Ministers have signed off on plans to provide free GP care for the under-6s.
The legislation was agreed at Cabinet this morning. It will now be published and brought before the Dail for approval, with the aim of having the scheme up and running by the middle of this year.
Health Minister James Reilly will now go back to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) with a new proposal to initiate talks on their involvement in the scheme.
However Dr. Darach O'Ciardha from the Irish College of General Practitioners believes it will have a major impact on access to doctors.
Last month, the IMO said the target of providing free GP visits for all children aged 6 and under by the summer was 'not achievable' given the lack of progress on the issue since the measure was first announced.
The GP Committee of the IMO is blaming the Heath Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health, which it says have presented the plans as a 'fait accompli'.
It has said the government must now acknowledge "that it is time to talk to GPs in a meaningful way".
It has also accused the Health Minister James Reilly and Minister for Primary Care Alex White of seeking to impose "an unworkable contract by diktat on GPs in circumstances where there are no real negotiations".
