One of the unions representing hospital consultants has warned that if a basis is not found for the resumption of talks with health service employers on a new contract, it may be left with no option but to take legal action.
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) yesterday issued the warning in a letter to the independent chairman of the talks, Mark Connaughton SC.
Fintan Hourihan, the IMO's director of industrial relations, makes it clear in his letter, however, that he wants the talks to restart rather than having to resort to "industrial relations mechanisms" or the courts.
But he says that in the first instance the row over the decision by Minister for Health Mary Harney and the HSE to seek new consultants on imposed contractual terms has to be resolved. Advertisements were placed for 68 new consultants for hospitals across the State on this basis yesterday, but they gave no closing date for applications.
"This decision is in breach of your specific request that the parties refrain from unilateral acts during the course of the negotiations and also represents a breach of the terms of the Towards 2016 agreement," Mr Hourihan wrote.
He again proposed, in an attempt to resolve the impasse, that the employers give an assurance the new posts would be filled only on agreed contractual terms.
Mr Hourihan points out that the new posts are unlikely to be filled before 2008 given the length it takes to recruit consultants, and if the negotiations continued in the meantime agreement could possibly be reached on a contract for them. "Our belief is that this proposal would offer all parties much needed breathing space in order to bring these talks to a conclusion."
Meanwhile, the 68 posts advertised yesterday offer a contract slightly different to the one which had been on the table during negotiations with the IMO and Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) before they broke down on Monday.
The previous advocacy clause, which would have meant consultants had to seek the permission of their hospital chief executive before speaking out on behalf of patients, has been toned down. Now they will have to raise concerns first with their clinical director and make it clear when speaking out subsequently that it is in a personal capacity.
However, the unions said last night they still have some difficulty with this.
Mr Hourihan said he believed it would still "gag" consultants.
But Finbarr Fitzpatrick, secretary general of the IHCA, said the changes represented "a step in the right direction".
Nonetheless, he said after a preliminary perusal of the new contract, it was still unacceptable.
The IHCA's main concern at this point is the fact that new consultant posts have been advertised on terms that have not been agreed. Its members will decide at an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday what action it will take in protest at this move.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the HSE, Prof Brendan Drumm, yesterday wrote to all consultants in the State pointing out that "considerable progress" had been made at the consultant contract talks before they broke down and that it was important to "stick with it".
He said that Mr Connaughton had set out "a very solid foundation" upon which agreement between all sides could be based.