Consultants: 2004 Estimates a 'great disappointment'

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has expressed dismay at the `Government's spending plans for 2004.

About €10bn of the projected €40bn 2004 kitty will be spent on health.

IHCA Assistant General Secretary Donal Duffy said the allocation would do nothing to improve the health service.

"One of the major problems in our health service today is the lack of hospital beds," he said.

"The Minister failed to deliver 709 beds in 2002 and is obviously not going to do anything about it in 2004. That's a great disappointment."