Harney’s consultant post figures fall short by 435

THERE have been 535 applications for the 68 new hospital consultant positions advertised on terms not agreed with the consultant representative bodies, five times that estimated by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, earlier this week.

The new figure, confirmed yesterday by a Department of Health spokesperson, is the number of applications received to date by the Public Appointments Commission.

The €205,000-plus posts were advertised by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in April and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) urged doctors not to apply for them.