The Government has welcomed the Nursing Alliance's decision to suspend its strike and says it hopes that nurses will vote to accept the Labour Court proposals.
In a statement last night the Government said it was "happy to note that the terms of the recommendation represent a solution within social partnership parameters". It said it hoped nurses would "respond positively to the recommendation of the Nursing Alliance for acceptance so that we can put this dispute behind us as quickly as possible".
It said the major objective now was to get the health services back to providing full patient care.
Fine Gael's health spokesman, Mr Alan Shatter, said he hoped nurses would accept the deal but he blamed the "intransigent" Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, for causing the strike in which patients had "needlessly suffered".
"Mr Cowen's lack of insight together with his calculated belligerence towards the nurses were the key factors that led to nine days of utter devastation and chaos in the health services," he said.
Meanwhile the Association of Irish Nurse Managers, which represents matron and director of nursing grades, said: "The lessons that have been learned over the last 10 days have been very expensive in terms of people suffering and for everybody involved in healthcare".
Its president, Ms Mary Courtney, matron of Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinsloe, said a strike was a very crude instrument, which must never be used again in nursing. The industrial relations machinery needed to be explored more effectively in the future.
She added that nurses had been very generous in providing free emergency staffing, and the other healthcare staff had kept the services going for patients in very difficult circumstances. However, she said the "damage to the trust and confidence that people need in colleagues" would need time to be established again.
The decision to defer picketing was welcomed by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which said it was greeted with relief by their members, who had been put to the pin of their collars over the last nine days keeping the system going, while general practitioners saw their work loads increase by 40 per cent.
Although the pickets have been lifted, it could take between seven and 10 days for hospitals to get back to full capacity, as it will take that long to reschedule day appointments and elective surgery procedures. The accident and emergency (A & E) departments expect a large number of patients in the next two to three days, according to the chairman of the IMO's hospital doctors' committee, Dr Mick Molloy.
The Irish Patients' Association said the Government should set up a national disaster committee to tackle the backlog created by the dispute.
The use of operating theatres should be maximised, and the possibility of extending out-patient clinics into the evening and of cross-Border respite care should be examined, it said. Where needed, additional temporary staff should be recruited to deal with the work load.
The five major Dublin acute hospitals have warned the public that it may be some days before full services are restored. While most A & E departments are expected to provide a full service by Friday, it may be Monday before out-patient services and elective admissions resume.
In a joint statement last night the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Beaumont, the Mater, St James's and St Vincent's hospitals welcomed the suspension of the strike and said arrangements were under way to restore services to normal levels. Notices would be placed in the newspapers advising the public when this will occur.
The North Western Health Board encouraged people with out-patient appointments for today or tomorrow to keep them. People with out-patient appointments next week should also attend as normal.