Consultants expected to reject revised contracts

New proposals which would see hospital consultants receive a basic salary of up to €205,000 per year for working revised contracts are expected to be rejected by the medical bodies.

Medical organisations said pay proposals tabled yesterday by health service management could leave doctors worse off, given the additional hours and other changes to conditions involved.

Meanwhile, it emerged last night that the deadline of Tuesday week set by the Government for the completion of the consultant contract talks is unlikely to be met. The move could set the scene for confrontation between the Government and consultants over the next few weeks, at a time when more than 40,000 nurses are planning to escalate their current industrial dispute in hospitals.

The health service management offer, which has been seen by The Irish Times, would see consultants working exclusively in public hospitals paid between €180,000 and €205,000 per year. There would also be a performance-related bonus of up to 20 per cent available.

Consultants on a second type of contract, with limited private practice rights in public and co-located private hospitals, would earn between €160,000 and €185,000.

The proposed salaries are considered by management to be "interim" figures, which would be looked at again later in the year by the review body examining top-level pay in the public sector.

However, the medical representative bodies have reacted negatively to the proposals.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said that given the magnitude of the changes being sought in the new deal, including an extended week, weekend rostering and new team-working, the terms were unlikely to be attractive to the existing cohort of consultants.

It believed the terms were aimed largely at new appointees.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said the proposals could see existing consultants earning less per hour. The draft contract, tabled by management yesterday, would involve consultants working a 39-hour week.

The IHCA said at present consultants had a 33-hour commitment.

Current salaries range from €143,000 to €186,000, depending on contract type, speciality and geographic location. The proposed new pay scales would apply nationally. Controversial clauses including restrictions on the rights of consultants to advocate on behalf of patients are retained in the new draft document.

In a letter to Minister for Health Mary Harney yesterday evening, the independent chairman of the talks, senior counsel Mark Connaughton, indicated the timetable set by Cabinet was unlikely to be met.

"Having regard to the deadline set for the conclusion of the negotiations, my current view, as expressed to the parties this morning, is that there is still a considerable divergence on many issues and there has been a reluctance to demonstrate agreement on matters that should not be controversial. I would not therefore be optimistic that a concluded agreement can be reached by 17 April next."

Ms Harney has said that if this deadline is not met, she would move unilaterally to advertise the first of up to 350 new consultant posts on revised terms. Hospital consultants have said they would strongly resist such a development.

This could involve boycotting the new posts and refusing to serve on interview panels.

The IMO is expected to discuss the issue at its annual conference in Killarney next week, while the IHCA is to hold an extraordinary general meeting on April 22nd.

A spokesman for Ms Harney said last night it was hoped that the contract talks could still be productive.

"We are still of the view that there is time left to deliver an agreement," he said, adding the Government deadline still stood. The HSE is expected to begin advertising the new posts from April 18th or 19th.