Only five per cent of GPs are charging private patients more than €50 for a consultation, a new survey has indicated.
The survey, carried out for the Irish Medical Times by an independent statistician, found most GPs were charging patients less than €40.
A total of 121 GPs across the State were telephoned and asked how much they charged.
It emerged 9.1 per cent were charging between €20 and €29, some 47.1 per cent were charging €30 to €39, some 38.8 per cent between €40 and €49, and five per cent were charging more than €50.
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, is planning to investigate the fees charged by GPs following complaints by some consumer groups that fees have increased substantially since the euro changeover. She is also soon to order doctors, as well as dentists, to display price lists.
Details of the locations where doctors charged more were not provided in this latest survey.
However, random calls to GPs across the country by this newspaper yesterday showed the most expensive visits to GPs were likely to be in Dublin.
When the 121 GPs were asked in the Irish Medical Times survey if they believed they charged enough for consultations, some 60 per cent said yes, but 38 per cent said no. No opinion was expressed by 1.7 per cent of respondents.
The survey also found more than 75 per cent of GPs are working more than 40 hours a week.
Asked about the controversial Hanly report and its plans for hospital reorganisation, which will see accident and emergency units at smaller hospitals scaled back to minor injury units with limited opening hours, almost half the GPs said they did not support it.
Some 48.8 per cent of those surveyed said they were against the report, 32.2 per cent said they supported the plan, and 19 per cent offered no opinion.
There was particular concern about Hanly among GPs in rural areas.
The family doctors were also asked about the decision to grant medical cards to all those over the age of 70. Some 45.5 per cent said they regretted the Government decision.
The decision cost €50 million more than originally anticipated and led to the discovery of thousands of patients on medical card lists who should have not been on them either because they were dead or had moved.
These came to be known as "ghost patients" and the Department of Health claims GPs were overpaid more than €8 million in respect of these patients.
When asked in this survey if they would return payments for ghost patients, 50.4 per cent of GPs said no, 27.3 said yes and 22.3 per cent did not express an opinion.
It also indicated GPs are split on the controversial issue of stem cell research.
Of the 121 GPs surveyed, 48.8 per cent said the Government should support the research, 32.2 per cent said no and 19 per cent offered no opinion.
Furthermore, the survey found more than seven out of ten, or 71.9 per cent of GPs, are opposed to any moves to strike off the medical register doctors who fail to gain competence assurance accreditation from the Medical Council.
Only 18.2 per cent of doctors were in favour of the proposal, with 9.9 per cent offering no opinion.
Only a few hundred GPs have signed up for the competence assurance scheme.