Letters to the Editor: Unequal pay for hospital consultants is a false economy

Medical and surgical specialists abroad are looking on with interest as to whether the current Minister for Health and Taoiseach will honour pay  commitments and restore basic trust across the system

In a globalised medical labour market, where talented, highly trained young Irish hospital specialists can work with more attractive conditions elsewhere in the world, restoring pay parity is a major part of the solution to the consultant recruitment and retention crisis. 

Last week, an Irish Examiner editorial commented on a story first reported in The Irish Times about a hospital consultant working for the HSE who had been paid more than €640,000 last year. While we do not have the exact details of the payment, much of that sum was likely due to retrospective payments in line with a 2018 High Court settlement agreement with the HSE for contract breaches and/or for additional work carried out due to unfilled consultant posts.

The editorial, however, suggested that it “refuted” the arguments made by the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) on “inadequate pay” for consultants, pointing to this example as its rationale. This misrepresents the IHCA’s position, which is that for the past decade the Government has imposed an additional 30% salary cut on consultants taking up contracts since October 2012.