Nurses and midwives will mount the largest strike in the history of the health service this morning.
37,000 INMO members will take to the picket lines outside hospitals and HSE facilities from 8 am – demanding pay increases and government action on staff shortages.
The government says wage hikes for nurses would open the floodgates for other unions to seek pay claims, which the State cannot afford.
25,000 medical appointments have been cancelled and the HSE is appealing to people not to attend emergency departments unless absolutely necessary.
Dr. Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer with the HSE, says delays in accessing services today will be inevitable:
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