REACHING agreement on new contracts for hospital consultants by the Government’s deadline of next Tuesday will be impossible, a doctor’s group warned yesterday.

The Government must make real progress on tackling the crisis in the A&E hospital service as it has slumped to a 15-year low, doctors warned today.

The chronic overcrowding plaguing the country’s hospitals will not be solved with private care units providing beds for the public, it was claimed today.

Motorists were warned today about the dangers of speeding and driving under the influence of drink and drugs over the Bank Holiday.

The health service needs 15,000 extra acute beds, the Irish Medical Organisation claimed today.