The nurses strike again this morning. Therefore, health services across the country will experience major disruption today.
37,000 nurses and midwives are staging a second day of strike action. It's in a row over pay and staff shortages.
They're calling on the HSE to sort out what they call a recruitment and retention crisis in nursing.
The government says wage hikes for nurses would open the floodgates for others to seek pay claims. It says it wont be doing a special deal.
A government offer of talks has been roundly rejected by their union. The INMO say the discussions wouldn't have addressed their pay claims.
As a result, up to 50,000 people will be affected by the action today.
All outpatient appointments, surgeries and routine community nursing activities are cancelled.
Local injury units, and nurse-led day centres for older people and those with disabilities are closed. Hence, the advice is to stay away from emergency departments.
Similarly, the HSE's mental health services face disruption too. The Psychiatric Nurses Association are extending an overtime ban tomorrow and Thursday because of pay and working conditions.
So, with unions and government entrenched in their views, it seems a breakthrough is a long way off.
