A value-for-money audit of the contracts held by hospital consultants working in the public sector is being carried out by the State's spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The consultants' contracts oblige them to work no more than 33 hours a week, although many consultants work more. For the 33-hour week they are paid a salary of between €122,933 and €152,600.
As part of its investigation the Comptroller and Auditor General's (C&AG) office has drawn up a long list of questions covering all aspects of the contracts.
The questions, which also deal with the monitoring of consultants' work practices given their entitlement to private practice in public hospitals, have been sent to a number of hospitals.
The C&AG usually conducts investigations at his own initiative. A spokeswoman for the C&AG's office said some work had already been done on the audit, but it was a long-term project.
She also confirmed that the C&AG's office was carrying out a review of the effectiveness of A&E services, which she described as a more short to medium-term project.
Hospitals which were sent the list of questions include Beaumont and St James's hospitals in Dublin, Waterford Regional Hospital and Cork University Hospital, according to the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA).
General secretary of the IHCA Finbarr Fitzpatrick said when he asked for the full list of hospitals where contracts were being reviewed, the C&AG's office would not provide it.
The 33-hour week was criticised by Prof Niamh Brennan, who chaired the Commission on Financial Management and Control Systems in the Health Service.
She claimed consultants' contracts contained "shocking" weaknesses that allowed them to pocket large salaries for work on public patients while delegating the work to junior doctors, who were often paid overtime as a result.
Mr Fitzpatrick said: "We are confident the audit will show that consultants do give value for money.
"The only problem is where limitations are put on their level of activity through cancellation of elective admissions as a result of overcrowding in casualty."
A recent study found 66 per cent of consultant psychiatrists appointed over the last five years were still waiting either for an office, clerical support, junior doctor or community nurse to allow them do their work properly three months after starting the job.
The director of industrial relations with the Irish Medical Organisation, Fintan Hourihan, who also represents hospital consultants, said he was anxious the audit take account of the resource constraints consultants were working within.
"We will be seeking a formal meeting with the C&AG's office to discuss further the objective and modus operandi of the exercise."