evidence: Budgetary plans to expand the number of people entitled to free GP care will give rise to waiting lists to match those currently plaguing the hospital system, doctors have warned. Free GP care is being extended to more than 400,000 additional patients, starting with 70,000 six and seven year olds in the last quarter of this year, Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath announced in Budget 2023. [...] "General practice is not against providing free at the point-of-use care to patients and families who struggle but we know from the under-six′s research that demand goes up by 25 per cent once it’s free."