Talks on agreeing a new contract for hospital consultants are set to restart after the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) today endorsed a plan to return to the negotiating table.
The decision by the consultants committee of the IMO, which represents 800 members, follows a recent agreement by the larger Irish Hospitals Consultants' Association (IHCA) to re-enter talks.
IMO director of industrial relations Fintan Hourihan
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has also agreed to the terms for the negotiations put forward Senior Counsel Mark Connaughton who will chair the talks.
Negotiations were expected to resume within weeks of all parties agreeing to re-engage, but IMO director of industrial relations Fintan Hourihan today warned that "significant preparatory work" would be needed before a resumption.
"The IMO was anxious to engage in an intensive round of negotiations and emphasised that the issues which gave rise to the suspension of talks must be addressed as a matter of urgency," he said after the committee met this morning.
However, the IMO negotiating team is to return to its consultant committee on December 1st to report on whether the terms of Mr Connaughton's proposals are being adhered to.
Mr Hourihan noted the HSE had offered an assurance it was willing to drop its insistence on key issue of public-only contracts for consultants.
"We expect that significant new HSE proposals, providing for a menu of contract options, will be ready for our immediate consideration on the resumption of talks," Mr Hourihan said.
The HSE's re-categorisation of around 26 consultant positions, which led to the collapse of the talks, remained the biggest key issue, he added.
The IHCA, which represents around 1,800 consultants, agreed two weeks ago to resume talks, in response to the HSE dropping its insistence that it would not issue category II contracts, which allow consultants in public hospitals undertake lucrative private practice.
However, the issue will be a matter of negotiation along with the pricing of new contracts. Resolution of the dispute is regarded as central to significant reform of practices in hospitals, which the HSE regards as partly responsible for hospital bed shortages.
Minister for Health Mary Harney and HSE chief executive Prof Brendan Drumm have both expressed the hope that talks can be concluded in two months.
One of the HSE's key objectives is to get consultants to agree to work around-the-clock in teams, easing the reliance on junior doctors. The IHCA has said this would require a change in practices for other hospital personnel.