Vol. 539 No. 1
233 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the funds he has available to implement the Medical Manpower Forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter, in view of recent statements made by the secretary general of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association that manpower negotiations may be a time wast ing exercise unless the Minister can persuade the Government to commit funds to the implementation of the forum's report. [18623/01]
The Medical Manpower Forum was established to examine problems, including inappropriate staffing, limited availability of senior clinical decision-making and obstacles which arise in medical career structures. The forum's report was published recently.
Earlier this year the forum's report and the report on non-consultant hospital doctors' working hours were considered by Government. The Government has decided to establish a national task force to prepare a detailed implementation programme on reducing NCHD working hours and to quantify the resource implications and costs arising from both reports. The results of these studies will be the subject of a further memorandum to Government.
The Government has also approved the commencement of negotiations with the relevant parties on the core issues arising from the reports. The first meeting took place on 7 June. There are likely to be very significant financial and staffing implications which must first be quantified and then carefully considered by Government. The report of the Medical Manpower Forum states that its recommendations should be quantified and costed and does not specify the number of consultants required.
