Irish hospital consultants remain among the best paid in the world despite pay cuts in recent years, according to OECD figures.

Irish health professionals generally are well paid by international standards, even when earnings are adjusted for local purchasing power, OECD Health Statistics 2015 shows.

Patients here spend an average of 120 to 165 days on waiting lists for common medical procedures, while Ireland has a relatively low number of hospital beds, according to the report.

The figures on pay appear to fly in the face of conditions in the health service, where hundreds of consultant posts are unfilled and medical emigration is rising.

According to the OECD, Irish specialists earned €164,494 on average in 2014, not including private income, down from €173,646 the previous year. This is the highest figure for any country apart from Australia and Luxembourg.

GPs earned an average of €115,940 in 2013, down from €118,677 the year before. This compares with €101,000 in Australia and €131,000 in New Zealand, two favoured emigration destinations for Irish doctors.

Inconsistencies

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association says the OECD data has many inconsistencies and distortions. It says salary figures for some countries are gross, while others are net. Supplements paid to consultants in the UK are not included, while no data is provided for popular destinations for Irish doctors such as Canada.

Ireland spent 8.1 per cent of gross domestic product on health, less than most of our neighbours, according to the report. This figure dates from 2012 and was updated for this year’s report.

Health spending in Ireland grew by 5.4 per cent a year in the period 2005-2009, one of the highest growth rates in Europe. With the economic downturn, it contracted by 4 per cent per year between 2009 and 2013.

The number of hospital beds has fallen consistently since 1995. Then, there were more than 25,000 beds but by 2013 the number had dropped to under 12,700. At 2.76 beds per 1,000 population, Ireland has fewer beds than any other European country.