The European Commission is referring Ireland to the EU Court of Justice because of the Government's failure to comply with EU law on working time limits, particularly in relation to junior doctors.

Under the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), junior doctors should not work more than 48 hours per week on average.

Recently, the IMO organised a one-day strike of junior doctors in protest at excessive working hours, protesting that that many doctors worked well over 70 hours per week and were on shifts in excess of 24 hours at a time.

Recently-agreed settlement terms between the IMO and HSE have pledged to reduce continuous shifts to a maximum of 24 hours at a time and to reduce the working week to 48 hours by late next year.

However, the EU now says progress on reducing junior doctors' hours has been insufficient.

The Commission said today Ireland was failing to ensure that in practice these doctors work no more than 48 hours per week on average, including any overtime.

"There are still numerous cases where junior doctors are regularly required to work continuous 36-hour shifts, to work over 100 hours in a single week and 70-75 hours per week on average, and to continue working without adequate breaks for rest or sleep," it said.

The Commission added that it considered this situation 'a serious infringement of the EU's Working Time Directive'.

It said the excessive hours were "endangering not only doctors' health and safety but also their patients, as over-tired doctors risk making mistakes.  The Commission became aware of the infringement following national reports highlighting the lack of compliance, and after receiving a complaint from an Irish doctors' organisation (the IMO)".

The Commission pointed out that it had already requested Ireland on several occasions to take the necessary measures to ensure that the practice of public authorities complies with the Directive.

"While the Irish authorities have replied to those requests, the concrete progress made in practice is simply insufficient, given the excessive number of hours doctors are still required to work in Ireland."

The 48-hour working week limit for doctors was supposed to have been introduced in Ireland in 2009.

The IMO has welcomed the Commission's move.

Steve Tweed, Industrial Relations Director withj the IMO, said: "While a roadmap was recently agreed with the HSE on the ending of the archaic practice of overworking NCHD 'we retain a degree of scepticism about the willingness of the HSE to enforce every aspect of that agreement. Therefore, this EU move will help keep the pressure on the authorities to meet their obligations."