Doctors are calling for more investment in the GP care system.

Hundreds of doctors held a protest outside Leinster House this afternoon, calling for a reversal of funding cuts made during the recession.

The National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) says 26 communities across Ireland are without a GP.

They also suggest that 70% of practices outside of Dublin are too full to take on new patients.

A large crowd of Doctor hold up their stethoscopes at a protest at the Dáil by the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP). Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Bríd Walsh - Vice President of the NAGP and partner at a GP practice in Kerry - said that out of her class of 10, there are only three still practicing in Ireland.

She observed: "[There's] talks about talks about the potential for a new contract - and, while this is going on, the profession is being eroded.

"It's so insidious. It's not happening in every community or in every town, but it is happening across the country in small places - where you cannot register with a GP; where you cannot become a patient of a practice; where a practice is no longer financially viable."

Meanwhile, Andy Jordan - Chairman of the NAGP - said the cutbacks are having a knock-on effect in the hospital system.

He explained: "We spend our lives saying sorry - sorry you can't have the test done, sorry you can't get an MRI scan. If you are a private patient, yes you can run down to a private hospital and get it done and pay for it, or if you have private health insurance.

"The consequences of these cutbacks have a huge influence on what's going on in the hospital system at the moment."