Three consultants earning €500,000 amid ‘low morale of pay inequality’

THREE hospital consultants earned an average of almost €500,000 each last year, new figures reveal.

They are among a total of 13 hospital consultants who had an annual income of €300,000 or more, according to data provided by the HSE.

The high earnings included basic salary as well as top-ups such as allowances for being on call, working overtime and payments for holidays they could not take.

The figures relate to their public salaries and do not include any additional fees they may get from private practice.

The majority of consultants have some private practice they undertake, while others have contracts that confine them to treating only public patients, in return for a higher salary.

The vast bulk of consultants – a total of 1,310 – fall into the €100,000 to €200,000 earnings bracket.

There were 2,174 consultants in the public payroll as of last year, with 430 earning under €90,000 due to working part time.

Commenting on the three top-earning consultants,

Dr Peadar Gilligan, who is president of the Irish Medical Organisation, said they were likely to be on very onerous rosters.

This could entail being on call every weekend or every second weekend, which meant they would be within 30 minutes of the hospital at all times, he pointed out.

Certain consultants are more likely to be called out and this happens more frequently if they are in a hospital with few doctors in their medical specialty.

Consultants who can be in demand include obstetricians, anaesthetists, interventional radiologists, surgeons and intensive care doctors.

“The rate of call-out fee depends on the frequency of calls you are receiving and the times you have to go into hospital,” he said.

Doctors would also have topped up their salary in payments for rest days they are unable to take.

Dr Gilligan said the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) was trying to cut down on the number of doctors who must work onerous rosters, but there continued to be a problem recruiting consultants with around 500 posts unfilled.

The union has strongly linked this to the gap in pay of 30pc that still exists between new recruits and longer-term doctors.

The cut was imposed during the recession.

Recruitment

“The challenge is in recruiting consultants to posts so that we can reduce the numbers working these rosters,” he added.

One in six consultant posts that was advertised last year went unfilled.

Consultants recruited after 2012 are paid 30pc less than colleagues taken on before that date, despite carrying out the same work with the same responsibilities.

“Morale among consultants is very low and the key factor is the persistence of this grossly inequitable pay structure,” Dr Gilligan said.

“It is simply unsustainable to have pay discrimination within the consultancy profession where the key influence on the amount you earn is the date your employment commenced.”

‘The rate of call out fee depends on the frequency of calls you are receiving’