The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said it was "extremely dismayed" that today's Book of Estimates will not finance the necessary devlopments promised in the Government's health strategy and in the Hanly report.
"An eight per cent increase in non-pay expenditure next year means no extra patients will be treated, when account is taken of medical inflation," the IHCA said in a statement.
"The 2001 Health Strategy has clearly been abandoned in terms of development of our acute hospital system. A net total of circa 350 out of the promised 709 beds that were to be have been provided by last December have come on stream to date.
"Today's news of an eight per cent drop in Capital Expenditure for building equipping and furnishing of hospitals etc., before inflation, means that there will be no investment in additional bed capacity. That will mean even longer waiting times in our Emergency Departments and ever growing waiting lists for elective procedures."
The IHCA said today's announcement "clearly signals" that the Government has decided not to fund the necessary changes that would allow certain developments to be implemented.
"As it has not put in money to support its collective decision on the Health Strategy and Hanly Report, then the public will not get the service it was promised and for which it voted."