Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) are staging lunchtime protests at hospitals across the country today as tensions continue to rise over the lack of agreement on a new public sector pay deal.
The protests are taking place between 12.30pm and 1.30pm and come ahead of planned public sector strikes on 14 October and 21 October.
The INMO said its members are protesting over the ongoing cost-of-living pressures and the impact those pressures are having on staffing and working conditions.
Public sector workers have been engaged in a work-to-rule since last week as unions continue to press the Government for a new pay agreement following the expiry of the previous deal at the end of June.
The Government announced on Tuesday that €1.2 billion has been set aside in the Budget to fund a new public sector pay agreement.
Speaking during his Budget address, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the significant allocation demonstrated the Government's commitment to reaching an agreement.
He also called on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and other public sector associations to respond by returning to negotiations and suspending the industrial action.
However, unions have rejected the funding as insufficient to settle the dispute.
The Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the Government had demonstrated its ability to provide additional funding in other areas of the Budget but had failed to allocate enough to resolve a pay dispute that is continuing to escalate.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha has also criticised comments from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who said he believed public servants wanted to take industrial action regardless of what was contained in the Budget.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha described those remarks as inflammatory and said workers had made their position clear through large votes in favour of industrial action.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, she said public servants were demonstrating that they did not believe enough had been done in the Budget to address their concerns over pay and the cost of living.
She said suggestions that workers were taking strike action "for the fun of it" were unhelpful and risked making it more difficult to reach a resolution.
The INMO has warned that the industrial action will also affect some outpatient and day services.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha said some services would have to close or be postponed, with the HSE expected to provide advance notice to patients and ensure GPs are informed of any disruption.
The lunchtime protests today are the latest escalation in the dispute, with further industrial action scheduled later this month if an agreement is not reached.
