Government faces EU fines if health plan ignored

THE Government has been warned it could face hefty fines from the EU if it fails to implement the controversial recommendations of the Hanly report to reform the health services.

“We do not have an option to do nothing,” David Hanly, the author of the report, said in a stark warning yesterday. Addressing a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, Mr Hanly and other members of his task force said the EU could impose substantial fines on a daily basis if the Government failed to cut the number of hours worked by junior doctors over the next year.

Mr Hanly said the basis for healthcare reform was the obligation on the Government to comply with the EU Working Time Directive, which means junior doctors will be permitted to work a maximum of 58 hours per week from August 2004 and 48 hours from 2009. They currently work an average of 75 hours per week.