Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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760. To ask the Minister for Health the position regarding the plans to review the pay of hospital consultants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33490/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The previous Minister for Health established a Working Group, chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU, in July 2013, to carry out a strategic review of medical training and career structure in order to ensure the continued recruitment of high quality Consultants. The final report of the group was submitted at the end of June 2014.

The MacCraith group’s second interim report recommended an urgent industrial relations engagement with the staff associations representing consultants to address the barriers to consultant recruitment. An intensive engagement between the parties took place over July and August and on the 26th August 2014 the Labour Relations Commission issued a proposal which included increased pay for Consultants entering the public health service. This proposal included incremental credit for relevant experience, which would allow consultants with 5 years relevant experience to be appointed at up to €155,000. The IMO Consultant and NCHD Committees decided to put the LRC proposals concerning consultant pay and career structure to a ballot of members. To date no ballot date has been set.