Clare County Council says emergency response services will continue during tomorrow’s public sector strike, despite the closure of its offices, buildings and facilities.
Trade unions claim tomorrow’s strike may be the largest industrial action ever in the history of the state.
Over 300,000 public sector employees including nurses, civil servants and teachers will engage in a 24 hour work stoppage tomorrow.
Schools in Clare are expected to close and hospitals will face major disruption with appointments and planned operations cancelled, while the Dáil and Seanad also will not sit due to the strike.
Yesterday, unions rejected the Public Expenditure Minister’s invitation to meet at the WRC, declining his appeal for strike action to be postponed.
Minister Jack Chambers has today described the planned strike action as “completely unfair and unreasonable.”
The INTO President claims the Minister’s attitude towards workers is one of ‘public service, public servitude’.
Brendan Horan has told Clare FM’s Morning Focus that the correspondence from department officials in the past two weeks, mirrors what was seen when the previous pay deal expired.
Unions claim the Government ‘strategically avoided’ any increase in public sector payroll costs in 2026 by disrupting the continuity of pay talks ahead of the Budget.
Minister Chambers allocated €1.2 billion for public sector pay rises next year as part of an €8.5 billion package.
SIPTU representative Graham Macken says that falls short of the €2 billion put forward ahead of the Budget.
Meanwhile, Clare County Council says its offices, buildings and facilities will close tomorrow due to the strike.
The local authority says emergency response services will continue, with emergency cover arrangements remaining in place throughout the industrial action.
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