Michael Finucane
Question:14 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Health and Children the current position on the negotiations in respect of a new contract for hospital consultants. [15778/97]
Written Answers. - Hospital Consultants Contract.
Willie Penrose
Question:50 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on threats of industrial action in relation to the suspension of talks regarding the implementation of the Buckley report recommendations. [15918/97]
Dick Spring
Question:96 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Health and Children the current position on negotiations with medical representative bodies pertaining to the implementation of the Buckley report recommendations. [15895/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 50 and 96 together.
Following publication of Report No. 36 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector on the pay and conditions of hospital consultants in December 1996, the Government authorised my predecessor as Minister for Health to open discussions with the organisations representing the medical profession in the implementation of its recommendations. The medical organisations were initially reluctant to enter negotiations due to their unhappiness with the contents of the report. The outcome of a series of discussions designed to find a basis for their entry to the talks was a formal commencement of negotiations on 18 March of this year. A lengthy process of negotiation proceeded under an independent chairman until early June when one of the medical organisations withdrew from the talks. Using the good offices of the chairman, contact was maintained throughout June and July in an attempt to reopen formal talks. In early August agreement was reached to meet for five days in mid-September with a view to concluding an agreement.
After 80 hours of intensive negotiations the management side, consisting of representatives of my Department, of health service management, and of the Health Service Employers' Agency, put its final position to the medical organisations. This package of proposals represented a balanced attempt to deal with the concerns of the representatives of the profession. The medical organisations felt unable to recommend the package to their members. It was subsequently rejected by the members of the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association at its annual general meeting held over the final weekend in September. The Irish Medical Organisation has yet to submit it to its membership.
Contract has been maintained at official level with the two medical organisations in an effort to isolate the areas in dispute and to identify a basis for a final agreement. A meeting on this basis was held on Tuesday last and a further meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.
I am obviously concerned that such a prolonged process of negotiation has not produced an agreement that meets the requirements of the parties. I, and my colleagues in Government, have to bear in mind that the background to these talks is the report of the independent review body which received written and oral submissions from the parties involved. Within the permitted parameters the management side has attempted to facilitate the major concerns of the medical organisations.
The present package of proposals on offer is an honest and balanced attempt to deal with the problems identified by the medical organisations. They may require some further fine-tuning and that is now under way. When that process is completed I expect the medical organisations to seriously consider recommending them to their members as the absolutely best offer available in the current circumstances.
I hope that no action, whether described as industrial action or not, would be taken which would result in disruption to hospitals and other health services. As hospitals require the close cooperation of all staff if they are to run smoothly, I am concerned at the possible effects of any disruptive action.