The number of GPs and doctors with public contracts practising in Ireland has risen by just 185 in the past five years, to 3,243, despite a growing population.In 2021 there were 3,058 doctors in the State. According to HSE figures, the 3,243 medical personnel currently in place include 2,606 GPs on a full GMS contract.A further 637 doctors are registered to provide primary childhood immunisation, the Methadone Treatment Scheme and the National Cancer Screening Service. A figure of about 800 additional doctors includes those working privately, personnel in training to be GPs and international medical graduates.Doctors who earned their degrees outside Ireland can work in routine Irish general practice for two years then apply for a GMS contract.Ireland has a population of 5,525,600, recent CSO figures show, with a net increase in the 12 months to April of 48,100.In June 2025, the Economic and Social Research Institute projected the number of GPs would need to grow by almost a quarter over the next 15 years due to population growth. The HSE said Ireland had about 7.7 GPs per 10,000 population. Geraldine Crowley, assistant national director of the enhanced community care programme and primary care contracts, said “through continued investment in GP training capacity, international recruitment and retention initiatives, the aim is to increase this to 10 GPs per 10,000 population by 2030”.In a letter to Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne, she said the HSE was working with the Irish College of General Practitioners on initiatives to expand the GP workforce.They were also “developing a sustainable model of general practice for the future in line with Sláintecare”.Training places “have more than doubled in intake from 120 over a decade ago to 286 in 2023, with an increase to 350 in 2024 and 2025 and a further increase to 400 trainees in 2026 bringing the current total to 1,300 for the four-year programme”. The Wicklow-Wexford TD asked a parliamentary question about the number of GPs operating in each county compared to five years ago.Byrne welcomed the significant increase in the number of university medical places, but said “there are still significant pressures in areas of fast growth and in rural areas where it can be very difficult to get a GP”.“Surgeries in my hometown of Gorey cannot accept any new patients because of the GP shortage, and it is a real challenge for new people moving to the area,” he said. “There are also real concerns for small rural practices if the local GP decides to retire.”Crowley said 113 non-EU doctors were placed in general practice under the international medical graduate programme in an initiative targeted at “rural areas, areas of urban deprivation and those difficult-to-fill posts in various geographical locations across the country”.A strategic review of general practice was also under way to give an “assessment of the challenges affecting general practice and setting out the actions needed to provide for a more sustainable GP service”. The HSE figures, which include GPs and those contracted for immunisation, methadone treatment and cancer screening services, show Galway has the largest number of doctors at 206, up from 197.There are 173 doctors in Dublin north, an increase from from 160 in 2021. In Dublin northwest the number rose from 101 to 114, while Dublin north central figures remained the same at 138.The number of Wexford GPs increased from 79 to 82. In Wicklow 98 doctors are in practice, up from 85 in 2021. In Cork there are 128 doctors on the northside, an increase of seven. There are 159 on the southside, up from 149. In the HSE Mid-West area, Clare numbers increased by three to 58 with Limerick at 154 GPs, up from 149. The north Tipperary/east Limerick figure remained static at 51.South Tipperary saw its GP numbers drop from 61 to 59. Longford/Westmeath also experienced a drop in doctors from 90 to 88.