Up to 500 consultants earn over €200k per annum

It has emerged that up to 500 hospital consultants around the country are earning over €200,000 a year.

The figure is contained in a briefing note from the HSE, which also reveals 104 different salary grades in operation in the sector.

It comes ahead of a Labour Court hearing on changes to consultant work practices, which is scheduled for Thursday.

One of the representative groups, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association, is refusing to attend for two reasons.

The group's assistant secretary general Donal Duffy says each hospital consultant has an individual contract, so they can't negotiate collectively, and the proposals on the agenda for Thursday's hearing aren't covered by the Croke Park Agreement.