Health minister will not address IMO conference due to 'long standing commitment'

The conference is usually addressed by whoever is in the ministerial role, but Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has opted out, her office confirmed on Tuesday. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Doctors in the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) will gather in Killarney this week to discuss challenges in the health system but the health minister will not be joining them.

The conference is usually addressed by whoever is in the ministerial role, but Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has opted out, her office confirmed on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman said she had “a long standing personal commitment that predated her appointment as minister for health".

“She regrets that, as a result, she is unable to attend the IMO AGM this coming weekend.” 

She said Ms Carroll MacNeill “looks forward to meeting formally with the IMO shortly and to attending the agm in the future".

The minister has been focused on hospital overcrowding since taking office, saying she “wasn’t pleased” at how few consultants were rostered on over weekends.

She said the issue is not about “work life balances”, but about patient safety and ensuring the management of public services.

The conference will be addressed by HSE CEO Bernard Gloster on Saturday.

Other speakers during the conference will cover topics including the “malign force” of pornography in fuelling sexual violence, neurodivergent patients, and legal cases linked to medical care.

Professor Michael Barry, National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, will also speak about the challenges ahead for the Irish health service in trying to access new medicines.

The minister's absence was highlighted earlier by the Medical Independent who reported she faced "an unavoidable diary clash". A source told the publication that the Minister will be abroad when the AGM is taking place.