Significant disruption of public services expected

THE PUBLIC service strike tomorrow will significantly disrupt services across a range of areas including health, education, local authorities, the courts and public administration. Commercial State companies will not be affected.

In the civil service the majority of staff are expected to take part in the stoppage. In the main, contingency cover will only be provided in areas such as the Coastguard or in Met Éireann, where there could otherwise be a potential threat to life. The Department of Finance said that discussions were continuing on provision of a limited customs service at airports and ports.

Court sittings will be cancelled, except in emergency cases. In the country’s jails, prison officers will strike for one hour at different times across the country between 9am and 11am. In the Oireachtas, the Seanad will not sit and some operations of the Dáil will be curtailed. There will be no adjournment debates.

The Department of Finance has said no public offices or telephone line services such as those run by the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social and Family Affairs or the Passport Office would be operational.

In local authorities the majority of staff are expected to take part in the strike. Trade unions have withdrawn plans for thousands of their members to take part in five local authority areas which have been the worst hit by flooding.

Elsewhere in local authorities, minimum emergency/essential cover will be provided in fire and water services. No local authority offices will be open to the public.

The Department of Finance said virtually all schools and educational institutions will be, in effect, closed.

Over 16,000 people face having their hospital appointments or procedures deferred. All non-emergency hospital procedures will be cancelled today and tomorrow. Day case activity will continue as normal today, but procedures which require admission to hospital will not take place in the lead up to tomorrow’s strike. All out-patient clinics scheduled for tomorrow will be postponed.

Emergency departments and ambulance services will operate a limited service tomorrow. It is anticipated that there will be a “Christmas Day” level of cover in hospitals on the day. The HSE’s swine flu vaccination clinics will be closed on Tuesday.

The Department of Justice said on Friday that all services provided by gardaí will operate as normal.

Gardaí may not issue penalty point or fixed charge notices to motorists on Tuesday, as part of the industrial action.

Payment to some 55,000 social welfare customers who were due to collect their weekly payment on Wednesday, November 25th, will be delayed by one day.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs said yesterday that all its offices will be closed to the public tomorrow.