Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 199: To ask the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive has received back 20% of moneys owed by hospital consultants who failed to keep to a commitment to limit the numbers of private patients treated in order to prioritise public patients; the amount paid back by the 15 September deadline; when the balance can be expected to be paid in full; the measures being taken to retrieve the full amounts; the penalties that will be incurred by those who do not repay the moneys owed; the steps that he will take to avoid a similar situation in future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26857/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The 2008 consultants' contract includes measures to strengthen the management, monitoring and control of activity in hospitals with a view to ensuring that the level of consultant private practice within public hospitals does not exceed the permitted ratio - 20% for new consultants, and up to 30% for those who had such a level previously. The HSE in conjunction with the ESRI has introduced a range of new measurement systems in order to meet the requirements of the contract.

Since January 2009 each consultant is issued with a monthly public/private mix measurement report. This documents the consultant's activity in relation to inpatient, day case, outpatient and diagnostic activity over the previous three months. The contract provides that the employer may require the consultant to remit monies in respect of any private practice excess to a research and study fund.

At this stage, the HSE's focus is on consultants who have been identified as engaging in as much as 50% private activity despite the passing of both a 9 month period allowed for resolution of the issue in the contract and substantial additional periods of time for remittance of private fees. In January the HSE wrote to these consultants informing them that if they did not remit the required amount they would be required to cease private practice in respect of any segment of practice where they are in excess of the ratio specified in their contracts. It also advised them that as employer it would reserve the right to invoke the Disciplinary Procedure specified at Appendix II of the Contract.

To date the hospital managers have written to 70 Consultants who are 40% or higher in breach of their public private limits under the Consultant Contract 2008. These Consultants were requested to provide 20% of the money owing as an initial step. Failure to comply with the request to remit funds arising from breach of the public/private ratios would result in an instruction to cease charging private patients. This follows the completion of the 9-month period provided to each consultant for them to resolve the issue and to query any data issues. In many cases, the Consultant has had nearly 18 months to resolve the issue. Non-compliant consultants had until the 15th September to rectify breaches under their contract. A small number of consultants who failed to rectify the breach have been informed that they may no longer conduct private practice in public hospitals.