Vol. 566 No. 3
338 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will implement the recommendations outlined in the Brennan review on public health; the measures he intends to take to resolve the public health doctors' dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12728/03]
339 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals to date which he has made to resolve the public health doctors' dispute; the action he is taking to secure public health in the community during the dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12729/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 338 and 339 together.
The public health review, also known as the Brennan review, commenced in 1999 and was charged with reviewing the operations of public health departments and community public health medical services of the health boards in the context of the 1994 memorandum of agreement between the Department and the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and to consider future developments for these services. The group comprised representatives of the Department of Health and Children, the health boards and the IMO. It published its report in April 2002.
There was agreement on many of the matters considered by the group, including the need for a formally structured out-of-hours arrangement. There was one main area of disagreement. The IMO held the view that public health directors and specialists should have parity with hospital consultants, while management felt this was outside the terms of reference of the group. The report did not make a recommendation on the matter and the chairman recognised that any such issues as referred to by the official side would have to be the subject of industrial relations negotiations. The report also acknowledged that there might be a need to revisit the recommendations on public health following the implementation of proposed changes recommended by the health strategy and the primary care strategy.
Talks, both formal and informal, have been held with the IMO on these issues since the publication of the Brennan report. The issues central to the public health doctors' dispute have been the subject of negotiations between the IMO and management, comprising officials from the Health Service Employers Agency, HSEA, the Department of Health and Children and the health boards over the past 12 months, initially through joint discussions and in more recent times under the aegis of the Labour Relations Commission. Since the commencement of strike action by the IMO, efforts have been made at the highest level to reach a satisfactory conclusion. In this regard, management has made a substantial offer to the IMO.
On 14 March at informal talks in the Labour Relations Commission, management made an offer of 10.5%, excluding benchmarking, through the independent chair. This offer was confirmed in writing by the HSEA on 18 March. The application of such an income, as well as the increases awarded to public health doctors under benchmarking and the Sustaining Progress national agreement, would result in increases of between €11,000 and €29,000 for public health doctors between now and 2005.
