Madam, – At a recent morning coffee, colleagues were aghast to discover that entry level consultants in the Irish health service receive a basic salary of circa €200,000 per annum (£170,000), while entry level consultants in the NHS receive a basic salary of circa £75, 000 per annum. A discussion ensued, and despite exploring benchmarking, relative living costs and rates of taxation, I, as a proud Irishman, found this difference very hard to justify, especially in the context of a catastrophic and devastating economic climate.
Perhaps someone from the Irish medical fraternity, or indeed the Irish Government could offer some explanation, so that I might do a better job of justifying to my colleagues this embarrassing difference. – Yours, etc,