Hospital consultants who can earn up to €250,000 a year will have to be paid more if vacant positions are to be filled, according to Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath.

Labour has called on the HSE and hospital managements to respond to the high number of assaults on staff in HSE-run hospitals.

More than 600 hospital staff are assaulted each year, with nurses bearing the brunt of workplace violence.