All patients are to have easy out-of-hours access to family doctors by the end of 2003 under the Primary Healthcare Plan's target of creating a national network of GP co-operatives within two years.
The co-operatives will bring together GPs within a defined area and divide night-time and weekend work equally between them.
The arrangement will end the practice, particularly prevalent in rural areas, where GPs routinely cover house calls at night before facing into a full surgery the next day.
A pilot co-operative, the Caredoc scheme, was set up in Carlow-Kilkenny last year and two more have since been established in the North East and Southern Health Board areas.
Several more are at planning stage and under the Primary Healthcare Plan every part of the State will be covered two years from now.
Ultimately, the co-ops will be merged into the planned new primary care teams which will provide the additional services of midwives, physiotherapists, social workers and other specialist staff under one roof, also with extended hours.
The costs of organising the co-operatives and providing management, premises and associated supports will be borne by the health boards.
Announcing the plan yesterday, the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, pointed out that half the State's GPs were sole practitioners.
"They feel that changes in society have created rising expectations. People expect 24-hour cover from their own GP which we all know is not physically possible."
A new co-operative, the Western Health Board's Westdoc scheme, is to begin next March, involving almost 100 doctors from Galway city and areas extending to Loughrea, Tuam, Oughterard, Spiddal and Clifden.