Consultants begin industrial action over contracts row

Consultants are beginning limited industrial action at public hospitals across the country today as part of the ongoing dispute over new contracts being introduced by the Government and the HSE.

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association is taking the action following the HSE's decision to recruit 68 specialists on the new contracts before agreement on new terms and conditions has been reached.

The association's members say they will boycott management meetings and will refuse to do the work normally carried out by locums, except in emergencies.

Minister for Health Mary Harney is insisting that the recruitment process will continue in spite of today's strike, while the HSE has also accused the IHCA of putting patient care at risk.

The consultants say their actions are deliberately designed not to affect their normal clinical commitments, but the HSE says it will inevitably lead to delays and inconvenience for patients.