Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Would the Government not be better off to engage in meaningful negotiations with the nurses, including about pay, give a commitment to pay parity and fundamentally to pay the nurses now rather than to have another day of strike action on Thursday, a major protest in support of the nurses on Saturday, three days of strike action next week and two days of strike action the following week? Is the Government not making a very serious mistake in trying to hold the hard line that it will not be able to hold because of the weight of public support behind the nurses?