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.
Hospital consultants expressed their surprise that the details of the financial package on the table was leaked. Speaking on RTE today Fintan Hourihan of the Irish Medical Organisation said the pay offer was the first the Health Service Executive (HSE) has made since talks began two months ago.
Donal Duffy of the IHCA also criticised the pace of the negotiations and said the HSE had not altered its position significantly since talks began.
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.