The independent chairman of the talks on a new contract for hospital consultants has said he does not expect health service management and medical organisations between themselves will be able to reach an agreement on pay, even if there is a deal on all other outstanding issues.
In a letter yesterday to the parties in the talks, senior counsel Mark Connaughton said that two indicative proposals on pay put forward by management - one for salary scales up to €205,000 and the other of up to €216,000 - had been rejected by consultants.
He recommended that the parties should consider whether a nominee could be agreed to adjudicate on the issue of remuneration. Mr Connaughton said that "significant progress" had been made on a range of issues in recent intensive talks but that a number of major items such as pay, working hours and private practice remained in dispute.
He said that while the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) had both rejected a draft contract put forward by management last week, there appeared "to be a general consensus that further discussions should take place this week to ascertain whether heads of agreement can be concluded on all major issues".
These new talks are expected to get under way within the next few days. Mr Connaughton said that the current talks process had taken "an unprecedented length of time". He said that time was "very much of the essence" and that on the major issues in dispute, "a degree of pragmatism is now required".
"The latest proposal from the employers contains significant new restrictions on private practice which must be discussed. I was encouraged by the employers' willingness to entertain my proposal that, within limits, there might be further discussion on how legitimate concerns relating to equity of access for public patients might be dealt with by agreement. The outcome of any discussion on this topic is critical to the process," he said.
Mr Connaughton said the IHCA and IMO had indicated "significant flexibility" in relation to the duration of the normal working week, an extended working day and weekend working arrangements.
Mr Connaughton said that the significant changes to existing private practice arrangements proposed by management as part of the Government's new reforms of eligibility for hospital care, was an urgent matter.