Top-level talks between the social partners are to take place today as part of a renewed effort to resolve the nurses' dispute.
The National Implementation Body (NIB) - which comprises senior Government, employer and trade-union representatives - will hold discussions to see if there is any basis for it to intervene in the dispute. The development comes as nurses, in an escalation of their ongoing campaign of industrial action, hold one-hour work stoppages at three hospitals today.
They plan to hold further stoppages at another three hospitals on Friday, the details of which will be announced today. These are expected to take place at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Roscommon County Hospital, and a psychiatric hospital which has yet to be identified.
The stoppages taking place today will be at St Vincent's hospital in Dublin, South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel and St Luke's Psychiatric Hospital in Clonmel.
The action is being taken by members of the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) in pursuit of a claim for better pay and reduced working hours.
As a result, 28 patients due to attend today for general surgical and medical procedures, as well as outpatient appointments, at South Tipperary General Hospital have had their appointments cancelled.
St Vincent's hospital said no procedures would be cancelled, but patients could expect some delays. Disruption to services at St Luke's are expected to be minimal.
Philip McAnenly, an industrial relations officer with the INO, said critical care areas, such as intensive-care units, coronary care and all cancer services, had been exempted from the stoppages.
The work-to-rule by about 40,000 INO and PNA members at all hospitals across the State, which began 10 days ago, is also continuing. Under this, the nurses are not dealing with non-essential telephone calls or carrying out clerical or IT duties.
It emerged last night that the NIB has been taking soundings from both sides to see if there would be any basis for further talks.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary David Begg, who sits on the NIB, said: "We are trying to establish whether there would be a value in trying to get the parties together again. We are trying to establish whether there is sufficient grounds to do it."
He said he had been talking to the parties yesterday and he expected further internal NIB discussions today "to see if talks would be viable or not at this stage".
Talks under the aegis of the NIB took place before the industrial action began, but failed to find a resolution.