Talks on a new contract for hospital consultants continued today with the independent chairman meeting with health management to clarify some issues.
The discussions between health management, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) were scheduled to be concluded today. It is expected the talks will conclude late tonight.
The independent chairman of the talks process, senior counsel Mark Connaughton, is expected to report by early next week on whether he believes there is a basis for agreement on a new contract.
The IHCA said they were waiting to see if Mr Connaughton needed to peak with them after he had finished talking to health management.
Sources close to the medical organisations said little progress were made at the talks yesterday.
The introduction of a new contract for hospital consultants is one of the key elements of the Government's overall healthcare reforms. However, this process has been beset for years by delays and rows.
Health service management said last week that the current negotiations represented the last chance for an agreement for the foreseeable future.
If these talks are unsuccessful, it is expected that the Government will press ahead and unilaterally introduce a new contract with revised terms and conditions. The medical organisations have warned that such a move would lead to a dispute.