No money has been provided in the 2004 health budget to fund the outcome of negotiations on a new contract for hospital consultants and non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHD), it was confirmed yesterday.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children the money could not be set aside in advance because the cost was unknown.
However, a deal with the doctors, which is likely to prove costly, has to be reached by next August in order to comply with the European Working Time Directive, which requires the hours of NCHDs to be cut to an average of 58 hours a week, down from the current average of 75 hours a week.
These doctors are seeking compensation for having their overtime cut.
The controversial Hanly report, which sets out a framework for implementing the working time directive, recommends that hospital consultants be rostered to work around the clock, which requires renegotiation of their contracts.
Fine Gael health spokeswoman Ms Olivia Mitchell said it was obvious the Government would have to "pay dearly" for the changes given the costs of recent pay agreements. Settling the public health doctors' dispute had cost €12.5 million in 2003.
She said that given the last-minute nature of the negotiations with hospital doctors, they would have a gun to the Minister's head.
Mr Martin said the outcome of the negotiations was by no means certain. "So you can't just put in a figure and hope you get it right," he said.
Furthermore, he said if a figure was included in the Estimates, the Department might show its hand too much in advance of negotiations.
The negotiations on a new contract for hospital consultants are due to begin in January.
Talks at the Labour Relations Commission on a new contract for NCHDs begin later this month.