The HSE and Caredoc have agreed to re-enter talks aimed at preventing strike action that is due to be taken by employees at the GP out-of-hours service over the Christmas period.
Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and SIPTU members employed at Caredoc previously announced an escalation of planned strike action as part of a pay dispute.
The workers have threatened to withdraw their labour on Thursday.
There are also plans for 24-hour strikes on 23 December and 27 December, a 48-hour strike from 29 December and a 24-hour strike on 2 January.
Caredoc provides GP out-of-hours services in the southeast of the country, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and south Tipperary.
However, it also provides these services in south Wicklow, as well as in the northwest of the country, in Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and west Cavan.
Its community intervention teams provide care in the home services in the southeast of the country and in Co Wicklow.
The strike action is expected to have a significant impact on these services, with an estimated loss of up to 10,000 hours of clinical consultations.
There are 150 INMO members and 120 SIPTU members at Caredoc, including triage nurses, drivers for doctors and receptionists.
The unions say they are seeking the implementation of a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission pay agreement for Section 39 organisations, specifically an 8% increase due to members working in Caredoc.
Section 39 organisations are privately-owned charities and agencies that are contracted by the State to provide healthcare services.
The unions have said money paid by the HSE to Caredoc to fund a pay increase for staff has not been applied to members' salaries.
In a letter to TDs and senators, seen by RTÉ News, Caredoc said it had been forced to initiate legal action against the HSE to honour contractual obligations and to have all pay lost by staff over the past four years repaid to them.
The letter described how a payment from the HSE of €640,000 was returned as it did not address the back payments that amount to in excess of €3.9m.
According to the letter, the planned strike action over Christmas would have a "devastating impact" for patient care and the hospital system.
"We are doing all in our power to prevent this industrial action from proceeding," the letter stated.
In a statement issued this afternoon, Caredoc said it wanted to reiterate its support for its workforce as well as its commitment to patients.
The service said it is doing "all in its power" to prevent the industrial action from going ahead on Thursday.
It also said it would be engaging with the public in the coming days on the alternative arrangements available to them during the strike period.
A spokesperson for Caredoc said: "We will willingly re-enter mediation discussions with the HSE, which have now been arranged to take place in Dublin tomorrow morning.
"Notwithstanding this development, we still anticipate the strike action will halt the operation of the Caredoc out-of-hours GP services and community intervention activity in the southeast, south Wicklow and the northwest, on Thursday and the subsequent strike dates as selected by the unions.
"As there will be no emergency cover provided on these days, we will be unable to take calls, provide nurse triage, or offer any support for GPs on duty such as receptionists, drivers or clinical nurses.
"This will have a profoundly negative impact on patient waiting times and patient care and increase pressure on hospital emergency departments and the national ambulance services at the busiest time of the year and as flu season peaks over Christmas.
"We will be engaging with the public in the coming days on the alternative arrangements available to them during the strike period, and we apologise sincerely in advance to both patients and their families in the southeast and northwest for the disruption and inconvenience caused by such strike action," the spokesperson concluded.
Ger McNally of SIPTU has said he welcomes the engagement between Caredoc and the HSE.
"I urge both parties to find a mechanism to fund the agreed 8% that is due to our members to prevent the industrial action," he said.
HSE concerned over potential disruption caused by strike action
The HSE also set out its position on the matter in a statement this afternoon.
It said it was "concerned" that if the industrial action goes ahead as planned, it will involve the "disruption and curtailment" of GP out-of-hours services.
A spokesperson for HSE Dublin and South East said: "The issue of pay levels for Section 39 organisations has been the subject of various negotiations since 2018.
"This has centred around voluntary, not for profit organisations in the health area including disabilities and older people services, children services and homeless agencies.
"The core issue has centred around pay and whether these Section 39 organisations would have an automatic link to public sector pay agreements which to date cover HSE and Section 38 organisations."
The statement continues: "Of the 17 GP Co-Ops, Caredoc, Southdoc and Shannondoc had sought through the trade union negotiation process to be included in this agreement.
"The State did not accept these proposals as the GP Co-Ops are not Section 39s but rather are a function of the GP Contract resources under Section 58 of the Health Act.
"At the conclusion of the negotiations at the WRC, it was accepted by the trade unions that GP out-of-hours co-operatives, including Caredoc (Southeast), were not in scope of this agreement."
The spokesperson added: "The HSE will continue to work to find a resolution of the two separate but related issues.
"The HSE notes the outcome of the recent ballot for industrial action at Caredoc (Southeast) and is concerned if the industrial action goes ahead, it will involve disruption and curtailment of GP Out of Hours services.
"Caredoc will of course be engaging with trade unions and GP's in the area to ensure that appropriate emergency and urgent care contingency arrangements are in place.
"The HSE and Caredoc have today agreed to recommence the mediation process which is scheduled to take place tomorrow," the spokesperson concluded.
