Public service health consultants could hit top pay rate earlier

Hospital consultants working exclusively in the public service could reach the maximum pay rate of €175,000 at a faster rate under new proposals drawn up by the Labour Relations Commission.

The proposals also clarify the operation of performance management arrangements that consultants would have to undergo to qualify for annual incremental increases.

In October doctors who are members of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) overwhelmingly rejected previous pay proposals drawn up by Labour Relations Commission chief executive Kieran Mulvey.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association was not involved in the talks that led to the pay proposals as it has not signed up to the Haddington Road agreement on public service pay and productivity.

The pay rates under the new proposals remain unchanged but doctors would get to the top of the scale in nine years rather than 12 as previously proposed.

For doctors working exclusively in public hospitals with no private practice - the so-called category A contract - the entry rate will be €127,000. This will increase on foot of nine performance-related incremental rises to a maximum of €175,000.

Doctors with experience can enter the Irish health system on the sixth point of the scale which has a pay rate of €155,000.

Under the proposals, heads of departments would receive up to €180,000 and clinical directors up to €190,000.

The new proposals indicate that in future consultants’ performances would be measured in relation to a number of criteria, including the extent of their private practice and other work that resulted in additional income.

Other criteria would include direct clinical care, additional scheduled health service activities including management or leadership roles, professional activities such as audit, clinical governance, research and appraisal, and external roles in postgraduate training bodies or other groups.

Performance targets

The proposals say that for consultants to become eligible for annual incremental increases their defined performance targets would have to be signed off by the relevant senior clinical manager and their hospital chief executive or general manager.

The new rates would apply to all consultants who have joined the Irish health service since October 2012.

In October 2012 the Government unilaterally introduced a 30 per cent reduction in pay for all consultants appointed after that date, a move which critics maintained resulted in public hospitals being increasingly unable to fill consultant positions .

Medical organisations have argued that the pay cut led directly to a "brain drain" of young doctors who opted not to work in Ireland.

About 300 consultant posts in public hospitals are currently vacant.