The Minister for Health has apologised for a remark concerning Waterford's reputation for industrial disputes, which caused an angry reaction in the city yesterday.
Mr Cowen said in the Dail on Thursday, during heated exchanges concerning the strike at Waterford Regional Hospital, that Waterford was "known for its ability to come up with strike action".
He immediately retracted the remark and later apologised, but union leaders and a succession of callers to the WLR radio station in Waterford claimed he had damaged the city's ability to attract new industry.
Mr Cowen was also accused by the Labour TD, Mr Brian O'Shea, of not knowing what the strike in Waterford was about. During the exchange on Thursday the Minister appeared to confuse the dispute by non-medical staff with next week's planned national nurses' strike.
Mr O'Shea said yesterday that when the Minister was "caught out" not knowing what was happening in Waterford, the best he could do was insult its people. However, a spokeswoman for Mr Cowen said there was no question but that he was aware of the issues in the Waterford dispute.
Talks aimed at resolving the dispute, between the South Eastern Health Board and the TEEU, opened yesterday. Simultaneously, however, members of a second union, the ATGWU, threatened to escalate it.
The ATGWU claimed yesterday that the health board, by "terminating" the contract of the external cleaning company employed at the hospital, had effectively sacked 120 of its members. It said the move was an escalation of the dispute and threatened to respond in kind.
The board denied terminating the contract, however.
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