Alex White appeals to doctors’ organisations to negotiate over under-six contracts

Minister of State for Health Alex White said the GP contract for children under six is an "opening position" and could be subject to radical change. Mr White said his door remains open to the Irish Medical Organisation and other doctors' representative bodies.

The Cabinet is due to approve the draft legislation today which will allow for free GP care for children under six years. It will then be debated by the Oireachtas after Easter and is due to become law by the summer.

At an event yesterday to mark National Stroke Week, Mr White said the doctors’ representative bodies had complained there had been no negotiation about the contract, but he said he was open to talk in a “systematic way” and, if necessary, to go through it “line by line”.

He said the contentious issue of fees was a matter for the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly. He also said the competition law constraints which stopped collective bargaining with doctors' representatives was "somewhat overplayed" and an "enormous amount can be achieved through engagement and discussion".

Doctors are due to protest in Dublin tomorrow. The National Association of General Practitioners said it was “appalled” by the proposal as it stood.