Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The conversation has moved in a positive way in recent years. I recall when we had these sorts of discussions at the health committee four years ago and there was quite a lot of resistance. The idea that we would move from five to seven days was not being entertained. However, the engagement I have had right across the board has been very positive. The new consultant contract moves from 40 hours to 80 hours, which is a fundamental change. I meet other representative bodies and their members in community settings and hospitals and there is broad acknowledgement that this is what we need to do. Nurses make the point that they are already rostered in the hospitals 24-7. Junior doctors are already rostered 24-7. We now have a new consultant contract in place. The next areas that will help, and the conversations I am having with those concerned are very positive, include health and social care, community care, discharge teams and, critically, access to regularly scheduled radiology on weekends.

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