Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

Recently, Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown won approval for seven new consultants to implement what we are attempting through the contract discussions, including team working. Almost all of them are Irish people who have returned from positions in the US, which is very encouraging. I very much agree with the Deputy that it is not all about the salary. It is also about working conditions. It is not just the facilities but such matters as protected time for education, training and research, clinical governance issues and back-up facilities. Many consultants have said to me that they returned, got a job and found themselves virtually on their own without any secretarial or information technology back-up.

It is a range of factors and in Canada, one thing I found very attractive was that after six years one can have a six-month sabbatical to conduct research or attend training. Many consultants there find that very tempting. Others may feel that after the age of 55 they do not want to do night or weekend work. We need a flexible contract of employment that attracts and keeps the best. In particular, we must double the numbers we have. That will make the system very appealing. However, we could not possibly begin to do that on the current contract, which is very unsatisfactory from the perspective of the patient and the health system.

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