Minister for Health Mary Harney has expressed concern over nurses' plans to escalate their dispute. However, she was "relieved" with an assurance from the head of the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) that the new actions would not impact on patients.
The Minister yesterday emphasised that the Government could not allow nurses to be treated differently to other unions who had accepted the benchmarking process.
She said, even with a general election campaign effectively under way, the Government could not make an exception.
"How can the Government treat one group of professionals different to another? The Government has to be fair and firm."
Up to 50 hospitals and mental health services are to be named today where stoppages will be organised in next week's escalation.
Ms Harney said it was "a matter of honour" for the Government that the dispute could only be settled within existing pro-cesses. The only way the dispute could be resolved was through the National Implementation Body (NIB). It was "in adjournment" and ready to call the two sides together when it considered there could be progress.
The Minister was speaking after addressing the annual conference of the Psychiatric Nurses' Association in Ballybofey, Co Donegal, where she received a distinctly cool but polite reception from delegates.
The mild ripple of applause for her contrasted sharply with a resounding cheer for PNA chairman Liam McNamara when he greeted her as "the best-paid minister for health in Europe".
Earlier, at private talks with the union's leadership, the Minister listened to representations on how the gap between the disputing sides could be bridged without endangering social partnership.
PNA general secretary Des Kavanagh said the best prospect of a breakthrough was in how the Minister responded to the private meeting when she took time to analyse the arguments put to her.
He said the union found no comfort in anything Ms Harney said in her public address to the conference. "We've known the NIB is available. We've known the 35-hour week is possible. Nothing else she said was new."
He added: "We have planned for this campaign to go on for a long time. We are not going to blink first."
In her address to delegates, the Minister said the 35-hour week was "not an issue" so long as it did not impact on patients. She urged nurses to place their faith in the benchmarking process.