Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore has called for a suspension of the strike at the passport office, saying unions representing public sector workers should now look at how industrial action is impacting upon the general public.
Speaking this morning, Mr Gilmore said the action was causing great inconvenience to the public.
He told RTÉ the action runs the risk of "eroding public support" for workers who have engaged in low-level industrial action over the introduction of pay cuts across the public sector.
"What should happen now is that the industrial action at the passport office should be suspended. I do understand and indeed sympathise with the employees of that office whose pay has been cut, particularly low-paid employees whose pay was cut twice in the last year by a Government who didn't even get their agreement to it," Mr Gilmore said.
"But, I think what is happening now is impacting more severely on the general public than it is on the Government."
"The action in the passport office hasn't interfered in any way with the travel plans of all the ministers who travelled abroad during St Patrick's Day but it is impacting on the travel plans of people who need to travel tomorrow, the weekend and over the Easter period," he said.
"I am calling for a suspension of the industrial action, particularly at the passport office".
"I think the unions should have a look at the way in which the industrial action across the public sector is impacting on the general public .. and on the goodwill and public support that had existed for the plight of the workers".
He said he was afraid this support was "in danger of being lost and being eroded as a result of the inconvenience that's being caused to the public".
"This action is not putting pressure on the Government. This action is causing huge inconvenience for people who need to travel," he told Morning Ireland.
"I think the big priority now is that those people who are there who need to travel that need to get their passports that they are facilitated. I think people have a right to get a passport. It is something that we have a constitutional right to and I don't think that people should be prevented from getting it and having their travel plans disrupted", Mr Gilmore said.
"I think the best thing the trade union could do is to suspend that action, restore the goodwill and enable people to travel as they had planned", the Labour Party leader said.
Calling for "meaningful talks" between the unions and the Government, Mr Gilmore said:
"At the end of the day what is at the root of this is the unilateral pay cut that was imposed by the Government and I think the Taoiseach himself needs to involve himself directly in those talks rather than have them going on at arms length."