Organisations representing doctors have taken issue with the Department of Health over its claims that there is no evidence of a mass exodus of GPs from the country.

In an internal report to then minister for health Dr James Reilly on the annual review of the impact of financial emergency legislation, the Department of Health said that information available from the HSE did not support the contention of the Irish Medical Organisation that young GPs were leaving in large numbers.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said yesterday the figures were completely misleading and an attempt to confuse debate on the issue.

The Irish College of General Practitioners said that while the figures for the number of GPs set out by the Department of Health was accurate, they did not reflect that the rise in numbers over recent years was in response to the need for additional family doctors to meet Ireland's expanding population.

It said despite increases in GP numbers, Ireland had a lower ratio of GPs to population compared to the OECD average. It said there was one GP for every 1,600 people here as against one GP for every 1,200 people in other OECD countries.

Chairman of the IMO's GP committee Dr Ray Walley said: "Over 150 new GPs qualify each year, yet we are seeing no increase in the numbers of GPs practising here. That means simply that our newly-qualified GPs are leaving this country to work abroad as we warned they would."