Minister for Health Mary Harney has described nursing unions' decision to escalate their industrial action as "unfair to patients, unfair to other public sector workers and unfair to taxpayers."
Speaking after the INO and PNA unveiled a series of one, two and three-hour work stoppages beginning at 22 hospitals on Friday, Ms Harney said: "For patients the inevitable consequence of this action even before operations and treatments need to be cancelled, will be to cause obvious worry and distress for patients and their families."
She said the Irish Nurses' Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association should pursue their claims for a 10.6 per cent pay rise and a 35-hour week through "the normal industrial relations mechanisms of the State."
"Taxpayers who pay for the public sector wage bill agreed in Towards 2016, will be deeply concerned at any unravelling of public sector pay policy," Ms Harney said in a statement.
"The indications from the Garda Representative Association that it would pursue a follow-on claim if the nurses succeed will be very worrying to taxpayers.
"It is the inevitable and unfortunate consequence of actions, initially by the nurses' unions, and now joined by others, to raise the possibility that a large scale pay concession could be made outside Towards 2016 and Benchmarking.
"The Government has a responsibility to all in society to pursue a responsible public pay policy - we cannot risk letting it run wild. No responsible government should or could."
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent appealed to the HSE to commit to a date to introduce a 35-hour working week for nurses in an effort to resolve the dispute.
During talks yesterday, the HSE offered to reduce the current 39-hour week by one hour by March next year but refused a demand of the INO and PNA for a timeframe for further reductions in hours.
"I am calling on Minister Harney and the HSE to set a date for regularising the hours worked by nurses," Mr Sargent said. "This will create the space to allow the salary elements to be resolved without upsetting the national benchmarking process."
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said his party supported the nurses' demands
"Nurses work in very difficult circumstances on the frontline of our health services," he said.
"It is they who have to cope with a lack of resources, constant overcrowding on wards and delays at A&Es. It is an indictment of the outgoing Government that they have had to resort to taking action to get what the vast majority of people believe they deserve."
