Further one-hour work stoppages by nurses at a number of hospitals are to go ahead tomorrow after hopes of early talks to try and bring to an end ongoing industrial action by about 40,000 nurses have failed to materialise.
The National Implementation Body (NIB) - the main trouble-shooting mechanism under the social partnership process - met at Government Buildings yesterday to see if there was any basis for it to intervene in the dispute, which enters its 11th day today.
While it is understood it was of the view that the unions representing the nurses - the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) - and health service employers are still poles apart, it is expected to stay in contact with both sides and meet again today or tomorrow to see if there would be any point in bringing the parties together for talks to try and resolve the dispute.
The nurses are seeking a 10.6 per cent pay rise and a 35-hour working week.
In an escalation of their industrial action, nurses yesterday stopped work for an hour from 11am at three hospitals - St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, South Tipperary General Hospital, Clonmel, and St Luke's Psychiatric Hospital, also in Clonmel. Some operations were cancelled at South Tipperary General Hospital.
Tomorrow the nurses will stop work for an hour from 11am at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, at Roscommon County Hospital and Roscommon mental health services, and at St Ita's Psychiatric Hospital in Portrane, Dublin, incorporating St Joseph's Intellectual Disability Service.
Meanwhile the work-to-rule by all INO and PNA nurses at all hospitals continues. Under this, nurses are not dealing with non-essential telephone calls or carrying out clerical or IT duties.
Gerry O'Dwyer of the HSE's national hospital's office said last evening a number of A&E units at hospitals around the State were very busy as a result. Furthermore, he said, non-urgent gynaecological procedures had to be cancelled at Dublin's three maternity hospitals.
In addition non-urgent inpatient elective surgery has been cancelled at Waterford Regional Hospital.
Liam Doran, the INO's general secretary, said a promise of meaningful talks would be required if the unions were to return to negotiations.
On what he meant by this, he said: "A date for a 35-hour week and a method to progress this pay anomaly, on an interim basis if necessary, in order to resolve what we think is an insult to every nurse in this country."
Both the pay and working hours claims would have to be moved at any talks which might be reconvened by the NIB, he insisted.
Séamus Murphy of the PNA said: "There isn't any doubt but that we're tightening the screw on this dispute slowly, this is a slow burner . . . we will continue to turn that screw tighter over the weeks to come".
Minister for Health Mary Harney said the action was neither justified nor warranted.
Asked if the NIB was the only hope of finding a resolution she said: "Well, the only way to resolve problems is to talk but people have to come in with an open mind and not a predetermined outcome."
The HSE, in a statement, urged the unions to engage in talks, but it said benchmarking remained the only way to addresses the nurses' pay demand.
Meanwhile nurses will stage a protest in Portlaoise tonight at the launch of the Fianna Fáil candidates for the forthcoming general election.
Analysis by Marc Coleman: page 14; Editorial comment: page 15