IT would cost nearly £150 million to meet the demands of the Irish Nurses' Organisation, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, claimed last night. He was responding to the outcome of an INO ballot, which has sanctioned a strike by the organisation's 16,000 members at more than 140 hospitals throughout the Republic from February 10th.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the Health Service Employers Agency, Mr Gerard Barry, said he would seek an early meeting with the INO to discuss a contingency plan to ensure essential nursing cover is provided for the duration of the strike". This is expected to take place early next week.
General secretary of the INO, Mr P.J. Madden, said emergency cover would be provided "as a measure of our ongoing concern for our patients. Nurses will provide a full emergency service in the hospitals and essential services in the community, for which they will not be paid". The service would be equivalent to that provided at weekends and bank holidays.
"Accident and emergency departments, and intensive care units will be fully staffed. However, all out-patient and elective surgery will cease from February 10th next."
Mr Noonan seems to be considering payment for emergency cover as an option. Asked on RTE radio if he expected nurses to provide cover for nothing, Mr
Noonan said: "No, no, they wouldn't necessarily do it for nothing", but did not elaborate.
One advantage in paying nurses providing cover would be that management would have more control over the level of services provided.
The size of the INO majority lord strike action suggests any attempt to tinker with the existing package would be pointless. The vote for strike action was 10,670, with 332 against.
lNO general secretary, Mr P.J. Madden, said the result was a "measure of their frustration at the fact that they are not being properly valued for the contribution they make to our health service and our society in general".
He said three issues must be addressed. Firstly, the proposed lower entry points must be abolished. Secondly, staff nurses' pay must be improved, he said.
Thirdly, Mr Madden said the early retirement proposals in the last package must be greatly improved to reflect the unrivalled stresses and strains faced by nurses.
He challenged Mr Noonan to substantiate his claim that it would cost nearly £150 million to meet the INO's claim. The Minister seemed to have "plucked the figure out of the air".
The Fianna Pail spokeswoman on health, Ms Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, said the Minister and Cabinet were out of touch with the depth of anger among nurses. She called on the leaders of the three parties in Government to instruct him to reopen talks.
Mr Noonan made it clear that while he was deeply disappointed at the outcome of the INO ballot and was willing to "explore the options" to avoid a strike, he could see no way forward at present.