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THE HEALTH SERVICE Executive (HSE) could face a bill as high as €700 million, after they withdrew a High Court appeal on compensation for consultants.
RTÉ reports that consultants had claimed that they were due for pay rises, based on new contracts introduced in 2008, in exchange for giving up private practice.
The case was brought to the Employment Appeals Tribunal by consultants Dr Thomas Hogan and Dr John McDermott, where they succeeded in their case in January 2015.
As the terms of this 2008 contract apply to many more consultants, the cost to the HSE has been estimated to be as high as €700 million, although the actual figure it will be required to pay is believed to be far lower.
While it is understood that the first payment of this pay rise was applied, the second was not due to the austerity measures imposed as the government at the time tried to deal with the economic crisis.
The HSE had appealed the Employment Appeals Tribunal decision to the High Court, but has now withdrawn this appeal on the eve of the hearing.
Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane said the decision for the HSE to withdraw its appeal had “immediate and far reaching consequences”.
He added: “The state is now potentially facing a much higher pay bill for hospital consultants and it could be as high as €700m. Immediate and serious questions must now be answered.
Where will this money come from? Will it be taken from the health budget and if so what services will suffer?
He added that it was essential that the government urgently set aside time to debate the issue in the Dáil.
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How do you tell the ethnicity of a puppet? Why did it take a year? So many questions
@Disco Inferno: it’s name I suppose, also just look at the furore about Big bird from Ted cruz
What ethnicity are Ernie and Bert?
@Edmund Spencer: more importantly who calls Bert and Ernie, Ernie and Bert. Also ethnicity is pretty obvious when they combine to form Bernie Sanders
@Darren Byrne: they’ve always been Ernie and Bert to me, this is the hill I am prepared to die on.
@mayo chicken: It will happen quickly, we’ll just bury you under all the officially licensed packaging that says “Bert & Ernie”.
@Darren Byrne: write it on my tombstone!
The best thing about this is that for the average person, it won’t bother them – but for the real right-wingers, they’ll be screaming bloody murder over it and it will be hilarious.
@Seán Ó Briain: Exactly.
Is she from north or south Korea I wonder?
@Ronan Walsh: she’s from America
Brilliant news. Great to see such an influential TV show giving these issues so much thought, giving kids the chance to learn what previous generations have not been exposed to often enough.
@Freudian Quip: what nonsense. Sesame Street has been a paragon of equality and diversity for over half a century.
Oh to be ji-young again .,
I hope Naomi will be actually able to take part in the show.
have your say