Just do it

Negotiations between health authorities and hospital consultants are beginning to make the Three Hundred Years War look like a jolly summertime manoeuvre for the FCA.

At this point the HSE has offered itself to the tender mercies of the Labour Court so a collapsed deal between the Government and the consultants can be implemented by Nov 5.

The consultants say they are willing to consider changing current arrangements but have had no firm proposals from local management.

This seems a farcical situation as health overruns seem set to hit the €0.5bn mark before Christmas. Maybe both parties should look across the Irish Sea and consider how the British courts system and the British legal profession have responded to their particular crisis.

Courts in England will open for longer and sit at weekends, the Home Office has declared. This innovation was, naturally enough, opposed by some lawyers but not by all. The objective is to cut delays — and those in our legal system are scandalous — and reduce a huge backlog. In other words serve the public and serve justice.

A sports phrase seems appropriate — just do it.