Contracts deadline ‘not possible’

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.

Chairman of the independent talks, Mark Connaughton, was asked by the Cabinet to produce a conclusive report on the day.

But the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which represents more than 800 consultants, said they did not believe it was possible to meet the deadline.