MINISTER FOR Health and Children Mary Harney has announced her intention to withhold €68 million in salary increases and additional payments to consultants until reformed work practices "are being delivered on the ground".
She made this announcement in a submission to the Dáil Committee on Health and Children on the 2008 Supplementary Health Estimates yesterday.
"I am deeply concerned at the slow rate of progress to date," the Minister said. The overall potential cost of increases resulting from the consultants' contract negotiations, including retrospective salary increases, was estimated at €72 million.
This consisted of €4 million for a binding arbitration award to consultants in emergency medicine; €16.6 million for a 5 per cent salary increase after a pay review for all serving and retired consultants; and the remainder (€51.6 million) to cover additional payments to those consultants who sign up to the contract.
It was intended to proceed with the €4 million payment because, as the Minister pointed out in her submission, "there is an obligation on the Health Service Executive (HSE) to implement the outcome of that process".
On the remaining €68 million, the Minister said: "I must at this point in time state that I do not envisage approving increases in salaries and making retrospective payments before the end of the year.
"I intend revisiting the issue of salary increases as soon as sufficient progress is achieved, hopefully early in the new year. Provision has been made in the estimates for next year for the ongoing costs of the agreement.
"The issue of retrospection will have to be considered carefully.
"Currently there is no provision in next year's estimates for this cost and the very difficult exchequer position will have to be taken into consideration in reaching a conclusion on the matter," she added.
Ms Harney told Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr James Reilly that out of 189 proposed new consultant posts, 154 had been advertised to date and there had been 41 offers of appointments.
Ms Harney told the committee there was a €350 million shortfall in receipts from the United Kingdom for health services provided to UK pensioners here under EU regulations.
"This is a staggering sum," Dr Reilly said. "How could we possibly get €350 million wrong?"
Ms Harney said the payments were made by the UK under an agreement that had been in place for 40 years.
"They formed the view they were overpaying us." The Irish and UK social welfare authorities reviewed the payments every three years.
"While negotiations are continuing between officials, the result at this point is that an advance payment of €100 million is being made by the UK authorities this year. Consequently, as a result there is a shortfall of €350 million for which funding is sought in this supplementary estimate.
"Following this year's downward adjustment we expect an increase next year, with a figure of €250 million currently provided for in the estimates for 2009."
Fine Gael spokesman on children Alan Shatter said the HSE was "effectively blocking" parents of newborn children from collecting blood from the umbilical cord which could be used to treat serious health problems later in life.
"The HSE [in] obstructing hospitals is exposing this State to a substantial legal claim in the future, should a child lose its life," he said.
Fianna Fáil TD Rory O'Hanlon said this was related to the stem-cell issue. "We should avoid stem-cells," he said.
Mr Shatter said the matter gave rise to no controversy. "This is to do with the umbilical cord."
The Minister responded: "I am not briefed about it. It hasn't been brought to my attention."
She would communicate later with Mr Shatter on the matter.