Mayo doctors paid most in GP fees and allowances by HSE revealed

THE HSE paid over €540 million to GP practices and co-ops throughout Ireland last year in fees and allowances, for treating medical card patients and providing services for other State health schemes, according to figures released to RTÉ News by the HSE under the Freedom of Information Act.

The figures are not salaries but are gross payments to doctors, out of which they have to pay practice expenses, including staff.

These figures exclude any private income a GP may have earned last year from treating patients, as well as medico-legal, insurance and other work.

Over 40 GP practices and co-ops got over €500,000 each in gross payments.

The biggest paid GP co-op was Care-Doc in Carlow/Kilkenny, which earned €3.3milion

The practices listed may include other doctors, nurses and administrative staff who have to be paid from the gross figures; and some have substantial medical card lists.

Speaking to RTE, Minister for Health Simon Harris has said fees are provided to doctors to provide services to patients in communities.

Minister Harris said fees were agreed through negotiations with GPs and that the government was in the process of negotiating a new GP contract.

He said he wanted to see further resources put into general practice and that it was important to shift services out of the hospital and into the community and that came at a price.

He said money spent in general practice was very well spent.

The highest paid Mayo doctor was Dr. Sean Moffatt, €503,771.

The next nine top paid individual doctors, or doctors' practices, last year in Mayo were:

Dr. Keith Swanick, €472,010.
Dr. Jerry Cowley €421,502.
Dr. Michael Moffatt €407,799
Dr. Michael Regan €381,488
Dr. Joseph Gilvarry €381,474
Dr. Richard Tobin €378,089.
Dr. Enda Loftus €341,379.
Dr. William Brunker €336,243
Dr. Eadaoin Townley €335,635.