The operation of evening outpatient clinics in hospitals is among the moves expected to be recommended by the Medical Manpower Forum later this year.
The forum was set up by the Minister for Health in 1998, and publication of its report is expected soon.
A recommendation for a major increase in the number of consultants, who will be rostered to work outside normal hours, is also expected.
The forum's job is to work out how a better medical service can be provided in hospitals. It is also examining how a career in Irish hospitals can be made more attractive to doctors.
The working day for all medical services in hospitals, including surgery, is set to get far longer. This is seen as essential to cope with demand and bring waiting lists down.
The forum's work was delayed by the nurses' dispute and then by the junior doctors' dispute.
The changeover is likely to begin with pilot studies in selected hospitals, most likely in the areas of obstetrics and casualty. The studies will monitor the effect on these hospitals of having more consultants on-site to treat patients, with clinics scheduled to open for longer hours than at present.
The master of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Dr Peter McKenna, has publicly supported the idea of a round-the-clock service provided by consultants. Other maternity hospitals are believed to have pressed for a similar system.
The Minister recently sanctioned 25 extra casualty consultant posts to help hospitals to cope with high demand during the winter, but the move also suggests that this could be one of the first areas in which more consultants will provide services for longer hours.
There is general agreement that the number of consultants will have to be increased substantially, possibly by as many as 1,000 posts. Currently the health service has about 1,250 consultants and up to 3,000 junior doctors. Junior doctors complain that with too few consultant posts their career paths are blocked.
The forum represents a wide range of bodies including the Department of Health and Children, Comhairle na nOspideal, the Medical Council, the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association, the Irish College of General Practitioners, the Irish Medical Organisation, the health boards and the voluntary hospitals.