GPs in many rural areas are unable to register new patients because of increased demand and a shortage of new doctors.
A survey by The Sunday Times shows that of 50 practices in ten towns across the country, 60 per cent of GPs said they were unable to register new patients.
All six in Athlone said they were closed to new registrations.
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On Wednesday's Joe Finnegan Show, Padraig McGarry, the chairman of the Irish Medical Organisation's GP committee, discussed the problem.
