Salaries of hospital consultants have increased on average by 150 per cent in the past decade, the secretary-general of the Irish Hospital Consultants' Association, Mr Finbarr Fitzpatrick said.
He said that in 1989 consultants' salaries ranged from £28,000 to £32,000. By the end of this year consultants would earn £66,500 to £82,500. This average 150 per cent increase was gained during a decade of low inflation.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the increases were all the more important when it was remembered that between 60 and 75 per cent of consultants in public hospitals had "very modest" or no income from private practice.
It was also revealed that in the past five years payments to consultants from VHI had almost doubled. It is estimated that £81 million will be paid out to the group by the health insurance this year compared to £41.3 million in 1993.