The Minister for Health has said that public hospital patients will be "huge beneficiaries" from the deal brokered last week between consultants and the Government.
Speaking on RTE Radio this afternoon Mary Harney said that after five years of negotiations the deal between health service employers and the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA)was "a good deal for the public and a fair deal for doctors".
The changes proposed would "fundamentally alter the health service" for the better and over the next few years result in 2,000 additional hospital consultants being appointed, she said.
The Minister rejected claims that it would take years to implement the deal. "A lot of time has been put into this agreement," she said before adding that there was an acknowledgment on all sides of the need for urgent reform.
The Minister said that the agreement is yet to be formally put to the ICHA membership, which represent three quarters of the State's 2,000 hospital consultants, but she believes the contents will be to the liking of the vast majority of hospital consultants.
The Minister said that under the terms of the agreement it was appropriate that consultants were offered different contracts of employment as "circumstances vary".
Among the new contracts are ones that will see doctors work in the public hospitals only, while another contract will allow consultants work in public hospitals and carry out off site private work.
Ms Harney added that there will be many more consultants hired in areas such as psychiatry, and medicine for older people.
"Instead of doctors working as lone rangers they will work as part of a team, with a clinical director with responsibility for budgets," she said.
The Minister said that there will be a longer working day, structured cover at the weekends; 24-hour cover and consultants will be required to be in hospitals at the weekends and bank holidays. She said she was confident the vast majority of doctors would opt to sign up to one of the new contracts.
"We set out to make this contract attractive, not just to recruiting new people but to the Consultant doctors who work in our hospitals," she said.
The Minister also said that she hopes that the Irish Medical Organisation, which has not agreed to sign up to the deal and represents around a quarter of consultants, will see that the deal is good for patients and addresses many of their concerns.
However the Minister warned that there would be no more money on the table. "As far as remuneration is concerned this is the final position of the Government," the Minister said.