Hospital consultants earn on average between £50,000 and £60,000 a year from the Department of Health for their work in public hospitals. On top of this they have the potential to earn, on average, a further £60,000 from private patients. There are 1,200 consultants in the State and the six top earners received an average of £500,000 from the VHI last year.
There are four categories of consultant. An existing whole-time consultant works in a public hospital and has no restrictions on private practice. Two other categories of consultants, who work in public hospitals, have different restrictions on where they may practise privately.
Academic consultants working in public hospitals may also work for a university or the Royal College of Surgeons.
A number of consultants are involved in other work to supplement their income, including providing medical reports for legal cases, for which they are paid about £400 a day. A number of consultants work full-time in private practice with no commitment to the public sector.