Hospital consultants are to be offered a salary of €250,000 a year to commit to a new public-only work contract, under a new proposal from the Government. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil that the salary range will be €180,000-€222,000, rising to €250,000 a year from next year. The contract will be offered to new consultants and existing consultants who agreed to only do public work. The Government is also promising to appoint a net 1,000 extra consultants over the next ten years. The new Slaintecare contract is part of the plan to remove private practice from public hospitals over the next decade.
The Minister for Children has announced a once-off support payment for childcare providers. In a statement, Katherine Zappone said the move is in recognition of the additional administration costs the services have faced this year. The additional payment will be, on average, €1,500 per provider The move comes following massive hikes in insurnace renewal fees with some crèches and playschools are being quoted more than double or triple their current insurance policies.
Meanwhile, SIPTU has warned that a dramatic increase in insurance costs is threatening the viability of services and jobs in the childcare sector and called for government action to ensure coverage can be maintained at affordable rates into 2020.
Miriam Lord comments on the lack of festive cheer in the Dáil in this piece . The Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader clashed during session yesterday over a number of issues.
The Defence Forces has finally filled the role for a psychiatrist after the post was vacant for nearly two years. Concerns were raised last year over the lack of mental health services available to members of the Defence Forces due to a vacant position for a psychiatrist not being filled after no one actually applied for the job. The group that represents Defence Forces personnel, PDFORRA, told TheJournal.ie that members who presented with issues were being referred to hospital emergency departments instead.
Thousands of nurses in Northern Ireland have warned “enough is enough” as they went on strike for the first time yesterday. Crowds of demonstrating healthcare workers protested outside hospitals across Northern Ireland in an unprecedented show of anger at pay levels they say are lagging behind counterparts in England and Wales.
Fine Gael has agreed to drop Wexford candidate Verona Murphy for the general election with fears she could damage the party if allowed run. The party’s executive council met and agreed to deselect the Irish Road Haulage president as a candidate following controversial remarks she made in the recent Wexford by-election.
And finally, Women's Aid is appealing to people to speak up if they notice someone is in trouble. The call for action comes following the death of Nadine Lott yesterday. Women's Aid says that six women have died this year through violence.
VOTE FOR ZEN: ZMOTY 2019
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