The Tánaiste, Mary Harney, has again rejected demands by nurses for pay rises and a reduction in working hours.
She was speaking after 350 delegates at the Irish Nurses Organisation's annual conference in Cavan unanimously passed an emergency motion seeking the claims.
Ms Harney rejected the plans, saying they would cost €1.5 billion to implement. The Tánaiste has said that benchmarking is the proper way to deal with the nurses' demands.
The minister has been criticised for not addressing the conference and tomorrow nurses will discuss a vote of no confidence in her.
The delegates also decided to stage a national pay rally in Croke Park on June 14 next, six days ahead of their talks at the Labour Court.
INO General Secretary Liam Doran said they were committed to pursuing their claim through all procedures and he warned the Government not to test their industrial relations.
The nurses argue that there is no justification for them being the second lowest paid group among the frontline healthcare staff.
Nor, they say, is there any reason why they work longer hours than their colleagues in the civil service.
