Minister for Health Mary Harney received a hostile reception today when she addressed delegates at the annual conference of the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) in Killarney.
Harney to address delegates today in Killarney
The INO is angry at the Health Service Executive's decision to impose a freeze on recruitment in a bid to address its €245 million budget deficit.
The union has also said it wants an investigation into whether HSE consulted staff before laying off four consultants and 30 agency nurses in Sligo as part of the cost cutting measure. Nurses claim the measures would result in bed closures, curtailment of services and ultimately patients would suffer.
The conference passed an emergency motion yesterday condemning cutbacks and the recruitment ban - which it said was introduced without consultation.
Speaking at the conference, Ms Harney insisted patients would not suffer as a result of cutbacks in Sligo or the overall freeze in recruitment by the HSE.
She also said hospitals were responsible for manage their own budgets and the Government would not be bailing them out.
Nurses are also angry at the decision of the head of the HSE, Prof Brendan Drumm, to accept an €80,000 bonus at a time when nursing staff have to put up with cutbacks.
Some 350 delegates representing the INO's 40,000 members are attending the conference at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.