The independent chairman of the talks on a new consultant contract has told the Government that he is "cautiously optimistic" agreement could be reached between the parties.
Senior counsel Mark Connaughton, in a letter to Minister for Health Mary Harney, last night said that all the parties agreed that significant progress had been made in negotiations over recent weeks but that a number of core issues remained outstanding.
He also signalled that the gap between the parties could narrow further within the next few days.
The Government had set today as the final deadline for the agreement of a new contract for consultants with medical bodies and it would have to decide whether an extension should be allowed.
Ms Harney is expected to bring proposals to Cabinet tomorrow to allow her to begin the process of recruiting 300-350 new consultants. These new doctors, who will be the first cohort of about 1,500 consultants to be recruited over the coming three years or so, will either be taken on under a new agreed contract or on terms imposed by the Government if a deal with the medical bodies cannot be reached within the next few days.
Some sources suggested last night that although Ms Harney may be prepared to give the process a few more days, the negotiations would not be allowed to run on much longer.
There were some suggestions yesterday that the Government may seek to introduce a twin- track approach under which preparations for advertising the new consultant posts would run in tandem with final efforts to agree a new deal with the medical organisations.
Speaking yesterday, Ms Harney said that today would be the last time the Cabinet would be discussing the issue of the consultant contract, which she described as a key element in the health service reform plans. The Minister said enough time had been spent on talks and no further delay to recruiting consultants on a new contract could be tolerated.
On the issue of providing more time for talks, she said that would be an issue for the Cabinet, but that the content of Mr Connaugton's report would also be a factor in deciding any extension.
In his confidential letter to the Minister, Mr Connaughton said all the parties agreed that significant progress had been made in the negotiations but a number of difficult issues remained. He said the question of remuneration had not been addressed to date in the talks.
He said the talks on a new contract would resume today and that it was expected that the issues would narrow further during the course of the week in a series of bilateral meetings and plenary sessions.
"At this stage I am cautiously optimistic that agreement can be concluded but this is dependent on the parties demonstrating their expressed willingness to find solutions to certain core issues that remain outstanding."
Among the issues that remain unresolved are private practice rights, clinical independence for consultants and the right of doctors to advocate on behalf of patients.
Health service management sources have alleged that the medical bodies are still demanding that some newly appointed consultants should be allowed to treat fee-paying patients in off-site private hospitals.
Management has said that no new consultants will be allowed to carry out such private practice although "transitional" arrangements will be put in place for existing personnel.
Medical sources say the issues of clinical independence and advocacy rights are even more important to their members than private practice.
