The Health Service Executive has said it "emphatically rejects" claims by hospital consultants that there are outstanding issues to resolve on a new employment contract.
The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) deferred a meeting of its contract negotiating committee planned for next Saturday after talks with the HSE Employers' Agency on Tuesday.
Information posted on the IHCA website informs the organisation's 1,800 members not to co-operate with the HSE's planned recruitment campaign for new consultants' jobs until an agreement is reached on a new contract.
The HSE and IHCA concluded agreement on the major aspects of a contract after marathon talks at the end of January.
However, the IHCA insisted as it went into talks with the HSE last Tuesday that there were still numerous other issues still to be finalised.
In a letter to the general secretary of the consultants' body, Finbarr Fitzpatrick, the employers' agency said that all issues surrounding the contract had been agreed in January, with the exception of the academic contract.
The HSE said in its letter that the tactics adopted by the IHCA on Tuesday were "a deliberate attempt to re-open certain issues that have already been conclusively determined by the independent chairman" of the talks Mark Connaughton SC.
Chief executive of the employers' body Gerard Barry says in his letter that the production of an agreed, "composite" document is now the joint responsibility of both parties.
He said the two bodies should now move ahead with their respective consultative processes in order to ensure the planned June 1st implementation date for the new contracts goes ahead.
Prior to the meeting with the HSE on Tuesday, Mr Fitzpatrick said the organisation felt the health service managers appeared to have lost the sense of urgency to complete the contract talks after agreement was reached the major issues last month.
Under the deal, consultants on the new Type A contract, with no private practice, will be paid up to €240,000.
Those on Type B contracts, with limited private practice in public hospitals will earn up to €220,000. Consultants on on Type C contracts, with off-site private practice rights, will get up to €175,000.