Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The INMO has given notice of strike action to take place in Beaumont Hospital, the Mercy Hospital in Cork, Tallaght hospital in Dublin, Cavan General Hospital, University Hospital Waterford, the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore and Galway University Hospital on Tuesday, 15 December. I hope this can be avoided. It should be possible for health service management and the INMO to reach agreement on the key issues. Industrial action will not solve any problems. We have shared objectives: the delivery of patient care and the health and well-being of nursing staff working in the emergency departments.

Negotiations took place on Thursday at the Workplace Relations Commission and they are continuing until tomorrow. All parties are committed to intensive engagement in these negotiations so that a solution can be reached. If it is not reached by the close of business tomorrow, management will seek further talks on Thursday so that a comprehensive contingency plan can be put in place.

There are plans in place to deal with emergency department overcrowding. The numbers on trolleys are now down by 20% on the same period last year for each morning and the focus has to continue to be on working hard together to implement that plan. The Government recognises that bed capacity has to be increased. We have put in place related measures to make that happen, including an additional 450 beds, 129 of which were closed before and an additional 326. To date, 200 have been opened, with the rest to open over the next few weeks. I hope people can sit down and talk rationally about this in the interests of both the quality of facility the nurses have but particularly for the patients in their care. They do a very good job.

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