The Department of Health and the HSE have agreed to create 84 consultant grade posts in public health, following a dispute that has lasted 20 years.

According to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), its public health specialist members have voted to accept a “landmark” agreement with the department and the HSE, which will lead to the creation of consultant posts in public health for the first time.

Last month, the IMO announced that it had reached agreement with the department and HSE on the issue, and was putting the matter to a ballot of its public health specialist members with a recommendation that it be accepted.

Almost 90% of returned ballots were in favour of accepting the agreement.

Under the agreement, 84 consultant grade posts in public health will be created, with 34 of these posts filled over the coming 12 months. A further 30 will be filled between June 2022 and June 2023. The final 20 posts will be filled in the second half of 2023.

This long-running dispute centred on the refusal of successive governments to extend the grade of consultant to suitably qualified public health specialists - a move that was recommended by successive independent reports on the issue.

This is normal practice in other countries – Ireland is unique in not having consultant status for doctors who have undergone higher specialist training in public health medicine.

According to Dr Anne Dee, chairperson of the IMO’s public health committee, this agreement is “the culmination of a 20-year campaign to put Irish public health medicine on a par with the rest of the medical profession”.

“We believe that it is a landmark agreement for the future of public health in Ireland. All existing specialists in public health medicine will have the opportunity to apply for new posts and this agreement will support our efforts to recruit the next generation of public health doctors,” she said.