.
