The Irish Medical Organisation has called off its planned withdrawal of GP members from certain services following a High Court hearing today.

The Competition Authority had sought an injunction to prevent the IMO from going ahead with this withdrawal, which was in protest against recent cuts in GP fees. The IMO last week refused a request from the Authority that it rescind its action.

The Authority claimed the IMO action breached competition and EU law.

It was agreed in court today that pending a full hearing of the case, the IMO would suspend its planned withdrawal of GPs from primary care teams, clinical care programmes and community intervention teams.

The IMO also agreed to remove notice of the action from its website and to inform its members of this undertaking within two days.

Following today's court hearing, the IMO said the undertaking it gave was made to ensure that a full hearing on the issue took place as soon as possible, The hearing is expected to take place late this year or early next year.

In a statement, the IMO said today's undertaking cleared the path to a full review of the legal situation relating to its right as a union to represent GP members in discussions with Government on their work for State schemes.

The IMO said a commitment had been made by the previous Government in 2008 to amend the Competition Act to allow the IMO the right to negotiate on behalf of GPs, who are independent contractors.

The Competition Authority had claimed that withdrawing services, regardless of claims that they may be free or pro bono, is viewed as an attempt to directly or indirectly fix the fees that are paid to GPs by the Government under the GMS contract, and such a withdrawal was therefore in breach of the law.

The IMO has disputed this interpretation of the Act, and claims that GPs have the same right to be represented by a union as enjoyed by other workers.

The IMO had said it was planning to withdraw GPs from schemes that were not part of their agreed State contracts.

Today's undertaking by the IMO refers to a collective action by GPs, and does not preclude individual doctors from withdrawing from the schemes in question if they wish.

The IMO said the Government had ambitious plans for the health service and GPs were central to the success of those plans. "It beggars belief that the Government should be allowed, or even want to, force individual GPs to cooperate with those plans without the right to full representation."

The fact that the issue of GP representation by a trade union is unlikely to be decided on in the High Court until the end of this year at least may delay Minister Reilly's plan to introduce free GP care and initiatives aimed at moving more care from hospitals to the community.

The IO pointed out today that Minister Reilly, while a senior figure in the IMO some years go, had negotiated with the Government on behalf of GPs in the manner that the IMO was now wishing to defend.

GPs in revolt over fee cuts