Delegates at the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) annual conference have passed an emergency motion condemning a ban on recruitment introduced by the Health Service Executive (HSE) earlier this month.
The emergency motion put to delegates in Killarney was in response to cutbacks introduced by the HSE on September 4th in an attempt to reduce a €245 million financial deficit.
Stating that the cutbacks had resulted in the "curtailment of essential services" and were "severely impacting on the quality of patient care," the motion called on INO members to actively oppose the move along with other health service unions.
Delegates were called upon to give their "100 per cent compliance" to a circular issued by the health service unions this week calling on union members not to engage in any activities additional to those carried out before the September 4th announcement.
The unions have sought a meeting of the National Implementation Body (NIB), the main trouble-shooting agency under social partnership, to outline their opposition to the cutbacks.
The unions - including Impact, Siptu, the Irish Nurses' Organisation, the Irish Medical Organisation, Unite, the Medical Laboratory Scientists' Association and the health service craft group of unions - have said the recruitment freeze will result in "inevitable damage" to the health service.
Minister for Health Mary Harney is scheduled to address the conference tomorrow.
An INO source told ireland.comthat delegates who are "at the frontline and are dealing with the fallout of the negligence of the health service" would meet the Minister with "a low level of tolerance and possibly some expressions of contempt".
Some 350 delegates representing the INO's 40,000 members are attending the conference at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.