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Minister stresses importance of consultant contract at INMO meeting

By Paul Mulholland - 18th May 2026

iStock.com/Tippapatt

The significance of the public-only consultant contract (POCC) in achieving wider efficiencies in the health service was emphasised by the Minister for Health at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) Annual Delegate Conference earlier this month.

During her speech to the conference, which took place in Dundalk, Co Louth, Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill revealed she has discussed the implementation of the POCC with the INMO.

When asked by the Medical Independent (MI) about the nature of these discussions, the Minister said the dialogue was part of getting feedback from nurses on reform processes taking place across hospitals.

While Minister Carroll MacNeill said she did not wish to “overstate” the issue of discussions with the INMO about the contract, she acknowledged it was “obviously a topic of interest at the moment”.

“I want their perspective on how are our hospitals running, what is happening in the community, [and with] the public-only consultant contract,” the Minister told MI.

“It’s just a broad conversation of how healthcare in Ireland is going.”

Speaking to media, Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “The real project for the HSE is the implementation of this public-only consultant contract, not just because of what it does in itself, but what else it enables in terms of efficiency in our healthcare system.”

In relation to the HSE’s €250 million deficit for the first three months of 2026, she said high patient demand had contributed to the overspend.

“But it’s not just that,” the Minister added. “Really the most important thing for the HSE and the health system generally is the implementation of the reforms that we have: The implementation of the public-only consultant contract; seeing people in outpatients; making sure that the time nursing staff start is aligned to the time that theatres start.

“These are logical reforms that have to happen, hospital-by-hospital, right across the country, so that we’re not running up additional overtime and allowances costs that we should not be incurring.”