Whether or not negotiations on a new contract for hospital consultants continue next week, beyond the deadline set for their completion by the Government, will be a matter for the chairman of the talks, Minister for Health Mary Harney said yesterday.
No talks have taken place since last week when management said consultants could expect to receive a basic salary of up to €205,000 per year for working revised contracts, an offer consultants are unhappy with.
However, the independent chairman of the talks, Mark Connaughton SC, is currently having informal meetings with the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to see if there is a basis for further talks.
He may decide to bring the sides back for more talks next Monday and Tuesday, although Tuesday is the Government's deadline for the talks to conclude.
Mr Connaughton had told Ms Harney by letter in the last week there is still "a considerable divergence on many issues" between the HSE and the unions and he is not optimistic agreement can be reached by next Tuesday.
Asked yesterday if the talks would be disbanded next Tuesday, Ms Harney said: "That's a matter for the chairman".
She added: "The chairman obviously initially was cautiously optimistic that he could reach agreement. In his letter to me last week he wasn't obviously optimistic and that's very disappointing, but I understand that the IMO are meeting at the weekend in their annual conference. I'll be addressing that conference on Friday. The IHCA are having a meeting as well in a short while and I look forward to hearing what they have to say."
Finbarr Fitzpatrick, secretary general of the IHCA, said consultants from 17 hospitals met on Tuesday and found the proposed contract unacceptable.