Charlie McCreevy, Urged nurses to reconsider strike action
The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, has said the Exchequer surplus cannot be used to finance the nurses' pay claims. Speaking to reporters at a conference of European finance ministers in Brussels, Mr McCreevy said the Government had a responsibility to put the national interest first. He that said it was not too late for the nurses to call off their strike.The head of the Irish Nurses Organisation, Liam Doran has said that confrontation looks inevitable following Charlie McCreevy's comments.
The Taoiseach has said he fully supports Mr McCreevy's comments about the nurses. Speaking in Limerick, Mr Ahern also said he did not see himself intervening to try to prevent the strike. The Taoiseach said he is very concerned about patient care during the strike and he said it is essential that the proposals put down by the health care services employer group are implemented.
The Department of Health has said that it is concerned at the lack of agreement over emergency cover as the nurses' ballot on strike action enters its final stages. A result is expected on Monday. The Department has taken out advertisements in this morning's national newspapers outlining what it describes as the absence of a contingency plan for emergency cover. Speaking at the closing dinner of the SIPTU Biennial Conference in Killarney last night, the Labour Party leader, Ruairí Quinn, warned that a seriously under-funded healthcare system was contributing to the anger of the country's 27,000 nurses.
It is just over a fortnight since nurses voted by more than 9-1 to reject the £60 million pay offer from the Labour Court that led to a strike ballot which is now almost complete. The final votes will be cast over the weekend and the result on Monday is expected to put a strike in just over a week virtually beyond doubt. A personal appeal on Tuesday from SIPTU President, Jimmy Sommers to the Taoiseach not to allow the pickets to go ahead has so far gone unanswered.
Last night Ruarí Quinn said that a key component of Labour's ten pillar priority list for the next century would be the establishment of an efficient and modern health service with universal access for all citizens. Mr Quinn said that a new National Agreement should aspire towards a country where poverty would be a thing of the past, with access to good employment, a decent income and adequete healthcare, housing and education.
