Five GPs are earning over €600,000 per annum from the medical card and other HSE-run schemes, according to new figures.

The latest HSE figures, covering 2012, show that a Dublin GP, Austin O'Carroll, was paid €795,414 in fees, allowances and grants in 2012, while another Dublin GP, Andrew Jordan, received €753,311.

The other three GPs in the top five payments were Dr Catherine Coleman, from Dublin, who earned €685,326, Dr Andrew Crosby, also from Dublin, who was paid €656,163, and Dr Donal Coffey from Co. Kerry, whose payments totalled €610,448.

The payments to doctors from the HSE would include funds used to employ practice staff, such as nurses, secretaries and assistant GPs, as well as to meet practice running costs. The higher payments usually accrue to the larger practices.

A total of 1,145 GPs out of 2,921 on the HSE's list are receiving over €200,000 per annum from medical card and other HSE-run schemes, while 1,760 are being paid over €100,000 a year from these schemes.

However, many GPs earn much less than this from medical card patients - some with smaller medical card lists only get a few thousand euro a year.

Many GPs, however, would supplement their medical card income with private practice.

The figures also show that the highest payment made under HSE schemes to an optician in 2012 was to Dr John Keane of Co. Roscommon, who received €348,798.

The highest payment to a dentist under the medical card scheme was to Dr Jerome Kiely of South Tipperary, who received €280,074 in 2012.

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