Reaction:The agreement between health service employers and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association on a new contract for senior doctors was broadly welcomed yesterday.
The main opposition parties and patient groups described it as a step in the right direction in the bid to reform the health service.
Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr James Reilly said: "It will be a great step forward if the deal sticks."
If it did, an issue that had been portrayed as a major stumbling block to the reform of the health service would be out of the way, he added. "Perhaps the Minister will then address the real issues of bed capacity both in hospitals and the community, which impacts on isolation rooms for cystic fibrosis patients and overcrowding in A&E . . . as well as the lack of access to diagnostics in general practice," he said.
"I also hope the recruitment ban does not interfere with the speedy appointment of new consultants."
Labour health spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan said the agreement was a welcome breakthrough, and should be copperfastened by all parties as soon as possible.
"Lack of agreement over the last number of years has led to serious restrictions on recruiting consultants. As a result there have been severe shortages in disciplines such as accident and emergency, neurology, rheumatology and obstetrics, to name but a few.
"This agreement paves the way for the recruitment of 2,000 additional consultants as promised in the Programme for Government and the HSE must act with utmost urgency to fill those vacancies," she said.
Sinn Féin's health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that while there was relief that marathon talks with the IHCA had concluded, the reality was the agreement retained the two-tier public-private health system.
Meanwhile Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients' Association welcomed the fact that consultants would be rostered to work in hospitals at weekends and on bank holidays. He said some of the cases he had come across where things went wrong for patients happened at weekends.
He also welcomed the plan to, in due course after further discussions, have consultants rostered to work around the clock in hospitals.
This would be of tremendous benefit to patients, he said.
Janette Byrne of Patients Together said the deal had to be welcomed. "It is going to improve the journey of patients through the system," she said.