GPs have warned that they will be unable to take on the additional work involved in implementing the planned free GP care scheme for children aged five and under.

The National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) said GPs were already badly stretched following the increase in medical card numbers in recent years and by consecutive cuts in GP fees.

The NAGP said a combination of the recent fee cuts and the planned €113 million 'probity review' of medical cards, which could lead to many GPs losing medical card patients, would represent a 54.6% cut in State funding to general practice.

NAGP President Dr Conor McGee said general practice was currently struggling to survive, and many GPs would find it difficult to absorb the additional workload.

He said the cuts to general practice mean many practices will not be in a position to hire additional medical staff to deal with the increased patient numbers generated by the proposed under-sixes scheme.

"The cuts are forcing us to see more people in a shorter space of time. The effect of that is shorter consultation times and that is completely at odds with what we are trying to do, which is to give people as much time as is needed."

Meanwhile, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has said there is no hope of meeting Health Minister James Reilly's target of introducing free GP care for all by 2016.

IMO GP leader Dr Ray Walley said the Government had no plan to support this objective and no appreciation of the resources needed to implement it.