Who is who in the consultants' deal?

Hospital consultants have been represented by two organisations, the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), for almost two decades.

The move to established the IHCA in March 1988 stemmed in part from unhappiness among a number of senior consultants at a IMO-organised strike by non-consultant hospital doctors in 1987.

The decision to grant the IHCA a right to negotiate on behalf of consultants (when the IMO was already representing such doctors) was approved directly by the then taoiseach, Charles Haughey, and against the express opposition of the Department of Health at the time. In the early days relations between the IHCA and the IMO, which itself had been established a number of years earlier by the merger of the IMA and the Medical Union, were strained.

However, over recent times the organisations have become closer, particularly in the wake of the row over malpractice insurance cover for consultants which affected members of both organisations equally.

The IMO and the IHCA worked closely together in the course of the lengthy negotiations over the new contract.

However, in the early hours of Wednesday morning the IMO decided to walk out of the process as it was unhappy with the way the talks were progressing.

The IHCA remained in the talks and concluded a deal with health service management. The IHCA represents about 1,650 consultants in public hospital practice.

The IMO has about 850 consultant members of whom more than 600 are believed to be in public hospital practice.

The IMO also represents GPs, non-consultant hospital doctors and public health doctors. The IHCA represents only consultants. Some consultants are members of both organisations while others are not involved with either.