Friday 26th September: The Consultant and NCHD Committees of the IMO have decided to put the LRC proposals on new entrant consultant pay and career structures to a ballot of members. The IMO had sought assurances that the new proposals will not affect established consultants and were only applicable to new entrant consultants employed on the reduced salary from 1 October 2012. These assurances have now been provided by the HSE and incorporated into the LRC proposals so on that basis the ballot will proceed.

This current crisis in retaining and recruiting Irish trained doctors has been a direct result of the 30% pay cut which was unilaterally imposed on new entrant consultants in 2012 and while acknowledging that the proposals are an improvement on existing terms, the IMO call on the Department of Health and the HSE to commit to ongoing reform to ensure that the Irish health system becomes an employer of choice for Irish doctors and an environment where they can practice safely and effectively.
The proposals will issue with no recommendation from the IMO.