The Health Minister says patients are the real losers - after doctors rejected a new proposal to end a pay dispute.

Hospital consultants overwhelmingly rejected a new proposal to end a pay dispute.

The IMO says the plan - to reduce pay of new entrants by 30 per cent - would create a two-tier system for doctors working side-by-side.

The consultants are demanding equal pay for equal work - warning that the HSE proposal will result in a manpower crisis.

Minister Leo Varadkar says the IMO's decision is very disappointing, and that the proposed salary scale ranging from €127,000 to €175,000 is very good.