Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

It is a question to the Taoiseach. It states that the delivery of the new consultants' contract would help to ensure equity of access. I recently raised with the Taoiseach the issue whereby it was necessary for some 296 consultants in the public hospital system to be written to by the clinical directors and the hospital managers in their respective locations with regard to their breaches of the contract regarding their responsibilities to the public and the public health system. Does the Taoiseach not accept this is a huge number of consultants who are in breach of that contract and that clearly, the commitment of the Government in the programme to equity of access cannot be realised when there is such a high incidence of a failure to uphold and to live up to the commitments given? This is a very serious matter and I ask the Taoiseach what further steps he proposes to take to ensure that consultants who have signed up to these contracts live up to the letter of same.

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